In March, 2019 Miss Dior and Lilly went to NC and participated in their 2nd cluster of shows. Just like her mother KK, Miss Dior looked at the judge like such a little Diva. Both girls had fun visiting a farm en route home where they saw their 1st goats and pigs!

Wow! What an exciting trip to Tallahassee, Florida for the pups' 1st official show (for points). All 4 girls participated in 2 shows Wednesday, and the Thursday, Friday, Saturday shows, and Miss Dior and Annie participated in the Sunday show. We couldn't have handled so much without the help of Jancinthe Bouchard, Shannon Halley, and others (thank you SO much for helping us show these lovely girls!) and we LOVED the fact that EACH of the girls were recognized by different judges. (Thank you for appreciating these special pugs!) They ALL won their class, Miss Dior, Lilly, and Buttercup won Winners Bitch, (Miss Dior now has 7 points toward her championship), and Buttercup won Best of Winners AND Best of Breed Owner Handler!  At just 7 months, these girls are off to a great start!

Working multiple jobs (pianist, teacher, Wag dog walker, lecturer, composer/arranger, author etc.) makes it difficult to find training time for the pups. So, with a big cluster show coming up, the puppies are going to do 10-day boot camp which we'll document here. 

Train the Trainer

Training stations:
As a musician, I love to use music throughout life …. I love to clean house to Vivaldi or Salsa, I love to decompress with Blues or Bach etc., SO, each station except for #1 has its own music, of course!
1) Basic Skills = silence, (as we need to hear the clicker)
2) Workout = For treadmill work, what better song than "Too Fat Polka"?
3) Table = Too Sexy (we'll combine Table work with Down and Back)
4) Leash Work/Down and Back
5) Grooming = TBA (probably Miss America Theme Song!)

Here's the "workout video" we'll be using. 

Pickwick's Forever is Now (Princess Buttercup) - Training Session Day 2:

Pickwick's Thrill on Blueberry Hill (Lilly) - Training Session Day 2:

Since Lilly and Miss Dior are going to be in the ring at the same time (Bred by Exhibitor), Jeff and I are going to try to start training together some. Lilly was all about hopping with him today and Miss Dior only wanted to look at me. Annie wanted NOTHING to do with the treadmill! In fact, Annie didn't feel like training today period lol.

The hi-light of Westminster for us was definitely when Miss Dior got stuck under the tv stand! But we all had tons of fun cheering for Biggie pug (Macintosh's cousin!) even if he had to share the win with a fluffy Havanese. Today was a jam-packed day with 4 "other" (non-dog) jobs so, when evening came, and it was the last and only available time to train, we decided to watch the Westminster Toy Group instead …. and hope the girls picked something up just by watching TV (LOL). 

Rainy days and pugs do NOT mix. But, thankfully, I had an umbrella for the pups to do our numbers. Baths in the morning because HANDLING CLASS tonight with the Birmingham Kennel Club. (They have been on break most of the pups' training lives --- November-mid Feb --- so the pups haven't had any classes except the one when they were 4 months, right before the classes went on break.) SO, needless to say, they were not prepared. I was honestly a bit surprised how fearful and timid they were (Miss Dior was barking at all the other dogs … other side of the coin of fear) and all the pups' (except Annie who has had lots of classes and shows already) went DOWN. So sad. This means, we've got to up the outings game and we're going to attempt to get the girls out to ALL of the 8 available locales (and more if you include Brew Pubs!) …. 4 nearby pet stores, Home Depot, Lowes, Academy Sports, Another sports store. AND, I need to prepare some even more tasty, high-incentive treats for these outings. No photos or videos from the Handling Class since we were SO busy handling 4 dogs. Annie did great, though!

What an amazing week spent at the PDCA Nationals in Indianapolis filled with conformation shows, rally obedience trials and seminars, tricks titles, and workshops on pug health, nutrition, and training. We met all sorts of pug folks from across the country (and some other countries as well) involved in conformation, rescue, agility, obedience, barn hunt, scent work, dock diving, and just plain "pug loving"! Our  Champion Peachtree's Kirkcudbright Kayleigh (KK) earned a high score of 97 in the Novice Rally Obedience trial!  

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Our new 4.5 month puppy, Zobear's American Idol, (Annie) did so well in the 4-6 Puppy Class! ​

The drive was long but we made it home safely, filled with all sorts of new knowledge regarding pug health, training, and lots of ribbons, titles, and fun memories! Here is Macintosh and Annie en route back from the conference.

We can't believe how fast Macintosh finished his championship ... and by 8 months of age! He finished in North Carolina and went on to earn 4 points and a major toward his Grand Championship in Columbiana, AL this past weekend.  Macintosh will do some training for AKC Tricks and Canine Musical Freestyle over the summer, then we will resume with conformation after, hopefully, his head and chest have filled out.

Here he was just last December during his 1st piano lesson ....

And look how much he grew in 2 months (here he was at the February Tallahassee show) ....

And another month later .... here he is at the March North Carolina show where he finished his championship . . . . .

And this past weekend at the Columbiana, AL show where he won Best of Breed, and Best of Breed Owner Handler, and Best of Opposite and a bunch of other fun things plus earned 4 points toward his Grand Championship and a major.

To give you an idea of how much more growing/maturing he still has left, here is Macintosh (in the middle) in between his mother, Champion KK, and grandfather, Grand Champion Rocket Man. 

3 generations . . . . .

At only 7 and half months of age, it just amazes me that this sweet boy has already earned 2 majors and 11 points toward his championship. He is a true ham in the ring and is definitely still a puppy, but he pours his heart and love out and earns everyone's smiles. Here he is at his 3rd show cluster in Tallahassee, Florida February, 2018.

Our dogs live with us in our home. On occasion, we'll let one sleep with us, but we all seem to get a better night's rest (including the dogs!) when we are in our own beds. Since a few of the pugs tend to snore we bought a "white noise machine" for the big dogs. It seems to keep them all stay calmer and quieter throughout the night as well. Throughout the day, though, constant companions in the house since I work at home and they are with us in whatever room we are in. Now to choose today's "studio dog" who will join me while I teach piano ..... (this is a special thing and they have to earn it!) 

Macintosh entered 4 days in the Atlanta, Georgia shows this past weekend. He LOVED the entire experience and won his class, Bred By Exhibitor each day. Many thanks to Thursday's judge at the Griffin Georgia Kennel Club show for appreciating Macintosh's magnificence by choosing him for "Winners Dog". The purple ribbon was wonderful, and we are glad to have a major 3 point win out of the way, however, we were MOST PROUD that by the 3rd day of showing he NEVER tried to sit in the ring and by the 4th day he stood still on the table. Finally! He had been having bad cases of "popcorn butt" in his handling classes at Birmingham Kennel Club so this was truly the "major win" for his humans! Macintosh truly seems to love the show environment and has so much fun .... perhaps a little TOO much fun on the final day when he decided to hop and bounce instead of walk, and reminded me that he is still just a 7 month old puppy (tomorrow) when he decided to try to bite at the bottom of my skirt. Hmmmm, perhaps I'll be wearing pants at the next show lol. And, no more morning playtime biting the bottom of my robe every morning. Sigh.  

​Here he was on Friday:

Here he was on Saturday (never tried to sit .... except on table :)

No video footage of Sunday to prove that he finally stayed still on the table for the judge. However, every time I see him smiling and laughing at me after he bit my skirt I can't help but laugh out loud. I know laughing and smiling is just as wonderful a marker as a clicker, but still it took everything I had to keep a serious face and not laugh at him. Here he is the morning before the final show. He brought me my hair brush, as if to say "time to brush ME now!" Macintosh LOVES his grooming.
​https://www.facebook.com/PugExtraodinaire/videos/1833258943411689/
​And here he is getting after his bath:
https://www.facebook.com/PugExtraodinaire/videos/1792603640810553/

Macintosh's first show was in Clemson, South Carolina on a FREEZING day in a cold, cold building. However, pugs (and pug owners!) tend to prefer cold to hot on any day! He absolutely LOVED the show atmosphere, and showing off in the ring. That was my goal = to have fun, so the purple ribbon for "Winners Dog" was icing on the cake. His favorite part was the toy and bully stick he got after the show and he loved having his buddy, pug Lord Randolph, with him for company. 

Pickwick's Peachtree Hill Country Mighty Macintosh, at age 5 months, participated in his first event and won a trophy even taller than him! Best Puppy, Best in Toy Group ... .and, to his owners, best sport because he was a true showman and totally fearless. He owned the room! We can't wait for his next show in South Carolina.