Steady, Steady, STEADY

Last weekend I went to Kansas City to play with the grandchildren and dig in the dirt with my daughter....We took long walks, planted all the plants I brought her, exercised to 20 minute workouts, drank lots of (good!) coffee, and played with the neighborhood children. 

On Saturday, I headed south to Pleasant Hill, MO, and the Canine Temperament Test offered there.  James had already taken and passed his about a year and a half ago, and now it was Prosper's turn. He'd been cooped up in Kathryn's backyard for several days, so he was Quite Glad to get out somewhere new and soak up all the new smells (it's what he does Best, besides pee).

Basically, it is a "walk in the park," with several increasingly "stressful" stations for the dog to master.

The Canine Temperament Test is, quite frankly, the Easiest, Cheapest title you can obtain.  Basically, you take your dog for a "walk in the park," and all these weird things "happen" to them. Prosper is probably the most stable, well-adjusted dog I have ever met. NOTHing fazes him. NOTHING really spooks him or offends him. He has the Nicest dog-to-dog manners, and loves every person he meets.

Once the test begins, the handler is instructed to do these 2 things: Do not talk. Do not correct the dog. Dog is on a 6 ft lead, and is allowed to do ANYthing w/in these 6 ft boundaries. They want to see how the dog reacts and handles (and recovers from) all these "new" situations thrown upon them. ALL of the "tests" were nothing new to Prosper (gunshots, weird noises, folks RUSHing out to meet him, umbrellas opened up in front of him, weird surfaces to walk upon, and, finally, a "scary stranger" who comes weaving out, yelling incoherently, wielding a whip....)---he's lived in Chaos and Noise most of his young life.

The test is designed to get increasingly stressful, w/90% of those who "fail" (and it is only a pass/fail test) beginning to fail at the next-to-the-last section of walking on weird surfaces. By the time the get to the "scary stranger," the stress is too great to "recover."

(Now, mind you, 90% of the total dogs do not fail, just that it's the last couple of sections that can gitcha, so you can rock right along, and then come to the slick surface to walk on, and the dog just canNOT take any more).

And what did our Prosper do? YEAY!!!!! The Meadowwwwwww!!!! (did any of yall see Bambi....). Mom's giving me the WHOLE LEASH! And I smell New things!!!

At every station, he briefly acknowledged what he was "supposed to," then head down, like a Beagle. He passed. The evaluator asked if we ever did any tracking...

The Final Day....Then....Home, the Best Place to Be....

SOMEwhere, in the depths of my mind, I believe that if I actually finish up the blogs about the Nationals they will "disappear" from my consciousness.  Of course I know that this is not really true, but, well, ya know how you never want some things to come to an end......

So, I press on to the Last Day of the 125th CCofA Nationals...  Saturday....The day when the expens and crates and tables come down and find their way into the vans and RV's. The day when the last of the Crown Royal is sprayed and the final judging begins. This is the day when goodbyes are sadly spoken for another year and the final chocolate offerings at the grooming stations disappear.

It's tearful sometimes. After all, we have spent an entire week with 800 Collies and their passionate humans, and are returning to the Real World where folks can actually go for 30 minutes without thinking of Lassie.

And so we begin the countdown of the day.  Today is Best of Variety judging, meaning that all the entries who are ALREADY finished Champions (the ones who have that coveted breed title "Ch" before their registered name) are now competing amongst each other for the Best in Show, as it were. 

Prosper has a few "kinfolk" who are in this running. Specifically a half sister (Lochlaren's Becoming Jane--she took Winner's Bitch this year!) and a cousin or an uncle (Lochlaren's Good Times). But today, we have nothing more to do than to watch the show, gather more chocolate, drink lots of water, purchase a few last-minute momentos, and hope that we might win the Purina drawing.

So, the first order of the day is to re-visit the puppies!!

Only bad thang about puppies is that they SLEEP too dang much! I wanna play and train more than they do...So, I woke these little critters up from their morning nap, but once they were up, they were UP!!!  Joan Johnson (BluRidge Collies) was SO generous in allowing me to get my "puppy fix" each day, and I truly think that they actually recognized me every time I came up to their expen. "THAT's the lady that gets us OUT and also has Yummy Treats!!"

These pups already HAVE homes, or I would not even be here.  Too dangerous. Besides, I really Really like having only 2 dogs. It's pretty easy, actually.

Below is a series of pictures I took of a man and his daughter from Tulsa.  The little girl is a 10-year old who has asked her Mom and Daddy for a Collie puppy for her birthday.  The dad brought his 2 daughters to the show on Friday, then returned with the "birthday girl" on Saturday....He had read the Terhune books as a young boy, had a Collie when he was growing up....I'm thinking this guy really doesn't have a Chance of saying no to this darling child...

ANYway, at their "return" trip to the Expo on Saturday, they once again sought me out, and I asked Katie if she would like to walk James...She never said one word all morning, but she did nod her head yes, and I gave her the leash.....

I probably don't need to insert any dialog here....These pictures pretty much say it all...James is doing what he does best....being the Only Dog in the World, and Katie is discovering the wonderfulness and the bidability of a Collie.....Wonder if the CCA would hire James for his ambassador skills.....

Jeremy needed to take a break, so I gave Katie his leash, and they went for a walk outside.

Next, we went to the puppies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  This is baby Noah.  He will be going to live in Japan, soon as he is old enough for a rabies shot.  Walking puppies is LOTS different than walking a Collie who knows all things...

We went to the Obedience Ring, now empty of dogs."....Take him up and back, Ma'am...."

Yep...I'm thinking we might have a Performance child in this family!  It really IS fun to teach a Collie, after all.  Katie's dad told me that she was truly enamored with the breed now and everything to do with it....I gave him my card and told him I would Love to help them pick out a companion Collie.....Here's hoping they find one that is perfect for their family.

Next it was the Best of Variety judging.  Here's the Magical Nigel with Brenda ringside, Katy Preddy handling.

It's time to say our last goodbyes.....

The Expo is emptying out...

I try not to worry about her...I Really DO try...But she makes it IMpossible sometimes...

James is packed in there SOMEwhere....We really did not do much "organized packing"....only about an hour to travel....He doesn't mind...Just as long as he's close by... 

 FREEEEEEEDOM!!!!!  and lots of Green grass and NO Leashes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 We can do whatever we WANT to at Aint Toni's house!!!

And this is truly how all this journey really began.....Sitting outside on a deck surrounded by Collies....Our friendship took root, and we discovered that we can dwell in heaven even while still on Earth....See you in a month, Brenda, at Dog Camp!!!

License Plates at the Nationals....

You KNOW who you are!!!  Here are just a few of the "designer" license plates I saw in the parking lot.  If you have any to add, please forward them to me, and we'll make them a part of this list.  xoxoxo

THIS one's MINE....