Tomorrow, I'll blog about Jackson's results at the Fredericksburg shows and the Maryland Specialties but today, it's about the side of dog handling people don't normally see. Actually, anyone who knows me, probably sees these things all too often!
After two good days of showing, I was probably more than a bit over-confident that the final day in Fredericksburg would be successful and stress free. Right off, I got shampoo in my eye during my early morning shower. I should have seen that as a sign of things to come, but unfortunately, didn't. The drive to Fredericksburg was event free and I arrived with time to spare--which I should have spent finding an easy parking space! Instead, I took a close one amidst all the larger vans. I pulled in at an odd angle which left my rear bumper close to the van on my left. I got out, took one load into the show building, then decided I really should straighten my vehicle. I think I'm a good driver and can normally park in a straight line, but not that day. I don't know what I was doing, but it wasn't moving the Sequoia over to the right, instead I kept getting closer to the van on my left. I was so close, I had to move my mirror to prevent hitting the van! Finally, I gave up and took Jackson inside. With all my jerky attempts to fix my parking error, he was getting car sick!
I asked Ellen if she was good at maneuvering a large vehicle in tight spots. Instead, she knew who belonged to the van and took me to the owner. He moved it forward as soon as he could, giving me some space to work and Ellen directed me while I fixed my parking errors. (what would I do without Ellen???)
Before I could move my vehicle, it was time to take Jackson into the ring. The parking fiasco had unnerved me, but I was able to calm down, get Jackson brushed out and I was looking forward to handling him again. Jackson, however, was on the wrong time table. Waiting to go into the ring, he was antsy, then started barking. Something was off, but I didn't know what it could be. He didn't want to use the exercise pen when we arrived and refused a drink of water before he got off the grooming table. In the ring, he was hard to handle, not paying attention and then moving too fast when gaited.
While waiting to go back in for Winners, he started spinning in circles then squatted. I didn't have time to get him back to the ex pen, asked the ring steward for a paper towel but then he acted like things were fine. During the competition, though, I could tell he really needed to go. It seemed like the judge took forever to make his decision! I got Jackson out of the ring as quick as I could, then ran him to the inside exercise pen. He didn't like the pen and refused to go. I made a quick stop at our setup so I could grab my jacket to take him outside, but then Jackson decided he was thirsty and drank half of his bucket of water. By the panicked look in his eyes, I could tell he still needed to get outside and we made it out the door just in time.
I thought I had avoided disaster (well, except for the parking fiasco) and that the next day's show, the Mason Dixon Collie Club Specialty, would be just a fun day. We took our equipment up the night before and I made sure Jackson had plenty of exercise time at home the morning of the show. Once again, he refused to use the exercise areas at the show site, but I wasn't too concerned as I knew he had gone at home.
During Sweepstakes, Jackson was silly, wanting to romp and play. He settled down for a nap in his crate during the Smooth competition. I was told there was going to be a break between the Smooths and the Roughs, but instead, the judge went right to the Rough Dogs competition. I had just awakened Jackson from his nap and was going to take him to the exercise area. Instead, we were running to the ring, me grooming him along the way. In the ring, he was nicely settled and I was relaxed. We did our first go around and the dog ahead of us was being examined by the judge. I looked at Jackson to make sure he was standing correctly--he was spinning in circles! Suddenly, he started to squat! Thankfully, someone at ringside gave me some paper towels which I was able to get in place to avoid a huge ring mess. (I was complemented on my towel placement ability!) Judging was suspended while Jackson was busy, but then he seemed to be distracted. He was still squatting while looking at the ceiling, then the people ringside then the dog next to him. How do you get a puppy to focus on the job at hand??? Finally, he was ready to show again, I apologized to the judge and we continued. Surprisingly, he didn't place first in his class!
All in all, it was a good set of shows for Jackson and excellent ring experience for me. I learned a lot and am ready for the next shows at Howard County this week!
No comments:
Post a Comment