Thursday, April 19, 2012

I'M BORED!!

First off, let me say a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Gimme Ma'am! Mommy & Daddy took her to the vet where they did an ultrasound on her and found babies! Gimme Ma'am will become Gimme Mom sometime around May 14 or 15. Mommy & Daddy are pretty excited about this news although so far I don't think Gimme Ma'am really is. She is on restricted exercise (Hey! Just like me!) and I don't think she's enjoying that so much. Her exercise wouldn't be restricted at all if she didn't like to throw herself down on the ground and let the rest of us pounce all over her! I guess that could be bad for the babies....

In the mean time, I'm BORED!! Bored, bored, boooorrrrrreeedddd <SIGH>. Mommy and Daddy won't let me do hardly anything! No running in the yard, no going to training (and who thought I would ever miss training?? Laugh Laugh!!), no trips to Bass Pro Shops or PetsMart... BORING!!
BORED!

 So I've been secretly getting back at Mommy and Daddy for this. Well, maybe not so secretly. I think they have figured me out.

First, I wake them up every morning between 6:00am & 6:30am by jumping onto the bed. I can't actually get all the way on the bed so I just throw my front legs up and insist that they get out of bed and help me onto it. They are very well trained so of course they do! I then pant and be restless to be sure that they don't actually get any more sleep. I know Mommy thinks I'm hot but I'm fooling her. I just want attention and to be unbored! Laugh Laugh!! Plus, it freaks out The Parents because their old boy Doozer (UKC BIS Veteran-AKC/UKC/IABCA CH Sleephollows Doozer v Voyager RN CGC and a Top 20 dog in 2008) used to do that after he got the bone cancer. I know it's cruel but I'm BORED!!

What else? Hmmmmm, on the rare occasions they let me outside in the front yard with them, I follow every stranger who walks by making Mommy and Daddy have to chase me Laugh Laugh! I know I shouldn't because of my leg but it's so funny watching The Parents run after me!! And sometimes the strangers stop and say HI to me - which is my second goal anyway. Yipppeeeeee!!

Yep, it's a hard life being bored. Because you know, when puppies are bored they get destructive. And that's the third thing I've been doing! Paper, paper products, that kind of thing. So far, no electronics but we'll see. I quite enjoy chewing on the wood chair leg that Mommy sits in while she feeds Trekkie. It is starting to look like a beaver is trying to cut it down to make a dam! Laugh Laugh!!



Paper towels, paper napkins, paper tissues... Mmmmmmm all are SO SO yummy!! I don't know why The Parents haven't gotten pictures of that yet but they haven't. I'm sure I will give them plenty of opportunity to do so! Because I'm B.O.R.E.D.!!

Today, Daddy was working on the basement remodel and left some KERDI Waterproofing Band (used to seal the seams & waterproof showers and bathrooms) lying around. OK. He left a whole bunch of it around. He turned to look for it but it was gone. Of course it was... I had taken it and spread it all across the kitchen floor!! Yay Me! Good thing Daddy thought it was funny too! This is Mr. Fox Sir from years ago when he was young. He tore a toy apart and spread it all across a room. So this kind of gives you an idea of what that looks like...



And Mommy and Daddy know I could be so much worse so they don't really get too mad at me. Like I said, so far I've not chewed up any electronics or really any shoes (except my one designated shoe... but that might be because shoes are always in the closet out of my way!). Gimme Ma'am is a "sucker" and you should see what the comforter looks like! I don't do that. I tried rocks but that was short-lived. Hurt my teeth too much... I love plastic bottles but I wait until they are empty and one of The Parents gives it to me.



I could quite probably go on and on (since I'm bOrEd) but I wouldn't want you to be bored as well. So I'll quit for the evening. Hoping every one of you out there has a way to stay busy and not be bored!!

PS - No, Trekkie never tore anything apart! She is just not that kind of a girl!!

Alf

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

A UKC Dog Show

This past weekend, Mommy went away for days and days and days. OH! It just seemed like forever!! I am sure it wasn't really that long (forever) but to us dogs, it sure can feel that way!! It turns out that Mommy went to a UKC (United Kennel Club) Judge's Education Seminar. She was in Hickory, North Carolina (wherever that is! All I know is she is still complaining about the flights!! Laugh Laugh!)! She is waiting for the information on the UKC website to be updated but she is now a UKC judge!

As I did with the AKC shows, I will explain a UKC show....

In UKC, you must also be 6 months old to enter (whether it be conformation or obedience/rally/agility or whatever). Some shows include a non-licensed puppy class call Novice Puppy and you only have to be 3 months old for that. But not all clubs offer it and it's just for fun. You can't get points towards your championship.

Anyway, once you are old enough, you can enter a dog show. There is paperwork to fill out and money for entries to be mailed in. Wow. It is getting more and more expensive for Mommy to show me! Whew. Maybe it's a "good" thing I'm not showing right now...???

The UKC (United Kennel Club) is the largest registry in the world and has registrations from every state and many countries not in the US. While not as well known as the American Kennel Club (AKC) they are older. Every year they host their UKC Premier in Kalamazoo Michigan. And they have lots of events. Not just conformation but also rally, obedience, agility, dock diving, lure coursing, weight pulling, and terrier races. They also have what they call the Total Dog contests. The dog (like me) must compete and win in conformation AND compete and qualify in a performance event. At the Premier, those Total Dog qualifiers then compete in groups and a Total Dog Best in Show!!

Anyway, once you have entered a UKC show (and you can enter the day of show!!) you wait for your turn. Unlike AKC shows where you can only pre-enter so you know exactly how many of your breed is entered and what time - at UKC shows you go to the show early and just wait for your class.  The breeds are split into boys and girls and then by classes. The UKC classes are: Puppy (for puppies between 6 months & a year old), Junior (dogs from 12 - 24 months), Senior (dogs from 24 - 36 months (or 2-3 years), and Adult (dogs over 3 years old). Breeder/Handler is a class for handlers (or a member of their family) who have bred the dog they are showing. Mommy can't show me in this class since she didn't breed me; she only owns me. Gramma Rhonda or Grandpa Keith could though since they bred me. You will not find a professional handler in UKC unless they are showing their own dog. UKC discourages the use of professional handlers!!   Once all the boys have been judged, all the winners of the classes go back in for a final time. One of these dogs is chosen "Winners Dog". That is the only male of it's breed that will get points towards its AKC Championship. A Reserve Winners Dog is also chosen (If, for some reason, the dog that got the Winners Dog points is disqualified from showing, then the Reserve Dog will get those points). THEN, the whole thing repeats for the girls until you have only one girl who has been chosen Winners Female.

Once both Winners have been chosen, they both come back into the ring for Best of Winners competition. At this time, the judge chooses between these two - and these two only.

Immediately following the choosing of Best of Winners all the dogs that have already won their Championships come into the ring. They are not split into sexes. ALL Champions come into the ring together. From this group of dogs, a Best Champion and Reserve Best Champion is chosen.

Then the Grand Champion class comes into the ring. From this class, only one Best Grand Champion is chosen.

Finally, the Best of Winners, the Best Champion, and the Best Grand Champion come into the ring for Best of Breed competition. At this point, the judge will never have more than 3 dogs in the ring to choose from. The judges are encouraged to choose the BEST animal no matter what class it comes from.

This dog then gets to be the breed representative in the Group competition. There are eight groups (Companion, Guardian, Gun, Herding, Northern, Scenthound, Sighthound/Pariah, and Terrier). Groups are typically judged as soon as all the breeds are judged for that group. Once a winner has been chosen from each of the eight groups, those eight dogs then go on to Best In Show.

One dog is chosen Best In Show and one dog is chosen Reserve Best in Show. Gimme Ma'am tells me that she has won Best in Show twice, and Reserve Best in Show three times at UKC shows!! Mommy has also had another Great Dane Best in Show winner (Tia) and a Doberman Best in Show winner (Isis).  Mr. Fox Sir has multiple Group Placements and Doozer (Mommy's first Saint Bernard) won the Group once. Wow! Lots to live up to!!

It turns out, that you need 100 points to get a UKC Championship. You get 10 points for winning your class (even if there is no competition), 15 points for going Winners (again, even if there is no competition), and another 10 points for going Best of Winners (here, there must be competition). However, it's not as easy as it sounds!! Because you also must have three wins with competition!! This can come during breed judging (a class animal defeating a Champion for example; or a Best of Winners win).... or you can do it during Group judging. If you place in the Group (first through fourth) but there are more dogs behind you, then you get a win with competition. For example, if there are six dogs in the group, and you place fourth, you have defeated two other dogs and so you get a win with competition. However, if you win first in your Group because you are the only one in your Group... that is not a win with competition.

To get a Grand Champion in UKC, you must defeat any combination of at least 3 Champions/Grand Champions at least 5 times. So if there are 3 Champions and you win the Champions class five times you are a Grand Champion. If you are the only Champion but there are 2 Grand Champions and you win Best of Breed 5 times, you are a Grand Champion too!!

Points are the same no matter what breed you own & show or where in the country you live. It is much more simple than the AKC in that respect!!
 
Sometimes I wonder how Mommy keeps this all straight!! Laugh Laugh!!

So there you go, a very quick tutorial on UKC dog shows. If you want more information, Gimme Ma'am says go to http://www.ukcdogs.com.

Here is a icture of Gimme Ma'am winning Best in Show last year. Doesn't Mommy look SO happy??


 Happy Showing all you little dudes out there!!

Alf