I should know better

Another of mine goes off to try his luck without me.  And again it`s a funny feeling.

A very prominent exhibitor asked if I would be willing to share Sparkle in a partnership.  She had fallen for him when she judged him in the spring.  It was a very good and flattering offer, and I thought it over and felt that given my age and travel problems it would be silly to say no.  He would get to many more shows, and be in really good hands.  I don`t tend to get to any shows south of the midlands nowadays.  This would let him achieve his full potential.

Sparkle triumphant!

My one reservation was Sparkle himself.  He is, to say the least, an odd little person.  I felt he never bonded with me, unlike his sister, Tess Trueheart, who is very affectionate indeed.  But he loved to show – a born little showoff.    He seemed to be quite obsessed with himself.   I worried that I was handing over a problem.

However, it seems to have worked out, and in a strange way.   Sparkle has become obsessed with their older dog.  Imagine the most intense Justin Bieber or One Direction  teen groupie, and you are getting near it.  He can`t have the dog out of his sight, and will not strut his stuff unless he knows that dog is present.   Personally I have never seen anything like it.  Dogs do form attachments, but this seems a bit excessive.     But the others in the partnership think it is OK, and certainly Sparkle is happy and confident – and winning!   Clearly he has quite a future ahead of him.

Always something new in dogs!

After just over nine months in Ireland, Cupcake has made it.   He is now Irish Champion Volpecula Set in Gold!  Thanks to some very expert handling he achieved the necessary seven green stars, and has his title.

He is just over two years old, and as you may remember, after some deep thought in his puppy days, decided to be a Papillon.   And as a Papillon he did some winning.  Then one hot day, he appeared with one ear down.  I had a look at it, and found a tick.   It was a very small tick, but I was sure it was the culprit.  I removed it, and waited confidently for the ear to come up again.    Two days later the other ear had come down in sympathy.   And that was that.   He had made a career decision, and was now a Phalene.

Cupcake at 7 weeks

Well, it`s not so easy being a Phalene here.  Some judges simply do not like them, and all in all it is an uphill struggle with them.   But in Ireland, under FCI rules, Phalenes are a separate breed, and compete with each other  on equal terms.  So to Ireland he went, to an expert friend who has done really well with him.  And in only nine months, he has gained his title.

Cupcake at 9 months

It`s a new feeling, this business of not handling my dogs myself, but at my time of life it makes sense, and it is quite a good feeling to sit back and wait for results.   Of course this will also happen with Sparkle, except that he will stay in this country and I will see his progress and of course I will be showing his sister.   And meanwhile Mr Wag, who has really taken to Irish life, is only a few points off his Junior Champion title.

Champion Cupcake today! Irish Ch Volpecula Set in Gold

It`s all happening!