What's happening to me?

For those who wanted to see the official Best of Breed photo, here you go -
A big thank you to Photos by Tedy for the wonderful photo.

We have a week until our next show and there is a lot to do.  I need to get a pair of my own black sparkle shoes, we work on Mav's stack everyday (I even bought area rugs for the house so he isn't slipping on the hardwood when we practice) and I must figure out this outfit thing.  I'm just hoping that the shopping is better at this show :)   Ohhhhh - the pressure!

My friend said conformation is fun when you win

SHE WAS RIGHT!

Before I start this post, I have to say a HUGE thank you to Auntie Linda for coaching us through the weekend, Auntie Lisa for coming out to support us (and for all the the treats she kept loading into my pockets), Tony for all of his great photos and to our amazing instructor Patty!  We couldn't have done it without all of you!

This past weekend, Mr Mav and I entered our first conformation show.  As you might have noticed from my other posts, I know NOTHING about conformation.  I enrolled in a conformation class with an amazing instructor, I borrowed a pair of sparkle shoes from a good friend and we were off for competition.

The first show was pretty much a gong show.  I had no idea what to expect and Mr Mav's poor puppy brain could not handle all of the excitement.  He wiggled and wiggled the entire time and was so wiggly that the judge couldn't even check it him.  Needless to day it wasn't the result I was hoping for.

So that night we went to an agility class at a horse barn to figure out how we were going to get through the next 3 shows!

The next show was a totally different story - Mr Mav was awesome!  He was so well behaved and it went so well that he won the class and we earned out first point.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, for our third show he not only took class, he also took best of breed and best puppy in breed.  I was on cloud nine as we went to our first group class.  Wow - that was an eye opener and needless to say that we're going to be working on our stack.

By today, we were both pooped.  We were the only dal so we automatically went to group - good for some more experience.

After it was all done, I took Mav for the best reward I could think of (see photo below)

I couldn't be prouder of my boy!  Such a good little man.

There is nothing better than the gift of conformation pee before going into the ring!

Thumbs up - we're ready to go!

Yes - we know we have to work on our stack - but he does look pretty cute :)

Our first best in breed photo - yes, that is the judge telling me that I have to fix his stack for the photo

Mr Best in Breed pooped in his condo on the ride home

His stash from the day

Once we the competition was over for us, I took Mav to the muddiest dog park.  He had the BEST time running around.

After this, I was very tempted to walk him through the conformation building again...lol!

And here is the movie preview for our weekend.  I smell Oscar :)

You want me to trim where?!?!?!?

Mr Mav has his first pretty boy show this weekend and we plan to prance like no Dal has pranced before!  LOL!

Last week in class the instructor told me that I needed to trim the tip of his tail so I was all set to grab a pair of scissors and snip straight across.  Well - when my two agility friends (that also do conformation and are better known as Mr Mav's official groomer and his fondling coach) found out they freaked.  How could I even think of getting regular scissors and cut it off?  Shows what I know.

So - one of my friends graciously offered to properly trim the tip of Mr Mav's tail - I have to say she did a really nice job.  But that's when I found out that there are other things on a Dalmatian that also need trimming but for some reason no one wanted to do the deed - so I had to do it.
Tanna - you know I love you when I am willing to trim my boy's willie just so it looks all pretty while I let a stranger fondle him in public!  :)

Tomorrow we dremel the toe nails and select my outfit.

Don't worry - we got photos -

Linda has been whacked by Cinder's tail one to many times (and she has Aussie's) so I think she got confused when I asked her to trim Mav's tail.

Wrong end of the tail, Auntie Linda!

Trim, trim, trim.  

For some reason, no wanted to trim the other parts (or take photos during the trim job) - go figure!

So da mamma had to do it!

This photo cracks me up!

Not to worry - no willies or tails were harmed in the making of these photos!

I even got a manicure so my hands were all pretty when I showed him.

BTW - this is AFTER agility class!  I found the best new nail product called gel polish (comes in a bunch of different brands)  It does not chip!  Outstanding stuff!

Where oh where has my little dog gone?

My brother was going to come over to my place on Saturday so I thought it would be a great time to give him back the small kennel he lent me for Mr Mav.  I dug out the kennel and had it by the door so I didn't forget.  A bit later, I was playing with the Mavster and I was shocked when he went by the kennel.  I couldn't believe that my little guy used to easily fit in there.

See for yourself -

And continuing down the road of Dally cuteness - here is a photo that Auntie Dove took of Cinder after one of her legendary dog hikes.