I guess "going with the dogs" is better than "going to the dogs."
Last week I embarked on a trip with my daughter, another young lady and my daughters' boss.
We headed to a semi-professional dog show and agility events.
I drive a Ford Expedition and it was packed to the hilt!
There were four of us, three dogs, our bags and various amounts of dog show paraphernalia!
There was literally no room left in my car for even one more item!
We hit the road on Thursday evening and drove three hours to Carson City.
We arrived at our destination and checked into our room.
I booked a room at Motel 6 because they are pet friendly and hey, they also leave the light on.
Well our room was a mini room!
I'm not kidding, you could barely move in there!
The motel had done an upgrade/remodel and the rooms were nice, but very, very small.
See....small!
Shelby and Cypress the Aussies made themselves right at home!
We had to set up a blow-up bed in the closet area for the young lady in our group.
It was a tight squeeze!
We had to climb over the bed to squeeze into the tiny microscopic bathroom!
But hey, we had a mini fridge, microwave and a nice flat screen T.V., which came in handy!
Mini bathroom!
Cute, but cramped!
The dogs had us awake at 4 a.m. on Friday morning!
Way too early, but when a dogs gotta go, a dogs gotta go!
So we were up early and headed to find breakfast and the park where the events were being held by 7 a.m.
Once at the park it was time to warm up for the agility events.
Megs and Cypress working the jumps.
Cypress is young and jumps at 20 inches!
Up and over!
And then again and again...
This agility event was a first for Cypress and Megan.
Cypress left the arena on both of her runs. She still has lots of training ahead of her.
But the experience was good for both Cypress and Megan
.
This is Millie.
She is 6 months old.
She has competed in several Aussie puppy classes recently and done very well.
She was up on the grooming table waiting for her turn and watching all of the other puppies around her.
Cypress was watching me as I snapped photos.
I think she thought I had food!
Megan and Millie in the ring for the 4 to 6 month puppy confirmation class.
Millie won the class on Friday evening! Woot!
Millie's brother Dante came to the show on Saturday and he won the class on Saturday.
Siblings winning out over other siblings is okay in the puppy world. It means there are good lines when siblings compete against each other and trade off wins.
Megan and Cypress in the show ring.
Cypress has been competing for over a year now, but this was Megan's first semi-pro show.
She is a good handler!
She and Cypress work very well together!
Lined up with the other dogs.
The ring can get very intense!
(and hot! Did I mention HOT!)
Despite the glare on my camera, I really like this shot.
It shows the focus that it takes to keep the dog stacked and paying attention!
Around the ring they go!
They "gate" very well together.
Gating is when the dog and handler work at the same pace/speed.
This is the other young lady that was with us.
This was her first show ever! She is one of my 4-H youth and is involved with the 4-H dog program.
She used Shelby in the Junior Handler class.
Shelby is eight and has been a show dog for a number of years, but recently has retired a bit.
This was her first stint back in the ring after a two year break.
Here they are looping the ring for the judge.
They worked very well together and placed second in their class!
Meg and Millie in the afternoon puppy class.
Showing Millie's pearly whites to the judge.
This is the examination portion of the class.
More time on the grooming table for Cypress.
Meg is currently in training for dog grooming.
Her boss has been a groomer for 40 plus years!
There is so much involved with show grooming!
I kept getting confused, but Meg seemed to know what she was doing!
Waiting to for the next class and to enter the ring!
Again, lots of intense focus!
Cypress knew that Megan had "bait" on her and wanted a piece of it.
Bait is the term that is used for the treats that you take into the ring to give the dogs during various poses. Megan was using cheese and that is one of Cypresses favorite treats!
The last show of the day.
All in all over the course of two days the girls competed in six agility events and six conformation classes. There were several first and second place, pretty ribbons for each of them.
The days started early and ended late!
The temperatures were over 100 degrees both days of the shows!
The park was lovely and the shade was so nice, but if you moved out of the shade, you melted on the spot! The entire process was intense, but a lot of fun.
There will be more dog shows in the future, I just hope it won't be 100 degrees when they take place!
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