The 2015 edition of Jan Hare's life
Hop on 2015 and join me on the roller-coaster ride of training - training horses, training dogs, training humans, and attempting to establish order in my life.
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This morning Pretzel looks a lot better. I am hopeful....I want this to be something
AKC Conformation Show - Wauseon, OH
Pretzel was 100% this weekend, thank goodness. I generally don't have such good luck with lamenesses, but maybe my bad luck is all centered on horses instead of dogs?
This weekend is the last weekend for Owner-Handler points to qualify for the AKC Nationals in December. I am fairly secure of my place in the top 10 at this point, but that didn't keep me from giving my all at the show. I happened to have the only Weimaraner entered, so I went to both groups both days. Interestingly, I got
I don't have a vet out here at this new place yet. No one seemed to give me any viable suggestions, so I went online and found an equine specialist about 20 miles from the barn, called and made an appointment. the soonest they could come out was Friday. So we wait...
Corky looked marginally better today. She is still extremely lame, but she is putting a little bit of weight on that leg. I really hope it isn't anything serious, she is my heart horse!
Well, I had the vet out to look at Corky today. This is a new vet for me. Having moved my horses hours away from Lima, I am having to find all new horse professionals. The vet that came was a young one. He spent over an hour puzzling over Corky. He did find a very small abscess in the toe of her left hind that could have been causing some pain, but it was pretty small. She seemed very sore to him on the upper inside of her hind legs. In the end, he has no real idea of what is going on and neither do I. Sometimes that can be the worst diagnosis of all...I hate mysteries.
AKC Conformation show - Urbana, Ohio
Small show in Urbana this weekend. I had entered both days, but Saturday was the only day that had Owner-Handler so I decided to skip Sunday and go braid some horses at Congress. Saturday went as expected, Pretzel got Select Dog behind one of the top Weims in the country, but we did get best of Breed Owner-Handler, which is what we were gunning for.
The OH Sporting Group was not great. The show put the group in a tiny ring, and there were 17 sporting dogs. they covered the entire ring, and trying to gait was nearly impossible. The small dogs definitely had the advantage! Pretzel shows best when he has a nice big ring to show off his gait, so as expected we didn't get a group placing. Oh well, there is always next time...
I went today to watch the Open Hunter Longe Line at Congress and to support a good friend showing in it. To me, the class was rather depressing. So many yearlings with short, tight, stabby strides at the trot. There were only about 2 or 3 that actually moved like a hunter. I can't see how some of these will ever make it as a hunter under saddle horse later on. I will be watching to see...the whole experience was a bit disheartening. If this is the type of yearling that wins, do I really want to breed for that???
Well, Corky seems a lot better now. She is not limping or favoring one foot. However, she is doing this really weird trot where she is crossing her hind legs in front of each other when she trots. The vet noticed this also, but he couldn't figure this out. She never used to move like this. I wish I knew what was going on...
AKC Conformation Show - Springfield, Illinois
Call me crazy, but I entered a 4-day show that was 6 1/2 hours away from me - Springfield, Illinois. 3 out of the 4 days had owner-handler, so it was worth it to make the drive.
The first day (Thursday) was definitely my best day. There were some really nice Weims there, including several in the top 20 rankings in breed. We got Best Opposite Sex on Thursday, and we managed to win best of Breed Owner Handler...woo-hoo! The best part about today was that we got a
The next 2 days went similar, but not as well. We got Select Dog both days, and BOB owner Handler, but no group placements. Sunday there was no Owner-handler, which was a good thing because we got ZERO in the show ring...yikes!
This was a fun show, lots of nice people. I got the opportunity to show an Australian Shepherd, Smooth Chihuahua, and Golden Retriever. Talk about HAIR! My black jacket will never be the same. In the building next door, there was actually a cat show going on. That was really different to watch. It's so odd - the judge picks up each cat out of it's crate to judge. the owner doesn't do anything other than put the cat in the crate and then go sit down. I like that the judge explained his reasons for placement to the audience (which was basically made up of all the cat owners, and me LOL!).
AKC Conformation show - Delaware, Ohio>
I showed one day at Delaware, keepig my new tradition of only bothering to show at the shows that offer Owner-Handler. Today's show was rather uneventful. We were best opposite, best owner handler, and no group placement. I got to show an Irish Red and White Setter for a friend, that was fun. Hair, hair, and more hair!
It is interesting to watch other Weims show, especially young ones. I am discovering that Pretzel is a VERY different style of Weim from the norm. This can be good, or it can be bad, depending on the judge. This also explains why sometimes I get such varied placings. Pretzel is more old-style - blocky, muscular, athletic. Most of the Weims showing are very narrow, elegant, showy types of dogs. I still think he is the best!!! :-)
I rented the ARF building for a half hour to practice some agility with Pretzel since we will be missing class tomorrow night for the Fort Wayne show. He was really good and VERY focused. Of course it helped that we had the building completely to ourselves and there wasn't anything to possibly distract him. I am feeling really hopeful for our agility trial in less than two weeks!
Fort Wayne, Indiana AKC conformation show
We had two pretty successful days at the dog show! Both days we ended up Select dog (which was totally expected at this show), but the best thing was that we got a
Of course, I go out to the barn this morning and Corky is dead lame on that same left hind foot, won't put any weight on it. She had been doing just fine, but had a farrier appointment on Wednesday and I think maybe he pared a bit of that abscessed hoof off and made her sore again. At least, I hope that is what happened. Damn.
And...when it rains, it typhoons...
My friend and I took our two dogs to rent the ARF building and practice agility together. Pretzel was really wound up with another dog there, but he did really well! I love his enthusiasm. I was getting VERY pumped for next weekend's trial...and then
Friday evening, Pretzel was noticeably sore on his shoulder again, just like he was a month ago after that exuberant practice. I swear my heart about stopped. So he is NOT healed...whatever is going on in that shoulder is still bothering him. Time to take action.