Last Wednesday Chase and I drove to Oklahoma City for the 4-day show cluster. What a huge show. On Saturday there were more than 2,200 entries. Cardi males were 4 points all four days (though it dropped to 3 on Sunday due to a dog finishing and someone being absent). Chase earned a major reserve from Judge James Reynolds, but no points. However, we learned something really valuable. I’ve been home-schooling Chase and that isn’t working. He’s become too dependent upon me. I am his security blanket so with me he feels safe in any environment. Three of the four days at the shows, he was in the arena — a huge, open floor surrounded by chair rows that reach to heaven. Sounds reverberate, huge carts roll by. It was sensory overload for this eight-month old, AND since someone else handled him, he didn’t have his safety net.
So, I decided it was imperative he be desensitized. Sherri Hurst kept him with her from Friday afternoon on, and then took him home with her. Little Chase is embarking on the first part of the plan for his future show career.
I miss the little guy even though crazy Kip and the devilish red head are following me from room to room. I told Sherri that I knew Chase would lift his leg for the first time while he was at her house, and I would miss it (that’s the dog mom equivalent of not seeing your child take his first steps). As I was misting up over this very real concern she said, “Oh, look” and pointed at the exercise pen. Chase lifted his leg and marked his territory. We decided that was the omen — and I felt a little better about bidding my baby goodbye for the next several weeks.
If you are at the shows in Dallas or San Antonio or at Houston, please give my brindle baby a head pat and a tummy rub. Let him know his mom misses him.
