Fourth Best in Show

After we went to a Poodle Show last Saturday, we were inspired, so when we suddenly found out that there was going to be a show at the local kennel club today, we decided to show Edward. Obviously, we had no hope of winning anything, after all, he has had no show training whatsoever. We just thought it might be fun, and it would be interesting to hear what a judge's assessment of him.

- DON'T TOUCH MY FEET, I don't like that.

Edward had a thorough bath and blow dry yesterday, as well as getting his face and paws trimmed. Something he really hates. I don't know if he is ticklish or what, but he doesn't like us touching his paws at all, so using the clippers on them freaks him out. Tough, but it has to be done, and he is simply going to have to get used to it.

FLUFF BALL. - Are you sure I don't look too girly being fluffed up like this?

This morning we gave him a final brushing before we set off. As you can see, we are total amateurs. We don't have a fancy grooming table or combs or anything. We just put him on the kitchen table and use a normal hairbrush. In time I'm sure we'll acquire all sorts of grooming equipment, but for now we'll get by with what we have.

HELLOOO. - Doesn't anybody want to play with me?

We knew it was going to be an outdoor show, so we had brought warm jackets, comfortable camping chairs and a thermos full of hot tea. All of which we were glad to have as the rather cold autumn day progressed.
Edward always gets very excited when there are children and other dogs around, so he found it very difficult to understand why he couldn't run around and play with them. What's more, everybody was busy with their own dogs, so he got very little attention from people at all, which made him sulk a little.

LUCKY DOG. - I want a little pink girl too.

Edward was very jealous of this American Spaniel who had a little girl to walk around and play with.

FINALLY, a friendly dog who will spend a few moments with me.

When Hubby was walking Edward around the ground so that he could stretch his legs a bit, he talked to a woman with a huge mixed breed dog, mainly Rottweiler. She went on and on about how good and disciplined it was, but suddenly it attacked poor Eddie and bit him. Not seriously, but it was probably painful. Without going in to detail, let's just say that one of Edward's gonads looks a bit worse for wear. We'll have to watch that, in case it gets infected.

FASTER! I want to run.

As we had expected, Edward didn't perform all that well in the ring. Walking to heel is something he hasn't mastered yet. He is always in a hurry, no matter what direction we are going, and pulls hard on his lead. We had been out yesterday and bought him a brand new show lead, but that didn't help much.

HEY! What's going on over there?

Edward's greatest fear is missing out on something that's going on, so keeping him focused is very difficult. He always has an eye out for anything that might be happening elsewhere. It was the same today. There was so much to look at, that his attention was all over the place, instead of on what he was supposed to be doing in the ring.

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? - Who is this lady touching me all over?

Edward, who is usually thrilled to bits when meeting new people and will willingly submit to be petted by anyone, was for some reason a bit apprehensive about letting the judge examine him. However, he stood still and let her do her business.

WAITING for the judgement. - What does she think of me?

While waiting as the judge looked at all the other dogs, Eddie finally found his focus. He self-stacked beautifully and stood there so quiet and nice, but alas, the judge wasn't looking then.

BORING. - She is taking her time about it, isn't she?

This is what the judge had to say about Edward:

• Elegant movements
• Nice expression
• Good chest
• Needs more body mass
• Good angles
• Good ears
• Correct bite
• Nice lines

A PRIZE! Did I win something?

Since he was the only standard poodle that was being shown today, it was no great surprise that Edward won Best of Breed. Not a real victory then, but for us it was just fun to get a prize.

LOOKING POISED. - This little trifle? Oh, it was nothing really. 

Naturally we had to take a photo on this proud occasion, and Edward suddenly looked very regal wearing his red and gold prize.

For a few seconds anyway...

I WON, I WON, I WON, I WON!!!!!!!

Well, we though that was it. So you can imagine our surprise when we were called back for he Best in Show award, and even more so when Edward was picked out to be in the top four.

A REAL PRIZE. - I am recognized for my beauty at last.

He ended up at number four. The judge said he was a great representative for his breed, but he didn't perform well enough in the ring to get higher up. She would have liked to have seen him show off his attributes better.
We're not disappointed at all. If we can get to fourth place without training, then we have potential. Now we have a better idea of what to work with, so it's up to us to make an effort.

PROUD. - This is what I won today. I think I'll take that cup to bed with me. 

So now we're home and Eddie's back on the kitchen table with his winnings. Two prizes, a towel, four kilos of the best puppy food and a shiny little trophy.
It was a big day for Edward, and it was clear to see that he enjoyed all the commotion. Now he is totally crashed on the rug in front of the fireplace, sleeping blissfully and dreaming noisily. Probably about winning the BIS sometime in the future.

Ticked off

VILE VILLAINS. Ticks are repulsive and dangerous little critters.

Apparently, there were a lot of ticks around this summer. Something we started noticing around May. Edward kept getting a number of these creepy crawlies on him, particularly on his face. That made it easier for us to spot them, but infinitely worse to remove them, since he couldn’t stand it when we tried to use the tick remover. We often ended up having to forcibly restrain a hysterical puppy, to be able to get the damned thing off him.

TICK MAGNET. A puppy that is constantly rolling around in long grass and undergrowth is an easy target for the ticks.

Some ticks carry the bacterial disease Lyme Borreliosis, which is transmitted via their bites. This can cause a number of serious conditions in humans unlucky enough to get it, but these ticks aren’t just dangerous to people. Dogs can also become ill and develop symptoms like aching joints and fever. If left untreated, it can be fatal. Consequently, it is very important to remove the tick as soon as possible.

The tick remover from Clas Ohlson turned out to be quite handy. Once you get the loop around the body of the tick, you can gently pull it backwards and the whole animal comes out, with all its wriggly legs intact.

The only problem was actually getting it in place. The thin skin just above Eddies eyes appeared to be a favourite spot for the ticks to attach themselves, but it was easier said than done to make a puppy sit still long enough for us to remove them. He was thrashing about so frantically that I was terrified of poking his eye out.

Usually we ended up pulling out a fair bit of fur as well, which probably hurt and made him even more apprehensive about the whole thing.

PAINFUL. Getting fur pulled out as well as the tick is probably rather uncomfortable.

This was becoming stressful for both Edward and us, so we asked the vet for advice. She said there was a spray we could use, but since Eddie was given a bath once a week, a tick collar would probably be more practical. It would last the entire summer season.

EFFECTIVE. The collar repelled the ticks from day one.

The Scalibor tick collar proved to be very effective. Edward kept up his habit of crawling through bushes and tall grass, and every night we gave him a thorough check over, but we never found another tick. Even if it said on the package that the collar had to be on for some days to reach full effect, it worked like a charm from the moment we put it on him.

MIXING BUSINESS AND PLEASURE. A belly rub gives you the chance to check if everything is as it should be.

We spend a little time everyday giving Edward an all over check up. He simply loves lying on the floor, getting his belly rubbed, and that gives us a chance to look at these hard to reach places like the armpits and between the toes. We found several ticks that way. If he has any small scratches, we’ll see them too, and that way we can keep an eye on how they heal.

DISCREET. The tick collar is hidden by the fur and is hardly visible.

The tick collar was bright white. (It isn’t anymore. A summer of playing around the garden has given it a distinctly greyish look.) It wasn’t exactly pretty. We thought that it would probably not look very nice on Edward, but since we have let the hair around his neck grow, it is hardly visible. Edward doesn’t seem to mind it in the slightest.

TICK FREE. Edward has been using his tick collar all summer,
and has been protected from both disease and discomfort.

Now the summer is over and we won’t have to worry about ticks for a while. Every cloud has a silver lining. Next year we will buy a new tick collar in April, saving both ourselves and Edward lots of stress and discomfort. 

Beggars Banquet

First published in Norwegian on 8 April.

It is awfully easy to be an expert on things you have no practical experience of. This includes raising a puppy. Before Edward came, we had thought that there was no way we would allow a dog to beg at the table. Simply never give him anything at the table, that ought to be a cinch. Or so we thought.

YUMMY. Eddie gets his first chicken meatball.

Then reality hits, and you’re worried sick that the puppy isn’t eating enough and that he is getting too thin. The day before yesterday, I was making chicken meatballs and thought that this must be good food for a growing puppy, being rich in protein and all. So I gave Edward one. Then I’d done it. Now I have a black furry shadow following my every move around the kitchen. When we sit down to eat, he sits there watching happily expecting a treat. Hmm, what to do?

PUPPY DOG EYES. Have you got a treat for me?

We really are worried that Edward does not get enough nutrients. So far, he has shown very little interest in dry dog food. He has a bit for breakfast, but the rest of the day he doesn’t eat much, and all in all he probably eats less than half of the recommended daily dose. When it comes to canned food, on the other hand, he has a fierce appetite. It must taste incredibly good, because he almost licks the enamel off his bowl, and always goes back after a few minutes to see if by some miraculous way he actually hadn’t eaten it all up after all. However, the recommendation is that dry food should be his staple diet, and we don’t want a puppy that goes on hunger strike if he doesn’t get his favourite treat for lunch every day.

So now we have decided that he should only get canned food once a day – for his lunch. The rest of the day will be strictly dry food, and hopefully he’ll learn that lunch is the only meal where he can expect something extra.

Maybe we should try to vary the dry food a little? Or is it true what they say that dogs don’t really care about variation?

Could it be that Edward can actually control his food intake himself? Do we really need to worry about this? Ah, all the questions you struggle with as a new dog owner! 

Chew on this

First published in Norwegian on 7 April.

We knew, of course, that puppies like to chew things, so we prepared ourselves with an array of chewy toys before we got Edward home. They have had varying degrees of success. The chewy bones are undoubtedly his favourite. He can lie quietly gnawing on them for hours, and he looks like he is enjoying himself thoroughly. What he seems to like best, is to lie under the kitchen table and chomp away while we are eating.

FAVOURITE TOY. Edward is never far away from his chewy bone.

Sometimes he plays very aggressively with his chewy bone. He takes on a very fierce look, growls and woofs and gives it a proper thrashing. Evidently, his blanket needs a good talking to every now and then as well, and it is violently shaken, before he lies down to chew on it.

SHAKE IT. That blanket has obviously been misbehaving and Eddie is telling it off.

Rugs and towels are popular toys for tug of war, which seems to be very fun. We got the advice that we must never let the puppy win in such games because he could interpret that as having a dominant role in the family. We have to admit we are unsure of these things, but still we make sure we always win. Edward seems to love the game anyway.

THE CHEWY ROPE is another popular toy.

If he tries to chew on something he isn’t allowed to play with, we quickly offer him an alternative, and his attention is easily diverted. Sometimes when he plays with us, it gets a bit out of control, and he will try to bite us or chew on our fingers. If he is too excited a “No” doesn’t have much effect. We grab him around his nose and tell him off, but perhaps not hard enough, because he’ll try again until we ignore him. Perhaps we just ought to stop the game as soon as he starts with this sort of thing?

He also has a tendency to piddle a little bit when he gets very excited, but he has become fairly good at going outside, even though there will be a couple of accidents every day. He pees on the floor if it has been too long since the last time he was out, so it is really up to us to take him out more often. We have put out some newspapers on the floor, but unfortunately he doesn’t go on them, so the mop gets more use than normal these days.

CHEAP TOY. Toilet roll cores make good toys.

Edward seems to think that anything can be played with. Paper is incredibly fun and toilet roll cores are great. That was actually his idea. He just went into the bathroom and helped himself to one lying on the floor.

Today he has learned to shake hands. The problem now is that he sits and gives his paw before we ask him for it. We have to remember to say the command anyway, so that he learns to connect the words to the action.

BYE BYE! That was today’s report from me.