Friday, September 6, 2013

I had been wanting to go to Canada to show dogs on Victoria Island for about 10 years now and I finally checked it off my bucket list. I drove to Port Angeles and listened to World War Z audio book.  Man, that was depressing. There was no traffic on the road and I made great time.  I highly recommend this plan and will do the same next time.  I left home at 11pm, arrived at Port Angeles at 4am and slept in line for the ferry until 6:30.  It was my first time taking a ferry with my car and I was a little apprehensive but it was a piece of cake.  It was overcast on the way there but BEAUTIFUL and clear for the trip home which was great and I enjoyed the views but decided to catch some Z's in the car with the dogs because it was very hot and I wanted the doors open for them.

Once I arrived in Victoria I drove 3 hours up to Courtenay to spend the night at my friend Katja's house.  The next morning we were off to our first show.

We started out showing our own dogs but Katja and I discovered that Taka showed better for Katja and Katja's pup Sayuki showed better for me so we just switched for the remainder of the circuit.
My girls Fuyu and Taka & Katja's girl Sayuki

I had only brought Taka for socialization and didn't think she would really do anything as far as winning but her coat was in beautiful condition and I think it impressed a few of the judges considering both Fuyu and Sayuki were both out of coat and Fuyu looked especially naked with lighter colored guard hairs sticking out making her look like a plucked chicken!

There were judges that could see past the hair and Fuyu got several Winners Bitch (WB) placements and some very nice comments from judges like "this is a beautiful bitch!"  At least she isn't high in the rear anymore like she was at the last specialty but alas, it IS a dog show and beautiful hair is icing on the cake and to my surprise...................Taka was kicking Fuyu's butt!  HA!  Go figure.
Goodness gracious, will someone please remind me next time I say I'm planning a litter that I get this darned tired when I have to take care of puppies!  They are so much fun and soooooo much work.  Even though Shibas are what I would considered easy babies to take care of. 


Stages are only a day or two.  I'm weaning them now and it's really hard on them so they BITCH pretty much non stop unless they are sleeping.  If they aren't complaining they are beating each other up which means a lot of scrambling, growling and screaming as loud as possible. Next week is what Marcel has dubbed Shark Week.  Week 6 is where the fight.

Most the time I can ignore the puppies practicing their Shiba scream but every once in a while, I want to go all feral on their ass.  It's at that time that I understand why some mothers kill their young.  Yet there mama lays, so calmly and lovingly, while they pull her tail and bite her feet.

This is really our first day of serious rain and I'm dreading what's to come.  Usually the fall rain starts around the middle of September and does this piddling/misting rain until sometime in late October when it starts storming rain which continues until December sometime when the winter sun emerges with false warmth.  When it rains next we may have a white Christmas and I remember once we even had a white Thanksgiving here in Washington.

What does that have to do with my farm animals you ask?  It's a mucky icky mess outside and I'm always doing something outside getting soaked.  Towels and wet cloths are hanging all over the house.  We even take our cat Ming outside to his cat kennel to use his litter box so even the cat gets wet!  He rides on my shoulder keeping his head pressed as closely to mine as he can get it so he's under the brim of my hat.  He's a smart kitty that one is.

I'm rambling like the rain.......I think it's nap time.  Here kitty!