showdog returns

We had quite a hectic weekend. Or, should I say, I had one.

First, I zipped into the Newton Abbot show at the Matford Centre in Exeter bright & early to set up my stuff in a convenient place. I knew that by the time I finished with Neka's check up at the vet and got back to the show it would be heaving and I would struggle to even get through the door.

Next stop, vet, where Neka was given the all-clear. The second blood test revealed she did indeed have pancreatitis and we were lucky because one of the dogs who had been inflicted with it the previous weekend had died. She may or may not ever have another episode, but we'll take small steps in an effort to avoid a repeat performance.

At the moment we feed our dogs a mixture of Arden Grange or Purina Pro Plan complete and raw meat and vegetables. Because pancreatitis can be triggered by high fat or high protein content in the diet, we'll be looking at quality complete foods with a lower fat content for Neka. And from now on, no more raw. She'll be very disappointed with this news, as she is very fond indeed of her raw meals. Perhaps just an occasional chicken wing won't hurt.

Did I say in my last post that I was planning to pop into the show after our vet appointment if I had time? Well, I arrived there shortly after 8am to set up, returned by 10am. Yup, we had plenty of time. More than plenty, in fact. We finally got home at 4:45pm. Phew, long day!

But it was worth it. We had two big classes of Finnish Lapphunds entered but unfortunately with many absent, there was only Keskiyo and his half-sister Taru in attendance. Under judge Krystian Greenland Keskiyo got Best of Breed and then we had a long wait for the group judging. Again, I didn't regret hanging around for hours because Keskiyo won 2nd in the Pastoral Group. I really felt the judge wanted him to win the group, and he gave us every opportunity by getting us to move and move and move again. However, after the long day Keskiyo was a bit tired and as it was his first show in a very long time, he was out of practice, so he wasn't his usual sparkling self by then. Nonethless, we're certainly not complaining about coming 2nd.

It was a fitting result for my little showdog's return to the ring after his stint in semi-retirement! We've got a couple more open shows over the next few weeks to take advantage of him looking so nice at the moment.














Photo by Farlap

This was the photo I was hoping to use in our Yearbook this year. However, something went haywire with my order and so it didn't arrive in time and I ended up having to use (after some Photoshop-ing to try and improve the perspective) the pic I took myself. That should be interesting.