Priceville, AL - Drum Roll Please . . .

I am very pleased to introduce my first Bred-By Champion:

"CH Regent Midnight Rush"

Today Rush was WD, BOW and BOS for his last point. YAY! Jeri and Lizzie the Lovely have news too, but I will let her post it on her blog.

(Jeri pointed out that the angle of the photo is awkward. It makes him look cobby, but he isn't. Hopefully, the photographer's is better.)

Priceville, AL - Day 3

Today Rush was WD, BOW and BOS for his 14th point. Yay. And Jeri with Lizzie the Lovely was BOB. Another big Yay.

Dare I hope for that last point tomorrow?

And since I am always reading vanity tags, here is one that I spotted in the parking lot today.

Priceville, AL - Day 2

It was a repeat performance for Rush. He was WD and BOW for another point. But the cool part was that he got a Group 3 in the Herding Bred-By! Judge Joanne Paulk was really great. She told me that she went the Cardigan National this year because she is working towards being certified in the Herding Group. She gave me great compliments on his lovely wrap and that she had not seen many fronts as nice as his. OK, so my head just swelled for just one moment because she was talking about my baby. :o)

Now back to reality . . . . we still have 2 more points to go.

Pricevile, AL - Day 1

Today was day 1 of our local dog show. I am pleased to say that Rush was WD and BOW for 1 point. Only 3 more to go for his CH. Fingers crossed that by Monday, I can add those letters to the front of his name. :o) Jeri with her lovely Lizzie was BOB. I did not stay for Groups because I had to go into work, so I don't know how they did.

Murfreesboro Win Photos

I was asked when I would post the win photos of Rush from Murfreesboro. Ta-dah, here they are. I am pretty pleased with them, but always like the photos so much better once I crop myself out of them.

Nashville, TN - Day 2

Rush was RWD today, so not much to report. I think it was only a 3 point major because there was one no-show. I'm not sure that I agree with the choice for WD though because I thought Rush was the best dog in the ring today. :o) But, maybe I am biased.

My husband thinks that the AKC needs to come up with a new rule. It goes something like this: After a dog wins X amount of major reserves, they should automatically earn at least 1 point just because they have beat so many other dogs.

I kind of like the idea. It would place a little more importance on Reserve than just being the best loser. What do you think?

Nashville, TN - Yippee!

Today is Rush's birthday and he celebrated turning 1 year old in a big way. We showed to Marieann Gladstone in Nashville, TN. Rush went WD, BOW and BOS for a 4 point major. Marieann was really great and kept giving me compliments on him every time she was close to me.

I went out to lunch with Jeri, Laura and Cheryl to celebrate. Just to be sure, I went back to the show site afterwards to check the tear sheets. Yup, it was true. There he is, number 23.

Rush now just needs 4 singles to finish. Tomorrow's judge is Steve Gladstone. I have my fingers crossed for another repeat performance. :o)

Thank you Jeri, for snapping the picture for me.

Vanity Tags

I enjoy reading vanity tags. A walk through the parking lot at a dog show is always interesting. Exhibitors are very creative people. Some plates show a great sense of humor. Also, I like seeing how far some have travelled to attend the show. Take a stroll with me:

Most tags require no explaining.

Possible agility person.

Breed choice is quite obvious on a lot of tags.

Ummm, OK.


Definitely into agility.

I am still trying to figure out this one. Is she into dog puddles or poodles?

I think this is another agility person.


Hmm, this could apply to a lot of things.
This tag needs no explantion. I think it would be fun to be able to proudly display that on my car. But first, I have to win one. :o)

Murfreesboro, TN - Day 2 WOW!

Well, I must admit that I am still a little stunned about today's show. Rush went WD, BOW and BEST OF BREED over 3 specials for 2 points. For a short time, I thought it may have been a major and hugged everyone. Then, Cheryl pulled out a catalog and re-read the AKC regulations to figure out just exactly how the specials worked into the headcount. Turns out that we missed a major by one black corgi nose. That is OK. It is still an awesome thrill to have Judge Pat Laurans find my first bred-by. :o) I than got to play in the group ring with my little man. Herding was the very last group, so it was a very long day. Thank you, Laura and Cheryl for staying to cheer us on.

Laura took this from behind the photographer. I think I am going to be pleased with it.

Murfreesboro, TN - Day 1

I got up at 4:00 am and was out of the house by 5:30 for a 9:00 ring time in Murfreesboro, TN. I am please to say that it was worth the 4 hour round trip drive. Rush went WD and BOW for 2 points under Judge William Bergum. He had an odd ring procedure. He had us stack our dogs on the table sideways instead of using the full length of the table. I was concerned that some of the longer Cardigans would be too long to fit. If he wanted to view them from that angle, I think it would have been better if he just turned the table. Some of the dogs were quite uncooperative being stacked that way.

My fingers are crossed for a repeat performance tomorrow.

What's My Name?

I ran to the bank at lunch time today. Onforio now gives checks instead of cash for Sweeps prizes, so while there I decided to cash in the ones that I recently won. I pulled into the drive thru and sent in my deposit. And then waited and waited and waited. Finally, the cashier gets on the speaker and asks me, "What is your name?" I tell her. Long pause. She than says, "This check is made out to Bearer". I said yes. She goes, "But your name isn't Bearer." I tell her, "No, it's not." Another long pause and she then says, "Why are you cashing a check for Bearer." I tell her that I won it as a prize. "But", she tells me, "Your name is not Bearer." I tell her that I am cashing it because I am the bearer of the check. Still it does not register. She leaves and comes back about 5 minutes later. She tells me, "I had to get my supervisor to approve it because it is not your name." Now I am scratching my head. Is it really that complicated?

Altanta Show Pictures

My pictures from Atlanta arrived. I am pleased with Rush's Sweepstakes picture.

Yippee, I finally got one of him that I like. You know, I compared these win pictures to the first ones that he had taken in June. I think Rush is getting longer.

He has a goofy expression in his Major picture. BTW, this photographer was awesome. Two ladies showed up ringside. They both had cameras and they each took several pictures. I think they wanted to make sure that they did not miss the shot.

Day 2 - A Great Day in Atlanta, GA!

As they always say, every day is a new day at a dog show. I am pleased to say that today was our day!

First, Rush won Best in Sweepstakes.
Then he went on to win WD and BOW on a 3 point major under Judge Lester Mapes. Doesn't he have a great smile? :o) Thank you Laura for taking these pictures for me.

Day 1 - Atlanta, GA

So what does Rush always get? Yes, RWD on a major AGAIN. My friend, Laura, won RWB with her little girl, Jill.

So we decided it was time to go shopping and then visit our favorite little, Mexican place.

We found our spirits quickly improving as the night went on.

That meal was excellent and so was the company.

Back at the room, sweet little Rush-Aroo killed his Sweeps prize.

It's Show Time Again

Grind, Scrub, Fluff, Puff. I am off to Atlanta this weekend with my friends, Janet and Laura. I am hoping that I can break this RWD streak for Rush. I don't want him to become the King of Reserves. We already have plans to go to our favorite little Mexican place on Saturday night. We will miss you Jeri!

I am doing my grooming just a little prematurely because tomorrow night is the final night of Rush's obedience classes and there won't be any time left after that. I have been working on trying to help him grow a brain. He is signed up for his first cycle of agility in the fall. I won't have him jump though and will lay the bars on the ground when training. I don't think he will be the fastest dog in agility, but what I am hoping for is dependability and consistency.

They're Here

My show photos from the Bluebonnet finally arrived today. Sigh, I was hoping they would turn out better. In the first picture, Rush is posting and looks worried. In the second picture, he is not stretched out enough and is staring at the camera.

Sent by Pony Express

I keep checking my mailbox, but no show photos yet. Jeri already received hers several days ago. Hopefully mine arrive today. :o)

Bluebonnet Regional Specialty - Day 3 & 4

Rush took first in the Bred-by class on Saturday. but that was about it. The big news is that Jeri's pretty girl, Lizzie, took Winners Bitch and Best of Opposite over specials to finish her Championship. Yay Lizzie !! Oh, did I mention that Jeri did all this with a busted toe? She cracked the night before we left for the show. What a trooper. :o)

Cardigans pulled a lousy ring time today, 2:00 pm. Since we had almost a 12 hour drive to head home, Jeri and I decided not to stay for it. I am not sure yet where our next show will be.

Bluebonnet Regional Specialy - Day 2

Day 2 in Houston - Rush took Reserve Winners Dog again on a 4 point major under Judge Linda More. He has been getting a lot of attention and many compliments, so I have been having quite a bit of fun.

But, I am still hoping for that number 1 spot tomorrow though. Jeri snapped this picture of us while we were getting our win photo taken. Pretty boy, Rush-A-Roo. :-)

Bluebonnet Regional Specialty - Day 1

My friend, Jeri and I have ventured down to Houston, TX with our cardigans to compete at the Regional Specialty. This is by far the largest show that I have ever attended.

It's a nice show site, lots of grooming space, great air conditioning and has a ton of vendors. I will have to do some shopping tomorrow. Animal Planet is here filming for a show that will air October 4th. Both sexes pulled majors all weekend and there are some very nice dogs here. Anyways, I am pleased to say that Rush took Reserve Winners Dog today. Of course, I would have liked to win the major, but the judge was long-time cardigan breeder Nancy Cunliffe. She had some very nice things to say about Rush. Since he is my first bred-by, it is the next best thing to winning a major. Hopefully tomorrow, he moves ahead one more space in the line though. :-)
I had his win photo taken and will post it later. Of by the way, it is hot as blazes here. Melt.