A couple of weekends ago our puppy school held a fun dog show in aid of Children in Need. We hadn't actually considered going but after an unusual spell of good behaviour from Barney, we thought we could actually attend without worrying too much about him running amok.
By the time we got there, we thought we might have made a huge error of judgement, he was so excited to be going to school on a Sunday that he pulled all the way there and when he was met by the sight of new dogs, he could hardly contain himself. We decided to enter him immediately into the 'fastest recall over obstacles' course, in the hope that it would burn off some energy. We paid our £2 which entitled him to two attempts at the course. He'd already done the course in class and loves it, he's like a tiny furry rocket. He wasn't too fast the first time as I think he struggled to control his legs in his over-excitement, but had a fast, clear run at second attempt.
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| Too fast for Andrew's shutter speed! |
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| Final obstacle! |
He was pretty fast, but unfortunately he wasn't a winner when results were announced later. He was still over-excited, so we decided to find a spot to sit in, distracting him with food, until the main classes started. Luckily we didn't have to wait long.
The first class was waggiest tail. Anyone who's ever met Barney will understand that I thought we might be in with a chance. He's a happy little pup, his tail wags pretty constantly and rotates like a helicopter blade when he's excited. I actually worry when his tail is still. We paid our class entry fee and took to the ring. The biggest challenge was to get far enough from other dogs to stop him jumping up. Once we did that I just had a keep the tail going, which wasn't difficult. I was so pleased when we were announced as winners, even if we did have a huge bag of dog food to juggle for the rest of the event!
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| We won! |
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| Our prize, dog food! |
Next was friendliest dog, we entered again, but were skipped over in the judging when all the dogs were shuffled around to make a bit more room. It was probably for the best, we didn't want Barney getting a big head!
We took a seat and decided to sit out the other classes of dog the judges would most like to take home and best trick. I'm glad we didn't enter the best trick class, Barney would have been entirely outclassed, some of the tricks were incredibly complicated. We did however decide to have a go at fun agility against the clock. Barney loves agility but as I tend to do it with him at puppy school, Andrew decided to do it on this occasion. Normally I encourage Barney around the equipment with treats, not Andrew. He decided to lead by example. When I looked over to see him leaping over hurdles I couldn't stop laughing, I'm just glad he didn't give the tunnel a go. Barney didn't have an entirely clear round, took two attempts to do the tunnel and baulked at the larger A frame, but when we got the results, we'd come second in the puppy category. Good work boys!!
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| Look at the concentration on that face! |
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| Mum doesn't normally do the jumps with me... |
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| Our prize, more food! |
After that, we felt we'd earned a cup of tea and piece of cake whilst we watched the sit and stay classes. If you've read this blog before, you'll know that's not one of Barney's strengths. I can't wait until Barney is calm enough to be able to just sit and wait without steam coming out of his ears from the effort!
We also bought a few raffle tickets and won a couple of prizes.
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| More food! |
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| A very smart turquoise studded leather collar from the Artful Lurcher |
We entered the very last class, a version of musical chairs. When the music stops all the dogs have to sit and the slowest is eliminated. We made it to the third round before Barney's excitement got too much and he was more keen on reaching the treat in my hand than sitting. Nevertheless, he got a rosette for taking part.
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| A final rosette for the day |
All in all it was a great couple of hours and the event raised over £1,000 for charity. It was good to chat to other dog owners and participate in some of the classes. We've got plenty of food (we'll have to hold on to it for now, as none of it is puppy food) and a smart collar. It also meant Barney was very little trouble when we got home!
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