Wilmington, NC

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I cannot believe that we had six weeks off from showing. I think the kids are as excited as me to get back on the road. We stayed at the Red Roof Inn and it was okay. I did my reservations through Hotels.com and when I got there they could not find it and refused to honor the rate. No bugs or fleas but a few huge cockroaches and a very shabby remodel – I will not be going back!

Saturday – Day 1

We entered the show knowing that there would be hardly any points. Hami was the only Tibbie entered and the girls were the only class entries. I wanted to go to get them out on grass, we show mostly indoors and it was a good opportunity to get them outside without a lot of stress.

The girls were showing first and they were in the same class as they combined 6-9 and 9-12 month so I showed Eliza and my friend Alex showed Angelica. Eliza was good but was having fin playing a bit in the grass and did not settle down until right at the end, Angelica was really getting the hang of it – she liked having Eliza in front and I was thinking that we were going to get beat but the judge chose Eliza for Winners Bitch. This also gave me Best of Breed Owner Handler and I really wanted to get some more practice.

Hami was of course breed as the only entry. The judge Stephanie Hedgepath actually remembered him (she gave him his first point) and commented on how well he was maturing. She had bred Tibbies before so I was very happy that she recalled him and was happy to give him his first breed win. I mean he was the only entry but we both had a smile.

Owner Handle Groups were before the regular groups which ended up being good as Hamilton was AWFUL. They move dogs in order of speed and we happened to be the front of the smaller dogs so when the big ones took off Hami was trying to catch them and was trying to gallop. Again this is exactly why we came to the show – to see where we had some holes. He was never settled enough to actually even be in contention for a placement.

We literally walked directly to the regular Non Sporting Group and I took a deep breath and made sure to be relaxed and he was such a good boy. He only broke once and started to just do his thing. Even though it was a small show it seems that a bunch of the big handlers had the idea to come in and attempt to snatch some big wins – and they did. I did run into our judge after the group and she said some very lovely things to me about Hami and we will definitely be back showing to her next year.

It was really getting hot by the time Owner Handle Toy Group started and I was a bit concerned for Eliza – not that she was over heating but it was actually a pretty big group and a lot was in the sun and it was a big ring but Eliza is the kind of dog that never frets about anything. She was stellar in the group and was free stacking and giving expression like she was a long time special. I could not fault her at all and was so proud.

I always know when a judge comes up to the table if they get a Peke and the judge was not approved for the toy breeds and I knew it was probably not going to be our day. The judge was very good with her and had obviously spent time learning the standard but a Peke is a breed you have to know to get and it is not a breed you can get just reading the standard – which is me saying I am not complaining at all I just knew we probably had no shot.

As I expected we never really even got a look but the point of us showing was to get Eliza comfortable in grass which she had no issue with and I have to say she was stellar in the ring and I was so proud of her!

Sunday – Day 2

Kind of a rough day as I think Eliza is starting to come into heat and Hamilton was losing his ever loving mind. I think I slept maybe two hours total. The joys of dog ownership. The girls were up first and Eliza was her solid rockstar self but the judge was very matter of fact with her but then when Angelica was on the table he spent way more time and I was like hmmm I know how this is going to go.

Angelica around the ring is on fire – if a judge wants to see a bass Peke well see Angelica and I was not shocked when she went Winner’s Bitch. I took her back in to best of breed and she always goes around well but she is still learning how to free stack and hold up her tail – she just loves going around the ring and cracks me up!

Hamilton was very very good in breed which made me very happy. I was concerned with his brain as he was a hormonal teenager but he really kept thing going well and was very professional. I decided to pass on the Groups as it was supposed to get to 85 around when we would be showing and Angelica is just not solid enough to be in contention for any placements and it seemed unfair to her to try and make her show in 85 degrees.

Hamilton had been so good in breed I just felt it made sense to head out and get home and the kids settled had the show been indoors or 10 degrees cooler there would have been no issue but as hot as it was I felt that it made more sense to pack up.