The Spaniel Annals

I’m feeling exhausted but happy from a demanding schedule of 3 trial weekends in the last 5 weeks, occurring at the end of a school year.  Roz finished us up with a bang, by earning her second novice leg yesterday at the Puyallup shows and a 1st place!  Her score was a very respectable 196. 

A year ago I never would have thought Roz could have handled the distracting, stressful environment of the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  We’re on a second floor and the flooring can literally shake at times.  There are ceiling-high red curtains at one end of the ring, and lots of echoey barking, people talking, crates being moved.  Yet both Roz and Reardon showed wonderful effort in paying attention to me and doing their part. 

The other issue that struck me this weekend was how discouraged I’ve felt in the past few years with all of Kani’s failures in the ring.  A friend of mine with multiple OTCH dogs was surprised to hear me say this weekend how much Reardon’s CD meant to me.  With all of her successes, she doesn’t realize how a long string of failures can undermine confidence.  I’m certainly hoping that Reardon’s and Roz’s recent accomplishments signal a turn-around.

Another happy postscript is that Journey is now done with caring for her litter of puppies and is back home with us.  While the poor girl is still heavy with milk, she seems thrilled to get back to her training.  Welcome home, Journey!