Happy New Year!

Or as we say in our house: Lang May Yer Lum Reek!

The neighbours have been shooting up fireworks all evening. Edward goes to the window to see what's going on, but he doesn't seem afraid. Let's hope it will go well at midnight.

Merry Christmas!

William is here

Yesterday our son William came home for Christmas. Edward had not seen him since he was a tiny puppy, so we wondered if he would recognize him. We think he did, for he was more hyper than we've ever seen him.
Edward heard the car coming, and took up his usual place by the window in the hall, where he has a full view of everything that's happening. When he saw William, he began to whinge and wail, while his tail wagged frantically. He could not stand still, but ran around himself in circles.
When William came in, Edward suddenly became a little scared. A big young man who threw himself around his neck was almost too much of a good thing, so he piddled a little bit on the floor.
Finally they both calmed down, and we had a quiet evening around the coffee table, where Edward showed off all of his tricks, hoping to get some bites of "smultring".
For the remainder of the evening, Hubby and I were apparently reduced to a part of the furniture. Edward took no notice of us at all, but followed William like a shadow wherever he went.
It will be very nice for him to have a brother and friend around at Christmas.

Christmas Preparations

We really look forward to our first Christmas with Edward in the house. He will probably be the one with the most presents under the tree this year. If he continues to be good, of course ...

Sometimes you get these very funny situations with dogs, and you almost wonder if they understand what you say. That happened one day when Edward was running aroud and playing wildly in the kitchen. He wasn't well behaved at all, I'm afraid. "What are you going to say to Santa, Eddie?" I asked. "When he comes and asks if you have been a good boy." He skidded to a halt and sat down abruptly. His back was so upright he almost tilted backwards. And then he gently gave me his paw. Aww, wouldn't that melt a mother's heart? We got a good laugh too.

Obviously, Edward will have to get his own Christmas stocking, and Husfruen has challenged her knitting skills, and actually managed to produce a sock - with his name and all. It will be filled with dog treats and hung on the mantel piece.

Edward has also discovered another of Christmas' pleasures - baking! Our Norwegian version of donuts proved to be a real hit. I think they might even challenge bacon pancakes as his favorite food.

Ladders and luck

Hello everyone,

I hope there are still some readers out there who drop by every once in a while, even though I have been terribly bad at blogging lately. Those of you who follow Edward on Facebook, will have seen that a few things have happened in his life. I hope to put out some more news soon. For now, here is today's story.

It all began when Hubby and Husfruen climbed onto the garage roof to do some maintenance work.

Edward, who is terrified of missing out on anything that happens, wanted to join us. He stood in the garden, looking up, whinging and whining, while wishing desperately that he could fly.

He realized he had to climb the ladder to come up, but that isn’t easy for those among us with four legs and paws.

However, Edward decided to give it a go.

It didn’t go well, to say the least. Suddenly the ladder started sliding sideways and with a huge crash it fell over, knocking loose a drainpipe on the way. Whoops!

Edward wasn’t the only one who jumped sky high. There we were, caught on the garage roof, with no possibility of getting down, except for jumping. Bad luck, indeed.

It can’t be denied that a few colourful phrases were shouted in Edward’s direction.

He on the other hand, sat at attention, doing his best to look totally innocent and unconcerned, but it was pretty obvious that he knew he was in trouble.

Fortunately, our neighbour was out working in her garden too, so we managed to call for help. She got a good laugh at our expense.

- What do you say, Eddie? Shall we let them down? She asked Edward, who wagged his tail with an apologetic grin.

So, it all ended well, and Edward escaped scolding yet again. Good luck for us all.

However, we learned a lesson: If you are climbing ladders, make sure the dog is securely tied on a leash on the other side of the house. Edward hopefully learned that ladders are not for dogs.

Unless you are Fatty Arbuckle’s dog, of course. Now, there was a dog that mastered the art of ladder climbing.

Starry eyes

It's been a long while since the last time we blogged, so I thought it was high time to post a picture of our favourite poodle boy.

 Who can resist such gorgeous eyes? Not us, that's for sure.

Have a nice Sunday!

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.