Observing the Pass-over

*********Seem to be getting passed-over alot these days.... we are finally back home after going to Greenville (awesome show!) and New Orleans (well at least the air was really working well!) The New Orleans show is a great example of the need for the 2 shows in one day format...only about 600 entries each day. Norman looked great in Greenville. He was the youngest dog there in a fairly large (well it was a major), so I didn't feel like he got much of a glance. But the judges really liked him. I think we had Carmen Battaglia the first day and he said he had a great topline. And they always like his head. He a got a little gift sunday in Greenville for best breed puppy (dinky purina bag) Then we get to New Orleans and the judge said he had a little hump in his topline. Can things change that fast (less than a week) with an 11 month old dog?

Anyway... he was rwd both days in New Orleans. On Friday, we had two judge substitutions. The orig judge's flight was late, so they bumped us back an hour, they they got another judge but she was in conflict with two of the other dogs because they are in her training club. So...they find another local judge BUT he is not approved for cardis or herding breeds of any kind. He actually got into the ring and asked the ring steward if cardis were a table breed. Bad sign. He poked and prodded Norman on the table in a very odd manner and then Norman was nuts so I knew we were finished at that point. He was better when he went back into the ring so we did get reserve.

We start conformation classes tonight so maybe frank and Norm can sharpen some needed skills before the Atlanta Shows at the end of the month. Hope to see you there! I made a bunch of pics of group and Best in Show Thursday in New Orleans with my new lens. To take a look go to my FaceBook album here.