Judging & Crufts

This is a repeat of what's been posted on the dog blog minus my rant about Popular Sires. I figured you might be interested in my adventures at Crufts as well.

At this time last year I was driving everyone around me crazy as I prepared for my trip in early March to the UK, Crufts, and most importantly to pick up the Monkey Man (aka Dublin) and meet his family. Obviously that's not in the cards this year. But it makes this a perfect time to share some pictures from my trip and all the fun stuff and great people I met there. However that's for another post - possibly today, possibly tomorrow.

As I sat at the kitchen table the other night with the Monkey Man at my feet, I wondered why I wasn't berating him for putting a huge hole in the top of a 400 varikennel. He had stuck his head through that hole (yeah, it was that big!) and was waiting for me when I got home looking like a strange, unwatered Chia pet. I know he isn't fond of crates but in a household with this many dogs you have to spend some time in a crate, particularly when there's no one home. Face it, I have a real weakness for the Monkey Man no matter how much trouble he gets into and he gets into lots and lots of trouble. I've been thinking that it was time to get him into the show ring as he is slowly starting to fill out and lose that teenage lankiness. We practise stacking and baiting but not gaiting as I can't run at all at the moment. Anyway, back to the other night. I realized that I really want to show him myself. I know Dad and Lindsay would be glad to show him but I want to do it myself. I haven't been able to comfortably show a dog for a long long time and I'm really looking forward to it. So, the Monkey Man will be my first show dog post-recovery. I bet we knock the socks off everyone :)

I have been invited to judge Sweepstakes for a giant schnauzer club this summer. I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not yet approved for giants so a sweeps is a nice way to work with the breed in the ring. It's also a chance to see more than the occasional giant entered at a show. We have very few giants at least in my part of Ontario so seeing more than one or two is always a treat. They warned me the entry would not be large as the total specialty entry is likely to be quite small but I'm excited about it nonetheless.