Wow...it's been the most incredible time with my little rocket man!

The weekend before last was just incredible....on Saturday we went to a companion obedience show and Elton was entered in the baby class - his very first obedience show. It was a very basic round, but my little boy only went and won it!! During the heelwork the judge was walking behind us saying things like "wow, that is lovely" - whilst judging!! - so I think she was impressed lol All he lost was a ½ on heelwork and a ½ on recall. He won a (non-perpetual) trophy!
Sunday was a breed club (specialty) championship show. Elton won two of his three classes (I was kicking myself because I'd managed to put him in Yearling instead of Junior, I knew I'd made a mistake a couple of weeks after I'd entered but it was too late to change it by then) and Best Phalene Dog. He then went up against the Best Phalene Bitch - who is a Champion with 5 CCs and had in turn beaten an Int Ch - and my little boy was declared Best Phalene in Show!!!

Last Wednesday we went to an all breed championship show (never a dull moment at this time of year ;-)) where Elton was entered in two breed classes. In to the first one we went, and he absolutely showed his socks off! At the Pap Club in his first two breed classes (one straight after the other) he didn't feel right, and although halfway through I had a pretty good idea why - he needed to go out - but I couldn't do a lot about it! I'd taken him out to pee before I groomed him up, but evidently he'd also needed to poo and hadn't. Took him outside straight after his class and sure enough he did, smearing it all down his trousers in the process...joy!

As I was grooming him up on Wednesday I thought he didn't seem quite right...stopped grooming and took him out, he went - and thankfully kept his trousers clean this time! - I'd already taken him out before I started grooming him and I really didn't have the time to take him out again, so I'd have been in trouble if he'd needed major grooming after! From this we've learnt I seem to be able to read my puppy quite well lol which is nice.

Anyway, then it was a bit of a rush to finish grooming him up and get him into the ring on time, but I managed it; and as I say he showed SO well. I was a bit concerned because he used to be a bit dodgy on the table (would go all rocking horse and then lie down) and watching some of the earlier judging I didn't think he would like the way this judge was handling them, but he surprised me and was actually a lot better than I thought he'd be. He really took to the judge actually - when she came down the line he started wagging his tail, and by the time she took her last look at the end he was wagging so hard his whole body was moving! He used to be like that as a puppy, but he appeared to have outgrown it, and I don't remember him ever doing it that enthusiastically! Elton won the class!

My day just got better and better, as we then went back in for his second class and he won that one as well! He couldn't quite contain himself at the end of that class - until that point he'd been keeping his stand and just wagging, at the end he started off wagging and then got up and stood balanced on his hind legs. Vicious ugly creature ;-)

Yesterday we attended yet another championship show. Elton was just in the one class - Junior Dog - this time....which yet again he won!! For me he didn't show as well as Paignton, but he still went well...there just wasn't that extra sparkle. Though it was incredibly hot, so that could be why!

In the UK there is an award called a Junior Warrant (JW). Between the ages of 6-18 months if you win a breed class with 3 or more dogs in you get 1 (open show) or 3 (champ show) points. You need 25 of these points (inc. at least 3 champ pts and at least 3 open pts) and then you can put the letters JW after your dogs name.

Ordinarily I wouldn't bother - if it happens it happens and if it doesn't it doesn't. However....there has only ever been one Phalene to get their JW, and that was a bitch. So, if Elton can do it, he will have his little spot in history as the first male Phalene to achieve it (and indeed, only the second Phalene ever!)

When Elton was doing so well as a baby I thought he could do it...then we just didn't have the numbers, or else he'd be 2nd - he got his first point aged 8 months 2 days, didn't get anymore until almost 12 months (another 3). However, in the last month he has done absolutely phenomenally and I'd started to hope again.

Now he has just under 3 months left, and is up to 17 points! So he needs 8, which sounds easy (he's got 12 in the last 29 days lol)....but all depends on if the judges are good or not!

He's actually won a lot more than many dogs that *do* get their Junior Warrant, but he's doing it the hard way :-P Most dogs get a large amount of their points from open shows....he's only got two of his points from open shows. The judges are less experienced and a lot of them just don't know what he is, or don't like Phalenes and let their judging be biased by that. Which means he need the champ show wins, which (even though you get 3pts instead of 1) is a lot harder, because of the bigger classes and considerably better competition...and we're now running out of time, with just five champ shows left (plus some open shows, so I'm hoping he can break this open show jinx - we really need at least two more points from open shows!)

If he doesn’t get it he’s been incredibly unlucky; he’s won so many variety classes (don’t count) or breed classes with just 2 dogs in, and got so many 2nds in classes that would have given him points. He has until the 14th November, so please keep your fingers crossed that we can get the remaining 8 points!

So I will leave you with this - Elton and his Best Phalene in Show rosette and trophy :-)

I utterly despair of Solei. I have other news, but I didn't want to detract from the good with the bad - so we'll save that for my next post!

Last Saturday we went to a companion show and Solei did two obedience classes. He wasn't particularly happy, his heelwork was laggy/wide - though interestingly in the harder class he did we had heelwork with a change of pace, we did slow and his slow heelwork was lovely for most of the time we were in slow! Ground wasn't very good, so that could well account for that - he felt safer at a slower (less bumpy!) pace.

In the easier class I had to call him twice in the recall (unusual) because he wasn't paying attention....though to be fair behind him was a ring full of dogs doing fun classes, and behind that was a kennel full of barking dogs!

Harder class he decided he wouldn't retrieve, so that blew that! We've been having a few problems with retrieve since his meltdown a few weeks ago :-P It took such a long time to build his confidence up with the dumbbell, and he hadn't been retrieving it that long.

Stays were fine in both classes, but the whole thing just left me rather depressed really!

To cap it all I have now been waiting for a puppy for more than two and a half years - I've already been through numerous matings/litters - from bitches being mated and then having to be spayed due to pyometra, to litters of the wrong sex, mismarked...etc.

There were two litters due around a month apart. The first was born at the very end of June, only two of the right sex - one mismarked, the other the breeder is keeping. Ok, no big deal I think....second litter is coming up. They were born on August 1st....only one of the right sex, dodgy markings and she's spoken for anyway. Oh yay.

I'm seriously questioning myself at the moment....I'm so emotionally drained by it all. There's only so many times you can find out a bitch is pregnant, and however hard you try not to you get excited and start making plans....only for the puppies to be born and all your hopes to be dashed again. And again. And again.