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Rosie is growing!
- Thread starter diamondlil
- Start date
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Most of where I live isn't nice at all, it's quite a low-income area, some of it very run down, some regeneration is ongoing. I just know where the little pockets of open land and fresh are are!
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Today I went with my sister to discover the fun of country dog shows! My sister takes her jack russels most weekends of the season, to show and race. So this weekend I was lucky enough to be off work and able to go along.
Rosie's preparation was easy, I just had to trim her toenails and she was good to go. Finding the show was a mission though, the directions weren't very good so we were having to ask random villagers the way and got sent in the wrong direction twice through miles of country lanes.
The show was run by the Wye Valley beagles, a working pack that are used to hunt hares, today they were raising money for the air ambulance service. The event was set in beautiful parkland owned privately and managed as an ornamental landscape.
Rosie's preparation was easy, I just had to trim her toenails and she was good to go. Finding the show was a mission though, the directions weren't very good so we were having to ask random villagers the way and got sent in the wrong direction twice through miles of country lanes.
The show was run by the Wye Valley beagles, a working pack that are used to hunt hares, today they were raising money for the air ambulance service. The event was set in beautiful parkland owned privately and managed as an ornamental landscape.
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diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Rosie was an absolute star in her show class, not at all nervous and happy for the judge to examine her, wagging her tail furiously whenever he spoke to us!
We were in the rough-coated bitch under 23" class and my baby came second! The winning bitch was older and more muscular than Rosie (she's in the 3rd photo), so it looks like I'll have to get on an exercise and diet programme to build Rosie up.
We were in the rough-coated bitch under 23" class and my baby came second! The winning bitch was older and more muscular than Rosie (she's in the 3rd photo), so it looks like I'll have to get on an exercise and diet programme to build Rosie up.
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diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Then it was time for my sister's pug Henry to take part in the companion dog class for pedigree utility/toy breeds. Henry was not on form at all, he kept sitting down instead holding a show stance and turning his back on the judge. Even though the show doesn't count at all in championship points there were some serious breeders there with dogs they are starting out on show careers as well as the pet owners so he didn't stand a chance.
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diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
There were more lurcher classes and terrier classes to watch, there were 4 rings so I was pressed into holding whichever of my sister's dogs weren't off to another class. I missed her parsons jack russel getting a 2nd place in her breed class. I love this photo of the Patterdale class, you can see that the dogs were shouting ferociously at each other rather than behaving like show dogs. This was in the working dog section, so their character was allowed for and some had quite a lot of scarring from their working life. (The are used against foxes that have gone to earth, to drive them out or hold them while they are dug out)
Prudence (broken coated parsons) and Phoebe (longer coat) are shouting at some border terriers in their picture
Prudence (broken coated parsons) and Phoebe (longer coat) are shouting at some border terriers in their picture
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diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Then the highlight of the day, the terrier racing. The dogs wait in traps while a lure (a fox-tail) is shown and whizzed around to gee them up, then they're off like little demons down the track! The lure goes under straw bales at the end to stop them ripping it apart, but one clever dog managed to get it out and give it a good mauling. The owners have to catch the hyped up terriers quickly before they start fighting, there were a couple of quarrels but any serious offenders get banned from the racing. (I was surprised they weren't muzzled)
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diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
There wasn't any lurcher racing at this event, but Rosie got to take place in the 'any dog' race. She was disgraceful! She'd been on her best behaviour all day, on the lead the whole time, so as soon as she was free she took the chance to run the wrong way, out of the track and meet as many people and dogs as she could! So the organisers gave her a second chance, but this time she decided she wanted to get to know the nice people who'd just made a fuss of her and sat down with them. They thought my non-moving lurcher was so funny they put her in another time, and she finally got an inkling of what she was supposed to do, but doubled back half way to see me, and covered the track 6 times back and forth in all before she'd had quite enough of running and came to heel!
There's another show we can attend in 2 weeks, I can't wait!
There's another show we can attend in 2 weeks, I can't wait!
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snakemom1961
Spring is here!
Awesome pics Janine. Looks like a great time. I wish we had shows like that here for dogs that aren't necessarily show dogs but still are able to be classed with others like them.
I always look forward to your updates to this thread, I'm never disappointed. Thanks again for doing this for us.
I always look forward to your updates to this thread, I'm never disappointed. Thanks again for doing this for us.
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
No worries Nancy! I knew my sister had been showing her dogs for a few years at country and game fairs and she's got an impressive haul of rosettes, mainly through her totally wrongly-put-together terrier Porridge. He wins the personality/waggy tail/coat condition type classes all the time! I never took Ellie because she'd never have let a judge examine her, she didn't like strangers so it would have been torture for her. As Rosie is a naturally bold little dog who loves meeting new people I had no qualms. Of course if she'd been miserable today then that would have been that, but as I'd expected she thought it was great to be praised and fussed by new people and to meet lots of new dogs.
Of course the really great thing is that unlike showing a breed like a bichon or poodle, there's not much that can be done to change her appearence, so she doesn't have to be brushed or stay tidy for her classes! In fact I deliberately didn't wash her for the show because her coat is supposed to be harsh and weather-proof.
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Phase one of lure training today! As Rosie showed no interest or aptitude for racing, I thought I might see if I could spark her interest today. Rosie has a collection of toy monkeys, in various states of disrepair. As they get chewed and destroyed by her I go out and look for more monkeys in charity shops. So I tied rope around a monkeys neck, and (luckily the field we walk on was empty) showed Rosie the monkey and ran as fast as I could!
Of course she caught it quite quickly, I let her run off with the monkey and shake him a bit, then gave her a treat so I could run off again. I repeated a few times, praising Rosie for chasing the monkey, so she thinks she's the cleverest dog in the world.
Then I stowed monkey in my bag, and walked on. We met a couple of our regular dog-walking friends, who revealed they'd been watching from over the hill and wondering what the mad woman was doing!
Of course she caught it quite quickly, I let her run off with the monkey and shake him a bit, then gave her a treat so I could run off again. I repeated a few times, praising Rosie for chasing the monkey, so she thinks she's the cleverest dog in the world.
Then I stowed monkey in my bag, and walked on. We met a couple of our regular dog-walking friends, who revealed they'd been watching from over the hill and wondering what the mad woman was doing!
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Tula_Montage
It's Jager time!
Brilliant update J9! A pack of beagles is my dream.
I bet Charlie would have done well in the racing, he is a chase dog indeed!
He would have been rubbish in the " make your dog stand pretty and be nice to judges" competition. He doesn't sit still for a second and he doesn't really like people hahahah! He picks and chooses who is his pal...
Rosie looks like she had a fabulous day, and congratulations to her for her success
I bet Charlie would have done well in the racing, he is a chase dog indeed!
He would have been rubbish in the " make your dog stand pretty and be nice to judges" competition. He doesn't sit still for a second and he doesn't really like people hahahah! He picks and chooses who is his pal...
Rosie looks like she had a fabulous day, and congratulations to her for her success
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Oh Elle I've never seen anything as funny as the terrier racing! The excitement for them is at fever pitch. And in the show ring they all wanted to kill each other so they were straining at their leads and shouting their heads off!
The people at the show were universally friendly and helpful, as I was taking Rosie around the ring (me being clueless!) other owners were giving me advice in how to show Rosie off properly. She's such an extrovert that she absolutely loved it all
The people at the show were universally friendly and helpful, as I was taking Rosie around the ring (me being clueless!) other owners were giving me advice in how to show Rosie off properly. She's such an extrovert that she absolutely loved it all
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Today my madleg is playing up, but it was far too nice a day to waste, so Rosie and I went to the estuary. She ran about meeting other dogs, ate rabbit poop and had a great time. So then we went by 'Ellie's pond', where I was hoping to see the newts.
No chance! I appear to own some kind of super-charged otter/dog hybrid.
No chance! I appear to own some kind of super-charged otter/dog hybrid.
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vetusvates
Gamaliel's Principle
LOL. Great pics, Janine. Clearly Rosie enjoys herself wherever she goes.
diamondlil
Mice! They taste so nice!
Thanks Eric, she's some kind of crazy thing sent to brighten my days! My leg and back were playing up, I can't visit Pete, so I just wanted to stay in bed with the curtains drawn and have a pity party. Instead I got this whiskery face looking at me and her silly skinny tail a blur from wagging......and the payback for limping to the riverside was her joy de vivre putting huge smiles on my face!
PJ@PJCReptiles
New member
Janine, thanks for sharing Rosie. I have loved following your thread!