Puppy Finlay's Casebook: 7 January 2018

The 6th January 2018 was going to be a big day in Finlay's history, it was to be his first dog show, in Taunton. Something he has been preparing for, for a couple of months. It was also his first night away at a hotel (Travelodge).

We really wanted to test out how he would be at a hotel, because we want to be able to go away with him without issue. He was a star, he did woof the place down at 1am (sorry other hotel guests!) but to be fair that wasn't his fault, some people stomped loudly down the corridor and any self-respecting Tibbie would woof at that. So other than that, he slept like a baby all night. So he passed THAT test with flying colours.....so onto the dog showing, would he pass that test also?

As well as worrying about how Finlay would perform, my wife was stressing about how she would get on with showing. The overall feeling from the day was one of success, in terms of our learning and Finlay's experience, even if not in terms of a prize haul! Finlay was entered into two classes because we wanted him to get the most from the day, so he went in Tibbie Junior and Any Variety Utility Minor Puppy. In the Junior class he showed ok on the table but as usual we struggled with showing his teeth, on the floor his walking was not brilliant, a bit distracted. In the AV Minor Puppy he walked a LOT better because by then he was a bit exhausted and had calmed down, plus Pauline had been working on him, but more on that in a minute.

Then a success, he won best Tibbie puppy. It seems the seasoned exhibitors would just ignore that he was in fact the ONLY Tibbie puppy entry, I.e. he came first in a class of one. The fact is, he won best puppy on his first outing, which we are very happy with.

But in addition to the dog showing, we got to meet some of the Tibbie showing crowd, who were fantastic. We learned more in the few hours in Taunton than we had at many hours in ringcraft. The main star was Pauline Bevis supported by Sarah and Pam. It turns out that we both got our wrists slapped for not being tough enough with Finlay and as a result he has been taking liberties, getting too big for his boots. A few minutes with Pauline had him walking better (I didn't see this, but apparently Finlay was a bit 'unruly') and in a separate session had him showing his teeth nicely following some firm handling. It was a joy to see Finlay working and how quick he learns (of course he quickly learns the bad things as well!).

If you've ever watched a dog training programme on the TV, where a dog trainer has taken the errant dog and within seconds seemingly cured them of whatever problem they had. I've seen this and thought "yeah right that was staged for the telly". Well I've witnessed it first hand now, and it looks like a miracle when you see it 'before your very eyes'. In fact it isn't a miracle it is just someone very experienced working with your dog, and Pauline used all the tips she's learned to show us how it is done. It's just us she's got to train now.....

The biggest worry now is that if Finlay isn't performing perfectly to "teeth" next time Pauline sees him, we are going to be in SO MUCH trouble!! (us, not Finlay this time!!)

So after 5 hours or so at the show, the 3 of us came away exhausted but elated and talked about nothing else on the drive home. We have 3 more shows planned, with the hope that by the South West Tibetan Spaniel show in March, we will have a dog that is ready to not come last in his class - we don't care where he does come, just not last!

The other key take away from the day and by far the most important, was that Finlay enjoyed himself. He wagged all day, smiled at and kissed loads of humans and dogs. It would be pointless dragging him along if he hated it.....bless him, he isn't a shy dog!!!!

If you are interested in my photo/video album from the day, visit https://photos.app.goo.gl/RPnZLEbNkMfhCJ9Q2 for more photos, otherwise here is a selection....