Robert Burn wrote: “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”.  (Translated from “To A Mouse” 1785)

Sometimes you can plan your weekend and it doesn’t end up as you planned.

We entered Freighter in a dog show Saturday and Sunday.  Our plan for the weekend was to do the shows and then head off to train after the show on Sunday.  No sooner did we make these plans than hubby got a huge project at work and we were not sure we would be able to make the shows, let alone training.

Nobody likes to eat entry fees so he put in a lot of extra hours during the week and we headed off to Saturday’s show.  The only problem was that the wizards at MDOT had the freeway down to one lane and there was a massive traffic jam so we decided to take an alternate route which added a half hour to the hour ride.  At least we weren’t stuck in traffic.

Once at the show, we discovered that the judge was running behind.  45 minutes behind.  I guess the traffic jam would not have mattered after all.

Along the way, hubby got a call from work that there was an issue with the equipment.  He was trying to problem solve the entire time including as he was waiting to go into the ring.  Needless to say, it wasn’t the calm frame of mind that you want while waiting to show your dog.  It must have translated to lead because Freighter did not show at his best.  It didn’t really matter because the judge barely looked at him.

It is difficult to take decent pictures at this show because of the lighting and because the rings are so tiny.  It depends on which ring you are showing as to whether you have a chance at a photo.  I was able to get a few of Freighter on Saturday.

OK Freighter Let's Do This
OK Freighter Let’s Do This
First Around
First Around
The Judge Barely Watched Him Move, But She Was Very Interested In His Ears Which She Was Squeezing And Squeezing And He Did Not Care For It
The Judge Barely Watched Freighter Move, But She Was Very Interested In His Ears Which She Was Squeezing And Squeezing And He Did Not Care For It
Down And Back But I Was Sitting To The Side
Down And Back But I Was Sitting To The Side So That Is My Perspective
Final Stack
Final Stack

The issues at hubby’s work continued, so after Freighter was finished in the ring, we packed up quickly and headed home and hubby headed off to work.  Again we had to take the longer way home but at least we were moving and not stuck in the traffic jam which was horrible by that time of day.

Sunday was another day and hubby was determined to do a better job with Freighter and he did.  Freighter showed really well on Sunday, but the judge did not like him any better than the one on Saturday.

Open Class--Freighter Is The First Dog In Line And What Turned Out To Be Winner's Dog Is Second
Open Class–Freighter Is The First Dog In Line And What Turned Out To Be Winner’s Dog Is Second In Line
Freighter Was A Good Boy In The Ring As The Judge Went Over Him
Freighter Was A Good Boy In The Ring As The Judge Went Over Him

Because of that ring set-up, I did not get any decent pictures of Freighter moving, but he did much better than on Saturday.  Hubby was disappointed with the placement, but very happy with how he showed Freighter and in fact got several compliments after he left the ring.

I was able to snap a couple of pictures of two of Storm’s puppies which were also entered in the shows.

This is Virgil.  This was his first time we were able to see him in the show ring.

Virgil Is A Happy Dog
Virgil Is A Happy Dog
His Down And Back
His Down And Back
And Around--He Moves Nicely
And Around–He Moves Nicely

We left before the girls started on Saturday so I was only able to get this one picture of Jessie stacked on Sunday.

Jessie
Jessie

After the show on Sunday we were able to head out to do some training.  We had a good session and it was actually a good way to de-stress.  I will have those photos coming up this week.

20 thoughts on “The Best Laid Plans

  1. Work problems really stink! Especially when they mess up your weekend plans! (Those days seem a lifetime away for me, now; and I don’t miss them one bit!)

    Freighter looks great in the pix! And I wouldn’t have liked having my ears squeezed and bothered, either. What was the point in THAT? I would think one squeeze should have been sufficient, if even necessary at all.

    1. I honestly do not know why all the squeezing. Our standard says: “Ears are to be small, set well up on the head, hanging loosely, and of medium leather”. His ears are that so I really have no idea, although I saw her spending several minutes checking the Pointers flews. Not sure why that took so long either.

  2. Remember when adults used to grab our ears and tell you how cute you were? Freighter, I am in complete sympathy with your being irritated! If I were a Chessie, I would have had a difficult time
    controlling my bite reflex! As a human, inappropriate!
    Hope hubby’s got those dang machine things figured out! And there is some sunshine in the day for all the pups!

  3. Work always has a crisis that has to be handled right now no matter what your plans. I always hate that. I can’t imagine why the judge would squeeze his ears, have never seen that with newfs. We use to walk around and watch the other breeds show and never saw that with any! Sorry you weekend wound up so stressful.

  4. Sometimes, Mom wonders why she even bothers to plan, but usually plans work out pretty well. Bummer with the judges, but there is nothing you can do about that.

  5. Oooh! I hate it when a judge picks one feature and dwells on it. My least favorite was when a judge was all about the teeth and would dig around in a dog’s mouth, then go on to another without using a wipe. Ick!

    1. With the Canine Influenza outbreak the AKC had suggested that handlers show their dog’s teeth and most judges are respecting that. All that time spent getting Freighter comfortable with the judge checking his bite for nothing…lol.

  6. I’m with Robert Burn… We got a mail yesterday with Easy’s starting number for the show on may 10th… we were puzzled because we totally forgot this show… think we have to work like slaves now or we will have no chance (like always)..I’m so sorry that you had such a chaos weekend… and I’m so sorry that you got two judges who couldn’t see how beautiful Freighter is….

  7. That’s kind of a bummer of a weekend, but Freighter still looked great out there and handled the ear squishing pretty well, considering everything that was going on. I loved seeing the picture of Storm’s puppies in the ring!

  8. That has got to be so frustrating and btw, I wouldn’t care to have my ears squeezed either. 😉

    Maybe it is just the angle of the photo, but Virgil looks quite large. Is he bigger than Storm? Glad your weekend got better after the show.

    1. Virgil is a lot bigger than Storm and more like his father. I can’t believe that he came out of Storm…lol.

  9. That is one of my favorite quotes, because it is often very very true. I’m glad your day on Sunday went better than Saturday, even though you didn’t get a very good judge again. Storm’s pups are all beautiful!

  10. Tough weekend. I know that a lot of judges have their own preferences which make showing so subjective and a lot of handlers will see who is judging before entering their dogs.

Comments are closed.