40 Weeks - Conformation

The hounds and I headed to the Peach Cluster April 11th through the 14th.  It is a fun show to go to because it has agility, obedience, conformation, lure coursing, Canine Good Citizen tests, herding instinct tests, and tons of vendors.

I showed Maddie in conformation.  It was fine.  She was the only bitch in the 9-12 month puppy class and then when we showed against the only other class bitch, she beat us every time.  And it has been the same bitch every time.  Bitch!  Just kidding! Ha!  I have to keep in mind that Maddie was not bred for pageants.  She comes from a functional pedigree that bases breeding criteria on open field coursing performance and not show ring conformation.  I think Maddie is beautiful and I am the one that has to look at her everyday so that is what matters.  Pageants are just something to do until she can do agility and/or obedience.  She did get tons of compliments outside the ring though.  One woman even pulled her car over to tell me so.

Since Maddie was showing, I made sure she got a bath everyday... NOT!  We headed to the ponds instead.  Maddie had a blast playing with her border collie friend, Teg.  Each time she had to earn the play session.  She had to focus on me, do a few simple tasks, and accept my rewards (tug toy or treats).  It took some work, but I would eventually win and she would get her playtime reward.

Teg is one of my favorite playmates for Maddie.  Most of the time they play really well together especially when Maddie offers to be chased.... although I think Teg gets tired of Maddie stealing the toy away.