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.

Thanks for the Goodies!

A big thanks to Janet, Spencer, and Scout for the "Paw it Forward" goodies! Norman was excited to get mail! And the Cardi Decal will look fab on the Element too! Soooo....the first two people to post on this blog get Paw it Forward goodies from Norman and me. It might take me about 10 days to get something out...we leave thurs for the Greenville shows and then come home and leave the other direction for New Orleans on Wed. for the show at the Pontchartrain Center.

Norm, the HAM on the 4th.

Well here are the pics from the July 4th Weekend! Norm loved being in the parade, being petted by the boy scouts, and riding the float. (That was on the 3rd) ON the 4th we enjoyed some steaks on the grill and fireworks. I was amazed that Norm didn't really mind the fireworks, and we had some pretty big loud ones! The only time he barked was when other dogs in the neighborhood started barking. GOOD BOY, Norman! Please take a look at the short vid clip from the parade that I posted to youtube.

The Cover Boy

Norman will be the doggie cover boy for this coupon magazine that we advertise in (here locally). He is REALLY wearing the little hat! (But he is photoshopped onto Sarah's lap.) The pic of the girls is from last yrs 4th of July. I think this cover took about 10-12 pictures to make one cover photo. Maybe we should change our mascot from an eagle to a cardi!

Norman will also be riding our company float with me and the girls at the 4th of July Parade (on the 3Rd). I will have pictures and maybe even some video so stay tuned!

"Ring of Fire"

"I fell into a burning ring of fire

I went down, down down

and the flames went higher.

and it burns, burns, burns ....the Ring of Fire"

All I can think of is this Johnny Cash song when I ponder how hot is was at the shows in Asheville. I thought it was supposed to be cool in the mountains. Our ring times were 9 and 10, so it was not SO BAD....but the poor people and animals in the afternoon with forecast highs of 96 degrees. We stuck around sat for group so I could try out my new lens. If you are interested in seeing some more of my shots look at my FB page here.

Congrats to Norm's nephew Yippee for going WD on Sunday for a 3pt major. As far as Norm goes...not so much. He actually stacked nicely and looked good on the table...but movement-wise....he was totally...goofy. We continue to be learners.

Norm and Me...at the "B"

Well...it was my turn to try my hand at this handling thing...so here I am with Norman at our Club's B Match in Carrollton GA at the ag center. About 50 dogs turned out. Norm was the only cardi (no shocker there), so I got a lovely pink ribbon for first place and another one for best in breed. Then came group...it was Norman , a Border Collie, and a 3.5 month old female Pembroke puppy. The pem kinda... sorta...really...ran up on Norms posterior...it was pretty much over at that point. He went 100% nuts. Game over. guess who won group? the pem.

Emily's best buddy from pre-k , Dylan, came with her parents to cheer Norm on and to check out the doggage. We also met an adorable Cairn Terrier (Emily wants one). Handling was really fun. I must do this for-real sometime...we are headed to Asheville for the show this weekend. It's a pretty fair cardi enty (7-7-2-0). anyone else gona be there?

Field Day

The girls had field day at their school last week, and Norm was very happy to tag along for some petting....but it was HOTTTTT! Unfortunately, my SD card crashed on my camera, so I had to spend $20 for a recovery program to get the images out, and the best ones from the field day were unrecoverable (it figures!) I bought a Nikkor 2.8 80-200 zoom on craigslist the other day. I want to try my hand a dog show action photography. It really takes a fast lens at these indoor shows. I spent 20yrs as a wedding photographer, and I really think dogs are a LOT more fun!! Norm and I are going to a B-Match in Carrollton GA sponsored by our club on the 5th. Hope everyone is enjoying a long Memorial Day weekend!

Hello...Norman reporting here...

Hello, it's Norman reporting. I am writing this because my mom has laryngitis. Just daddy and me went to the show in Perry GA on thursday and friday. We saw lots of nice people that petted me, and we saw lots of dogs too. We got to trot around the ring twice on thursday and friday and I got a purple and white ribbon both days. Daddy says this was called "reserve" The boy that got the purple ribbon was a pretty brindle dog who was a little older than me. Mommy said that dog got a ribbon at the Nationals a few weeks ago. I wanted to play with him. I also wanted to play with the judges while I was on the table. Is this wrong? I am just trying to be friendly. I also talked to a very nice man who petted me from something called The Delta Society, and he said that I needed to be something called a therapy dog. If this means that I can play with people and they can pet me, I am all for it!

Official Show Pics, Montgomery AL

Norm:WD for Fri 4-23 and Sun 4-25 in Montgomery Ala. The photographer was in a really big hurry, esp Sunday, it seemed to me. Frank in headed to the Perry GA show for Thurs and Fri this week . I hope Norm takes more hair with him to Perry than he leaves on my floor.

Good Show Weekend!

Norman went Winner's Dog on Friday and Sunday for two more points in Montgomery AL at Garrett Coliseum... he was apparenty pretty wild Saturday so he just took reserve. It was great to be able to see Norman and his sis Rosie in the ring on Sunday! (we were not there saturday but Laura kept and handled him for us) I will not steal Laura's thunder but Rosie did VERY WELL TOO! Congrats to the puppies! Thanks for all your help , Laura!