Dog Show: Arapahoe Kennel Club, 2017

Last weekend was our first time entering the Arapahoe Kennel Club.

Hubba got wind that a few other Tibetan Mastiffs would be entered and managed to convince me to enter both Ramen and Aspen.

It turned out to be a good idea.  Seven TMs were entered and six where exhibited.  This means a 4-point major was available for the Best of Breed, as well 2 points for Winners Bitch and Best of Winners.

Our Cane Corso friends helped with holding dogs ring-side.  I entered Aspen in the Bred by Exhibitor class and Ramen in the Best of Breed class.

It was cold and rainy.  Our breed rings were outside.  The dogs thought this was a grand idea.

Ramen won Best of Breed on Saturday and Owner-Handled both days.  He also placed 3rd in the Owner-Handled Working Group on Saturday.

Aspen showed well.

Ramen loves dog shows.  He loves it so much that I have to work to calm him down.... pretty much the exact opposite challenge for every other Tibetan Mastiff I have ever met.  lol.

It's hard to be mad at a 130-lb dog that is leaping in the air because he's ready to get started or galloping around the ring because he's so happy.  It makes it difficult for the judge to assess his structure and frustrates me because I know how well-built he is.  However, his joy is infectious.  I love how much he loves it.... and as I always say, fun is the most important part. :-)

We are now working on using less-exciting bait, in hopes that this will help calm him down... and we'll save the super-exciting bait for the other dogs.  ;-)

With these placements, Ramen now has 1 major, 2 defeats, and 7 points toward his Grand Championship.  This should also improve his ranking on the Owner-Handled list and maintain his 2nd place ranking on the All-Breed list.  I will be watching for the September rankings, due in a couple of weeks.

Aspen currently has 1 major, 3 points, and 1 judge toward her Championship.

Dog Show: Peak-to-Peak Working Dog Specialty and Evergreen Kennel Club, 2017

The Peak-to-Peak Working Dog Specialty and the Evergreen Kennel Club were held the weekend after Cheyenne.  We entered Ramen in the three-day show.

A friend who has been working with her Tibetan Mastiff also entered the show.

Ramen won Best of Breed two of the three days.  Our friend won one day.

This show is held on the same grounds as the Greeley Kennel Club show.  So Ramen has been to this site many times.  Each day he got audibly excited as we turned down the road to the venue.

I have to say, it's really fun having a dog that enjoys the entire event.

He has his doggie friends and people he enjoys seeing.  His favorite is a sweet Tibetan Spaniel that belongs to his dam's breeder.  They were camped just outside the entrance to our grooming area, so every time we went outside he had to go say hi to his best little buddy.

Aside from socializing with his doggie and human friends, Ramen loves it when people clap.  So please, if you ever see us at a show, clap for Ramen.  :-)

CH Colorado's Big Bowl o' Ramen
© Nor Cal Bulldogger

A professional photographer was ring-side and captured this great photo of the two of us in the Group Ring at the Peak-to-Peak Working Dog Specialty.

Ramen now has 3 points toward his Grand Championship.

Dog Show: Cheyenne Kennel Club, 2017

This was our first time entering the Cheyenne Kennel Club Show.

Cheyenne is a short drive from our home and the Dog Show was held on the famed Cheyenne Frontier Days grounds.

I entered Nobu.

She is sensitive to loud noises and was nervous at her last show.  So I wanted to practice with her at a smaller show.  Cheyenne was the perfect choice.

We spent a lot of time relaxing in the grooming area, relaxing near the rings, and talking to anyone who was willing to spent time with her.  She made a lot of progress.

Most people we talked to had not seen a Tibetan Mastiff in person.  It was a great opportunity to talk about the overdone "Chinese Mastiffs" versus Tibetan Mastiffs who are working Livestock Guardians, as well as the difference in appearance between males and females.  Much like the African Lion and Lioness, male TMs tend to be larger with more rough around the neck, which we also call a mane and adds to the lion-look most people comment about.

Nobu was the only Tibetan Mastiff entered, which means she was able to have Group experience both days.  The size of the Working Group and my choosing to enter the ring toward the end allowed her time to get comfortable with being in the ring and the audience clapping... no matter how much one practices, there is no real substitute for the show environment and this was invaluable.

I realized on the last day that her concern with being in the ring is associated with the duct tape used to hold the mats down.  I'm not entirely sure why... there are mats with duct tape at our conformation class.  My guess is that the show-site-duct-tape was new and shiny.... so shiny duct tape is on my to-acquire list for practicing at home.

This show was incredibly clean and well organized.  I'm looking forward to next year!

Alpacamundo Monday: Fresh Hay

Fresh, Second-Cutting Hay was delivered (and stacked) on Saturday.

It was cold and misty.

The alpacas are ready for winter.  I greatly appreciate my Hay Grower.

Dog Show: Greeley Kennel Club, 2017

For this year's Greeley Show we decided to bring Gunnar and Ramen.

Ramen needed one point to finish his Championship and Gunnar is slowly working on his Grand Championship.

One of our friends helped with the handling.  She is the first person to handle Gunnar in the ring that was not me.  Gunnar adores her, so I figured he'd be willing.  Which he was... to a point.  :-)

Ramen won Best of Breed both days, over his father.  This gave him the one point he needed to complete his AKC Championship and 1 point + 1 defeat toward his Grand Championship.

The Greeley Kennel Club Show was our first and remains one of my favorites.  It's a large show, extremely well run and supported.

The Greeley Kennel Club Show was in mid-August, so since I've taken so long to write about it, I can share that Ramen is now officially recognized by the AKC as a Champion.  We have received his certificate and official photo.... I keep reading the part that says he was bred by me and Hubba.  :-)

Introducing CH Colorado's Big Bowl o' Ramen!  Our second Champion and first Bred-by Champion.

One Month?

So it's been a month since I've posted anything.

I've been busy.

Super busy at the Day Job, which is great!

Super busy with Dog Shows.... I have three to post about and another coming up next weekend.

Not too busy with fiber-ing.  Haven't had much energy for fiber between everything else that's been going on.

One thing I have decided is to not continue with the link-up for Fiber Arts Friday.  I love Fiber Arts Friday, but I haven't spent the time promoting it.  So I will continue with my own Fiber Arts Friday posts, as I have things worth writing about.

I hope you've been well.