Go Lilibeth, Pickwick's Show the World How to Smile. She just received in the mail this wonderful recognition from AKC for Puppy of Achievement award because of all her wins (best of breed, Toy Group winner, and even a couple of Best in Shows BPUP and Winners Bitch against older seasoned pugs in Perry 6-9 puppy class). We love you Lilibeth! And, you really do make us smile. We totally lucked out with your show name!

What a fun trip to the Perry, Georgia dog shows this past Thursday-Sunday. Robert had SO much fun showing won BOB (Best of Breed), and 2 BOS (Best of Opposite Sex) Thursday-Saturday but wasn't able to show Sunday since I didn't have enough hands to take him into the Best of Breed ring (since Lilibeth won Winners Bitch! see below). MOST importantly,  he was always smiling with an occasional subtle tail wag (a good thing ... just enough for him to tell me he's having fun, but not enough to be distracting for the judge lol). He's a natural show dog now and it's effortless handling him (except when he sometimes is so happy he does a little hop ... so I say "walk" and he behaves ;) Here he is at our campsite being mighty proud of himself since he finished his grand championship on Saturday under the esteemed pug-breeder-judge Charlotte Patterson.

Lilibeth won Winners Bitch out of the 6-9 month puppy class (which is a pretty awesome win since there were some Specials with Grand Championships and such in that ring and some amazing girls). I was so proud of her. Each day she easily won her class. The first day in the winners bitch ring she was the last in the lineup, (as the youngest one). It was tough for her on the go around and she pulled (HARD) on the lead trying to catchup with the rest of the gang .... so we trained that evening with different things such as changing directions and re-directing just before we start off, and she nailed it the Friday-Sunday. Wow, to me that is incredible to learn something like that SO fast. She's a brilliant little thing. Because of her incident getting herself tangled up in my bra (sigh) when she trapped herself in our bathroom, there was a mark on her coat where some hairs were broken. It was pretty significant and I'm sure that ruled her out the first 3 days for winners bitch or other awards BUT, at the Rally Obedience trial with Marie Claire, (of all places!), I met an amazing professional handler who generously showed me how to camouflage the area a bit with some thinning shears and such, and, on Saturday Charlotte Patterson told me to use Mink Oil. We purchased some amazing shampoo products from Puffy Dog and had an awesome bath/blowout Saturday night at our campsite and voila, something more akin to the "pre-bra-Lilibeth" emerged. Not perfect, but in a few more weeks with continued mink oil we're hoping she'll be back 100%. But you know? I'd rather have these sort of challenges resulting from Lilibeth living with us in our home, as opposed to being confined to a crate all the time like so many show homes do. But, wow, a bra? You can't make this stuff up. That's why I love pugs so much. They find joy and silliness in life where no one else can. Here are some photos of her by the fairgrounds at Perry ... at almost 6.5 months old.

At a dog show there can be lots of wait time ... but that's great for catching up on beauty rest, like Lilibeth and Marie Claire are doing here while waiting for the Rally Obedience trial.

Lilibeth kept everyone entertained at the campsite in the evening. Marie Claire didn't seem quite as impressed with the shenanigans, though lolz.

But now our attention will be turning to Lilly and Buttercup for the hopeful adventure of puppies this summer. Lilly's radiograph from this morning confirmed the ultra sound from a couple of weeks ago .... 3 puppies! So, that's our next adventure here at Pickwick Pugs for summer 2021.

We just donated to support the research being done on Parvo Virus. Here's the link regarding Revival's contributions to research and all about "Healthy Puppy Month"! Home | Healthy Puppy Month

Lilibeth and Robert had fun at the Asheville, NC shows. It was wonderful seeing some friends and their new pugs and the weather was divine (not too much rain on one day :) for the outdoor venue. Here they are showing off some of the ribbons they won (and Lilibeth won a toy!) 

The best part of the trip was the drive home where we stopped at several overlooks and trails in the Great Smoky Mountains. ​

The 1st part of spring break involved a solo camping trip (Amy) with pugs Marie Claire, Lilibeth, and Robert. Tent camping at that! It was quite cold some nights on the Mountain (Monte Sano Mountain, Huntsville, Alabama) so we purchased a "lil buddy" propane heater which we could use inside the tent. We trained and enjoyed the woods (lots of ticks out, so it was good we used some Frontline before the trip).

After the tent camping trip, I think the pugs were glad to head to a hotel for the dog show in Jackson, TN. It was our first time to be at this venue which was quite nice, not too stressful for the dogs, and had some fabulous judges. The folks running the event were also super nice. I hate that they had to cancel the last day (Sunday) because of the storm damage and that they had to have added stress to running such a big event ... however, I'm so glad everyone was safe and no one (especially all those folks staying in campers at the show site) was hurt. 

Honestly, I was SO surprised when Scarlett J. said she'd be willing to show Robert for us ... for free! She must really like him a lot lolz ;)

And she was the first to tryout the "plunger pole" weave!

And Lilibeth won Breed and Toy Puppy Group at her very first Match in Tallahassee. Not only that, but she was a natural in the ring and loved every second of it!

Oh no! My dog is watching me as I type this …. but SHE’S SITTING! How could I have let this happen? Allow a show dog to sit? OH NO!! Now she’s lying down. Sigh. Her show career is over. Unless? Perhaps I could just teach her when she’s supposed to sit? Hmmm ……
 
To this day I remember getting in trouble when I was around 2 years old for sitting down while watching the changing of the guards. The GUARD walked over and reprimanded me! I’ll never forget the seriousness on his face nor the look of embarrassment on my parents’ faces. Well, I didn’t know it wasn’t appropriate to sit! My parents didn’t know! There were no blasted signs. (Besides, I couldn’t read yet).
 
Since pugs are perpetual 2-year old children, I guess the same applies here. As the human, I’m going to need to tell my pug when it’s appropriate to sit, stand, or lie down.
 
Honestly, I haven’t met a single conformation person yet who hasn’t warned me “never teach a show dog to sit.” It doesn’t make sense to me. Even when I’ve followed their advice, and deprived the poor pug puppy the opportunity to learn puppy pushups and other important life skills, the pup STILL sat in the show ring! And, horrors, on the conformation table too!
 
A show pug has one short life to live. Why should a show pug have a less fulfilling life than a rescue dog?  Also, I can speak from experience when I say that a show pug who has NOT received obedience training is NOT a pretty sight … especially when living with a large grumble. And aren’t show pugs are supposed to be pretty 😉?!
 
So, I’m stepping out on that thin ice and breaking the rules. Yes, I’m teaching Lilibeth to sit.
 
She will sit while in a car.
She will sit while in a bar.
She will sit on my left side.
She will sit on our trike ride.
She will sit in front
And she will not afront.
 
Lilibeth, puppy pushups here we come! You will conquer everything with your brilliant mind and spirit. Never underestimate a pug or a pug owner.
 
This will be my first time to dual train. I’ve picked the brains of 100s of trainers who dual train and compete in both conformation and obedience on the same day.  I’ve re-read my dual-training books. I’ll add a mirror and videotape sessions to make sure I’m keeping my body language consistent and clear. And I’ll let you know how it turns out.
 
My plan: Begin with conformation Boot Camp which will last 30 days as we prepare for a BPUP to be held at the end of March. We will work on other important skills for rally like attention, recalls, manners, leave it etc. alongside but wait to begin the hardcore skills of attention heeling, Velcro dog, fronts and finishes to begin after Conformation Boot Camp. ALSO, we will enter her first rally show in June and ONLY do rally at that show. The following month, we will participate in both rally and conformation.  
 
I’ve got to make it fun …. we’ll start with …..
 
Eat meals on collapsed conformation table
Play and treat on “ “ “
Lead Breaking (follow pup around etc.)
Lure games (with lead on, treat using Left Hand/Lead Hand)
Obstacle courses with lure
Conditioning games
Manners – leave it, drop it etc.
And, of course, Rapt Attention.
 
Let the games begin!

It's difficult staying awake to monitor the feedings every 90 minutes - 2 hours. Miss Dior licks the pups to help eliminate them but she also needs a little help because she gets the job "sort of" done ;) Lots of baby wipes for getting milk off faces, too, while they are nursing. So here's my sleep deprived 2 AM tribute to Baby Wipes and KC and the Sunshine Band!