Monday, March 18, 2013

Dog Show - Birdie Scores!

Welcome Nan & John! I know you have a blog, but it's not showing up on the members page. If you want to share it, I'll be happy to link to it! Thanks for joining up with me :-) 

After getting necessary things done on Ellie, it was time to test her. So we went to a local dog show. Sure, I could have driven back & forth with just Birdie, but instead, I bathed all the dogs, loaded them  into the RV & off we went last Friday to spend the weekend at the dog show. 

What did I have done to Ellie? Got the generator fixed, which I blogged about already & had some exhaust leaks fixed, which I've not blogged about yet. The generator worked like a dream! Soooo nice to be able to use it again! And this time, to be able to shut it on & off with the inside switch! It's never worked right & now that switch does - so Yipeee! 

Saturday, Birdie won 3rd of 3 in her class. Well bad naughty Birdie has a tendency to get carried away with herself because she's too happy. Sunday, Birdie was not in a good mood, so no playing, so we won! 
I lay a nice blanket on the dirt floor for her to lay on, a young Afghan Hound puppy TOUCHED her sacred blanket! How DARE HE! She was NOT happy about it, and she took that into the ring. (the unhappiness that is, not her blanket) But in this case, there was no extra happiness, so she showed pretty good! I was the only one that knew she was not happy. Ha! I'll need him at our next show too! So she won Winners & got a 3rd major! All she needs now is one more point to finish her championship! We're off to Ft Worth on Wednesday. Actually the show isn't till Friday, but I need to visit with a sick friend in Dallas & am anxious to see her. 


Here is a pic of Birdie taken about a month ago. I always forget to take the camera inside to take pics! 

Now for our camping set up. This show was total boondocking. I try to park in the back 40 so I can pretty much not be sandwiched in between rigs. We have to use our generators when it starts to heat up to keep the dogs comfy & safe. I don't have a Gen-Turi, but one is on it's way! Yay! Thanks to Gypsy Jane!
She has one that she never uses because she rarely uses her generator, so she has already mailed her Gen-Turi off to me for a way decent price! I'm so grateful & excited! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! 
And it clears up space for her new ground mat, so it works out great for us both! Except I'll have to find a space for it now ;-) 

My little space in the big parking lot. 

My set up. I use 3 expens for my guys. I hook two together to make one long run, then I hook another to the side of it to still make a decent size run. This way, they can come out, play & stretch their legs. I also cover them with shade cloth. The crate sitting there is a grooming crate, I can put a dog on top of it & groom them there. Note the purple mat. I dumpster dived & saved it! A friend of mine threw it away because her dogs soiled it & she didn't want to carry it home, so I salvaged it when I noticed it in the dumpster, bleached & washed it. It's perfect! The blanket on that is Birdie's sacred blanket. Don't touch. Well, people can, but other dogs can't! 


 Some of the dogs in the pens. One run is  8', the other is 12' long. Wrinkles & Carlos in one. Houston & Zeus in the other. I did have to buy the checker board mat. I had an older one, but the weather pretty much killed it. These 4x7 mats are soooo much cheaper at dog shows. Only $20 compared to the expensive ones you find elsewhere. I didn't want my guys sitting on the stinky concrete parking lot. This place is an equine center & it smelled of cattle. 

Now for some of the other rigs around me:
Ellie looks crooked? Not sure why? She was level. I also need to get a new spare tire cover. Threw the old one away last week. It was too weathered. The big rig to the right of me moved in on Sat morn. Note the bbq grill. He bbq'd Saturday night. It smelled wonderful, he invited me to dinner, but I declined. I had already eaten & just wanted to be with my guys. It was really nice of him to ask though. 

                                                            Rig in front of me.
 View of the rig beside me & if you notice, you'll see a line up of some more rigs going down to the building. The sun was in my face at the time of the photo.
                                                 Another view of the rig beside me.
Rig behind me. I especially liked this set up! Lots of handlers carry a lot of dogs, to keep them more comfortable, they use the big box trucks. This box truck has it's own generator so they can run a/c for their dogs. Then he tows a TT & is able to hook the TT up to his box truck. Pretty clever set up! They kept their spot really nice & neat all weekend too.

~As always, be kind to your pets, clean up after them on your travels & respect your neighbor~




14 comments:

  1. Well congratulations to Birdie and to you. (that was my grandmother's name) I had to laugh when you said you dumpster dived, I could just see you going in head first.(just my imagination working)
    Great find for you, looks like new.

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    1. Fortunately, the dumpster was actually just a large trash can. And the mat was new, just soiled, so she threw it away. Birdie will be honored that she's sharing your Grandmothers name. :-)

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  2. I know you are glad to be on the road again! Ellie sure is looking pretty.

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    1. It was nice to be able to leave the driveway NOT for any kind of maintenance this time!

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  3. Congrats Birdie. You go girl. You're just going to have to figure out a way to make her angry before she goes out to show. That's too funny that she's usually too happy. Glad Ellie is back feeling good but she definitely doesn't look level.

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    1. Isn't that weird that she doesn't look level? I even boiled eggs on the stove & the water in the pan was level. Maybe it was a camera angle or something? Yep, I may have to pay the Afghan puppy by way of treats at the next show!

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  4. Congrats Birdie.
    I bet it felt real good to get out in Ellie even if it was a parking lot.

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    1. It did feel Good Jo. I'll be going to Ft Worth on Wednesday in her!

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  5. I'm just tickled that you, the dogs and Ellie are on the road again! Congratulations to you and Birdie on the win. Yay!! Sure looks like fun and I'm so glad you enjoyed this show and have another one lined up. You so deserve it!!

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  6. Congrats on the win! Hmmmm, a happy dog is not a winning dog? Is there something wrong with this picture? My dog is a very happy dog. She meets most of the world with a surplus of enthusiasm. We are still working on her paying attention to me when distracted by - just about anything.

    Crooked Elie must just be an optical illusion. She's looking good.

    Are there lids other than the mats on top of the expens? I know my dog would just hop out without a lid. Especially since my sister's poodle taught her to jump fences. :-( I've been putting a rope on my dog when we are in the van. The cats, too.

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    1. Hi Mary, for conformation judging, the dogs get judged on balance and sound movement. Birdie gets too happy and will get too playful with her front, thus throwing off her balance and movement. So it was better that she behaved for a change ; -) Yes, the pens have tops clipped to them under the shade cloth. Some of my guys would jump out too!

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    2. Ah, thanks. I might get one, then. The cats could go into it too. We just got back from a little romp by a pond with geese. My dog had a great time. She made a couple of herding forays at the geese but having them in the water satisfied her - they belong there from her previous observations. It was fun seeing her race around and swim across the pond.

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  7. So good to see you out on the road. Interesting to see all the pens; not something I normally see.

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  8. Hi, nice looking rig...you did a great job..and I love your pup's!!
    I am new to the RV world just got my rig 5 mo. ago...I am on a learning cruve ....I am not full time but that is a goal I have...right now I have to hang around Florida with my elderly father...I love your blog also!
    donna and maggie
    http://grammyandthepapillonprinces.blogspot.com/







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