Doing what we do best

Today had to be a highlight of the week for the boys. I was in the kitchen getting the chili ready for the hotdogs we were having for lunch, and as I was putting it in a bowl to nuke it, it dropped out of my hand. Chili went everywhere and I burst out laughing. My daughter (3) didn't think it was so funny, as chili hit her in her mid-section and she had the "sharks" circling her, deciding who should attempt to lick it off of her first. My husband, looked at me like I was completely nuts, because he didn't realize I'd dropped the bowl, but then saw chili splattered on our daughter, the bottom cabinets by the stove, across the kitchen on the wall, on the countertops/upper and bottom cabinets, and on the undercabinet lighting. Hey, I did manage to grab the bowl before the "sharks" were able to dive in and eat it all. So, the "sharks" helped me clean up chili off the floor and the cabinet doors they could reach. I told my husband, "see, this is why we have dogs"! After I got all of that cleaned up and the boys ushered outside, we went out and ate on the deck. Some chips were dropped by our daughter and smashed on the deck. Leo hopped up there and gobbled them up before Cosmo had a chance. As I was walking towards the door to go inside with dishes, Leo ran in front of me, then, as if he'd stepped on that proverbial banana peel, did this weird back flip and landed upside down BECAUSE he'd almost missed those smashed chips and did a really sudden about turn to gobble them up. Of course, I didn't have the camera with me to catch that. It was hysterical. My boy is going to need a doggie chiropractor if he keeps his stunts up.
To round off their day of feasting on stuff they normally don't get, they got scrubbed clean and Cosmo got a hair cut. Leo was next, but the battery died on my clipper and because I need new batteries, it takes too long for me to want to wait for it to recharge. At least they're both smelling really nice.

Our very first AKC show

The weather could not have been much worse today than it was. It was horrible. "Froggy" as my son calls it, gray, and that yucky rain. Not the hard downpour or the gentle rains you don't mind listening to. The yucky middle ground rain that is just miserable. There is red clay underneath the grass, and because of the amount of rain that we've received since yesterday added to the numerous cars, motor homes and RV's that were driving around the show site, it was all churned up and just a big mud pit mess. Thankfully, I was able to keep Leo out of the mud. My car was not so lucky however. Oh well....
Our day went pretty good. The judging was running late, which was not helping my nerves or the feeling of doom that I had in the pit of my stomach. We were the first ones in to start the judging of the ECS's, so there was some pressure there (at least it felt like it to me). Leo did really well in the ring, and I didn't trip, fall, or stumble, so I think I did pretty well too =) Leo held his stack on both the table and the matting. He only slightly moved his head a little during the exam, but wasn't obnoxious about it. For that, I was most thankful. Leo took 1st place in his class. I guess I should mention that we were the only ones in his class. I look at it like this. At least we weren't excused from the ring! That's where our journey ended for today. We did not place after that. Cosmo's breeder (Mindy) was handling in the 12-18 mos class and she took RWD. WTG Mindy! I do owe Mindy a huge thanks for cleaning up Leo for me where I'd left on too much hair. I was afraid of taking off too much and ending up with a naked dog we couldn't salvage. Leo's breeder, Betty, was there and it was nice getting to see her, and Leo's litter sister, Kit again. They are leaving for the National soon. Wish I was going, but will have to wait til it's closer again for me to be able to go.
Cosmo stayed home and was pampered by the kids. He had a nice hambone to keep him occupied til I got back with Leo. Poor Cosmo kept going around the house looking for him while I was gone, and it was obvious that Leo missed him as well.
Hopefully, it will dry out a little tomorrow so they can run and play outside. Cosmo has had one bath, and Leo's had two this week, and I'm done with bathing them again for awhile (I hope!)

Lazy days of spring

Man, nothing like having a 79 degree Spring day and getting to lounge on the deck and watch the world go by! And that is exactly what these two knuckle heads did today. Maybe they were recouperating from the shock of unexpected baths, and for Leo the beginnings of his show groom for his first official show debute this Saturday in Charlotte. Or maybe it was because they not only missed their ACD buddy, Jake, but were recouperating from all the running around and playing they did in a three day span. Whatever the cause, we all know that a tired ECS is a happy ECS!

We're on the lookout

for a wild and crazy ACD named Jake who is coming over to play with us today! Cosmo says he's really fast. I say, we'll see about that. I can be pretty fast myself. I'm sure we would have caught that Easter Bunny fellow they were talking about this weekend, if only we had seen him dropping off those baskets. Can you believe he FORGOT to put something in there for us? The nerve of that Easter Bunny. We'll get him next year!

WOO HOO!!! Agility started back tonight

and Cosmo was AWESOME! I was so proud of my little man! It's been 3 l.o.n.g. months since we've had class, and he's not had any training in that time (bad mommy on my part). He hasn't forgotten anything, and I think was even better tonight than when we left off in Dec. He's sticking his contacts, he's working out and away from me (which is nice), and most importantly, he's having fun and not stressing like he did last year when we didn't quite get a run right. He would shut down (which was hard to see) even though I tried to "keep it light" and not make a big deal out of it. Tonight, instead of just going to the next obstacle, he would turn around and do the one he didn't get quite right (he got tangled up in the new chute fabric) without me asking him to and then would continue the sequence. He nailed the tire (have had issues there) and hit the mark on the table (which was the last obstacle in our first run) and didn't fly off the side. I AM SO PROUD OF COSMO !! It's looking like if I can get some weaves set up at my house and can really get those down, that I might get to show him at the end of the year. That will be the icing on my cake.
I also enjoyed seeing my fellow do-da'ers that we've not seen since the last session of classes. We also have a new lady to our group that has springers (can't recall their names, sorry). So, again we have Buttons the boxer, Gracie the golden, Jake the ACD, and the springers whos names I promise to learn eventually. It was extra special tonight because we had a reason to have a party (we can always come up with something to eat and drink to). We celebrated Cosmo's 2nd birthday, and three handlers birthdays. An excellent evening was had by all. It was nice and cool with a slight breeze. Not a hint of humidity or those buggy little mosquitos that eat us alive in the summer.
Cosmo is nice and tired, so hopefully he'll sleep through the night and stop pacing in the house (which has been waking me up) and asking to go out twice in the middle of the night, which in turn wakes Leo up, so I have to take them both out and in twice before it's really time to get up at 6:00 am, otherwise as dark-thirty to me.

And Best in Puppy Match, round 2

wasn't us, but we had a blast anyway. Today was a LONG day! Leo was a little boingy to start with, but settled down quickly. In the first sporting puppy match, he took 2nd. The judge said she liked him better than the choc lab puppy that she put up, but that the lab puppy was more polished because it had more experience than Leo. The the second sporting puppy match he took first (I didn't tell him that it was because he was the only puppy in the group). He won a new squeaky saxophone toy for placing first. He did really well today, considering the fact that it was outside and WINDY (we were under tornado warnings) and it started raining. Inside was on slippery floors and was loud (concrete block building) and on a wooden table that dipped in the middle because they had loaded the ring table up into the truck already. I was so proud of him. I stacked him, and he stayed. They examined him, and he stayed put. He gaited like a charm. It was nice to have him outside in the grass so he could get used to that. All in all, he took it in stride (and took a great big nap in between it all). So, the total today was 6 ribbons ( three first prizes, one second prize, and two best of breeds) and a new squeaky toy. Not too shabby for our first outing if you ask me. AND I didn't get nervous and feel like I was going to be needing to make a run for the nearest set of shrubs and be sick.

Now to just get him to act better on the grooming table at home when I'm grooming him. He didn't look his absolute best today (grooming-wise), but he got practice on being on the grooming table outside with all that was going on around him, with me brushing him out.

Whew! Now to just hang tight til the PKC show Apr 5!

Ay Carumba!

Tomorrow is our first ever puppy match! I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm thankful that we've at least had some classes to know what to expect. I'd be even more thankful if we were still having classes and it hadn't been a couple of weeks since the last class. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't make a complete fool out of myself. That and that Leo behaves himself. I've got to get him cleaned up and groomed tonight so he doesn't look like he just came out of the backyard =) Keep your fingers crossed that the rain holds off since this is an outside thing. The upside, is that there is a chance for us to win $50 if we win our match, and that's kind of exciting to think about.
We also got our confirmation today for the first show that he'll be entered in (the Piedmont KC in Charlotte NC) on Apr 5th. So, I'm hoping to learn a good deal tomorrow and that it will be a very positive experience! Cosmo and I are ready to dust off our running shoes next week when agility starts back up FINALLY! We've not had lessons since the week of Christmas and now the training grounds are back in order from the swimming pool being put in, and the new fence around said pool has been installed. WOO HOO! Now, if the mid 70's degree weather will just stick around for awhile (minus the skeeters and humidity that we all know is looming around the corner!)