Preparing for shows - we can hardly claim to be experts having only recently started showing, but we have something that works for us. Finlay would get regular brushes whether he was being shown or not, Deb enjoys grooming our dogs and does Finlay 2 or 3 times a week.....not a massively long brush, just enough to keep him tidy and check him out for any ticks or any other issues that you'd spot when grooming your dog. Obviously, Finlay is going to get a brush before he goes to a show. However, he will often get one of Deb's patented cleaning routines, which we call the Underwash™.
What exactly is an 'underwash'?! Well, as you Tibbie owners know, Tibbies may well get dirty when out walking but they don't stay dirty for long - not unless they've been somewhere extremely filthy anyway. The standard muck you'd pick up on a walk through the woods or wet footpath just drops out as the dog dries out. So actually Finlay doesn't get THAT dirty from show to show. But underneath does look better after a quick wash and blow dry and brush out - again nothing that strenuous, 20 mins max, but it makes a difference.
Food time - Finlay is still on raw food, and currently loving it. He does get fussy every now and then, and nothing will be guaranteed to go down when he is in one of those moods. He's a funny dog really, because like now when he is feeding well you think you've cracked it, but suddenly he looks at his most favourite food in the whole world and turns his nose up at it, the little devil. So we go a couple of weeks where you struggle, maybe change flavours or brand of raw food and he's off again. But raw does seem to suit him, at least for now.
Mood - he is a happy dog, there's no doubt about it. He has many girlfriends and even a few boy friends who he absolutely adores. He seems to bring out the best in dogs. That is not to say he isn't beyond a grumble at some dogs, he is a young male dog so to be expected.....but something to keep an eye on to make sure it doesn't develop. Most of the time he just wants to play, today at a Tibbie breed show in Ampthill he once again made more friends. He is a joy to own, he is a mischief too which I think is the puppy still within him but also there is a certain Tibbie mischief along with it, I'm a sucker for it.
In the car - from the moment we got him he has been a good traveller, until recently. The last couple of long drives he has been less happy and looking a bit car sick. He hasn't drooled or actually been sick, but nonetheless he hasn't looked happy for some reason. So today we tried some Zylkene and a spot-on calming solution and the drive up was much better and he slept most of the way of a 2-hour drive. Going home is normally fine because he is tired after a dog show. A success I think, but we'll see how we go, maybe it is just a phase.
The ball - oh boy, is this dog ball obsessed.....balls with squeakers anyway. We had to buy him a new one because he destroyed one of his others. He will play with it for ages as well as actually fetch it, we haven't had a Tibbie fetch a ball before. He even whines for his ball when it has been put away from the day before.
A few photo's to finish. This one was taken on the Hamble river, on the ferry from Warsash to Hamble villages. Finlay loved looking at the water and yachts going past and of course loved the fuss from the assistant ferryman.
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| Messin' about on the river |
Finlay does love the ladies, this is Angie, one of Theresa and Hailey's Tibbies. Finlay really fell in love this day and it seems he made an impression. Not often a boy will sneak in a kiss on a first date!!
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| Love ya babe! |
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