Hair cut.....

OK...

After thinking about it for weeks and weighing the options.

I did it.

Betty was cut into a faux continental this morning.

I may decide to grow her out again, but in the meantime we are training in agility.

I still have some more scissoring and fine tuning to do, but I like it.

What do you think?

Update

I took Betty to the Greater Wichita Poodle Specialty and Salina and Wichita shows in early April. She was the only Open bitch and then was completely ignored for Winners and the points. It was very disappointing and I would have cut her down to concentrate on agility except that she was already entered in the Seward County shows this past weekend.

I decided that if she didn't get at least a reserve with competition I would cut her down.

Saturday was under judge Robert Sharp (now on my DNS list). Seriously I swear the old guy can't see more than 4 feet in front of him and is very heavy handed on the dogs. He smacked Betty on the topknot and grabbed her jaw from behind her head and pulled her head up to look at her bite. Bless her heart, she only rolled her right eye toward me with a "WTF" look.

The other Open bitch showed up 2 minutes before ring time and the owner/handler was still picking leaves out of an unbrushed dog. Of course she won the class. A local professional handler, told me he had seen some screwings in his time, but that one took the cake.

Sunday was a different story. Still no points but at least it was encouraging. We had a judge change to Karen McFarlane, whom I will now stalk around the countryside to show to. The same bitch was in Open with us, but had been brushed and sprayed up this time. She still didn't show well and had her tail down. Betty won the Open class and was being considered for Winners. The PH's very nice black 12-18 month bitch got Winners and Variety (no dogs or specials entered) Betty got reserve (with competition)!

Later the PH told me the owner/handler of the other Open bitch had approached him early Sunday asking if he had someone with him who could handle one of her bitches in Winners since she expected a repeat of Saturday when her puppy won her class (only one in it) and her Open bitch won. He asked her if she wasn't counting her chickens before they hatched, and said "You know that little silver bitch is very nice." She just said Pssht and walked off.

After Betty won Open this woman was totally pissed and then even more so when Betty got Reserve over her puppy bitch. I was amazed, particularly when she appeared at least 5 or 6 years older than me. What happened to losing gracefully?

Anyway that's our weekend story. Next three weekends are AKC agility with Cash. Betty gets to go along to hang out. I'm going to keep her in coat for the time being and cross train in agility. That way if I run across a judge I think will like her I can still be ready to show her.

The first video is the Winners class and the second is the Open class. I didn't realize until I just watched the video again that it appears that the "other" handler tried to run up on us. Betty just lengthened her stride and stepped right out. What a good girl!

Sprayed up

I took Betty over to my show groomer's house last night so Kathy could spray her up and show me some of the finer points of scissoring. Wow, things have sure changed since I showed poodles in the late 1960's! Don't know if I'll be able to do this myself, but I'll give it a good try.

I am so grateful to Kathy for taking me under her wing to instruct and mentor me in the finer points of show grooming. After seeing how gorgeous Betty looked when Kathy was done and seeing what a crappy job I did of spraying her up on my own in Des Moines, I now have a good idea of exactly how to present her in all her glory.

I am such a work in progress!!!

Here's a few shots after we were done.

(this was only a spray up and we did nothing with her tail, bracelets or rosettes.)

Seward County KC sanctioned match

I took Betty and Cash to the Seward County KC sanctioned match yesterday. Betty was entered in Adult Open and as my poodle partner in Adult Showmanship. Cash was entered in Rally Advanced and Novice Obedience.



Poor Cash never made it into the ring. I had trimmed him on Monday night and apparently gave him a clipper burn on the bottom side of his tail. All was well until I took him outside before ring time and he scooted his rear on the concrete. Big mistake. He scraped his tail raw in an instant. I didn't think it was fair for him to try to compete with a "butt burn" so I scratched him and considered his entry fees a donation to the club.



Betty was the only miniature poodle so she won BoV and the Non Sporting group. She gave a Portugese Water Dog a run for his money for Best in Match, but the PWD won it. She showed well and was very well behaved on the grooming table.



The shock of the day was in Adult Showmanship. There were probably 15 or so entrants and Betty and I won it! Even though it was just a fun match, it was a nice shot in the arm to think at least someone thinks I can handle.



Back to reality today. Betty got a bath to wash out the hairspray.

A couple of videos during Best in Match. I sure love her attitude and how she moves!

There's always another show....

Today didn't go as well as I had hoped. I showed Betty at the Keomah KC show in Des Moines, IA. She was the only Open bitch so of course won her "class". There were 7 puppies in the 9-12 month class and one Bred by Exhibitor bitch. I was thrilled with how well Betty showed. Tail up and flying around the ring. She self stacked like a pro on the floor and was very good on the table. Unfortunately we left the Winners class empty handed. The BBE took Winners with Reserve to the 9-12 month puppy.

The judge was Carolyn Herbel who was very nice in the ring, but I'm at a loss to explain why she didn't like Betty. Three things come to mind. The BBE was a leggy black bitch handled by a pro and the 9-12 was a pale cream, also handled by a pro. Either Ms. Herbel doesn't care for silvers, Betty is too petite, or the fact that I'm not a professional handler entered into the mix. I would hope the fact that I'm not a pro wasn't a consideration, but I'm not so naive as to think it couldn't be.

I can always find something good from every trip to a show. Betty showed very well after a long layoff and she didn't get carsick on our trip so there are two positives. Here are a couple of videos. The first one is Betty in Open class and the second in Winners.

Handling class

I took Betty to a conformation handling class tonight. We hadn't been there since last year before the April Seward KC show. It took a while for her to settle down and actually keep all four feet on the floor.

Once she settled and had her attention focused she was awesome. My God, can this girl MOVE! I had to RUN to keep up with her ground gobbling trot. It was a blast!

I won't even try hand stacking her on the floor. She self stacks beautifully all by herself. She was a little nervous on the table the first couple of times, but after that she was an old pro.

We'll go again next week in preparation for the Des Moines show in mid February.

And so it starts.....

After a series of unfortunate events, Betty's papers have arrived, been signed and forwarded to the AKC for her individual registration. I found out last week she is now registered and I entered her the same day in the Keomah KC show in Des Moines, Iowa on February 15th.

And so it starts, this trip to a championship. It could take awhile, it could go quickly. But in showing dogs, whether it be performance or the breed ring, it's the journey, not the destination.