Farrah's First Show! Best in Show Reserve!

Today we attended the International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA) dog show in Hutchinson, Minnesota. This was out first dog show and also the first time Farrah met another Shiloh Shepherd since she joined our family.

Today certainly exceeded my expectations! First of all there was a huge snow storm, so everything was delayed. Farrah met Bruno (Virginia's gorgeous pup out of Emma/Yo-Na litter of Dec/09) and they fell in love instantly! Bruno had all of the right moves to attract the sensitive Farrah to his side. Silently they rubbed noses and looked longingly into each others eyes. The two of them certainly made a huge impression at the show! It was also great to meet Virginia. She's the first person off the Shiloh Forum that I've met 'in person' and such a great resource of information and a very nice person! We would have been lost if she wasn't there today to mentor us along!

Show #1. Despite waiting 2hrs before going into the ring for the first time, Farrah digs deep and wins best of breed. We then go to Best Of Group (herding) and we finish 2nd.

Show #2. Farrah wins Best of Breed and goes to Best of Group. It all happened so fast as Virginia had gone to take Bruno for a bathroom break, and Elizabeth was talking to some people about the pigeon show going on next door. Next thing I know I'm called into Best of Group and we WIN without either Elizabeth and Virginia seeing it all happen! It was very exciting nonetheless. Things happen fast when they're moving along.

Finally Best of Show. We've been here for 8 hrs already and Farrah is noticeably tired. Up until now we've been the front dog in all of the group competitions, but this time we're put at the rear. Poor Farrah had to hold her stack for all of the other 6 dogs to go through. She was starting to sit down and I could tell she was done for the day. But she hung in there for a few more minutes and it was enough to impress the 2 judges, and we won Best In Show Reserve (2nd place!).

I can tell we're doing better each time we go in the ring. There are over 160 dogs here and the 2 Shilohs here are certainly drawing attention. We've given away a lot of the Shiloh tri-folds as people keep coming over to our setup and asking about the breed.

tomorrow is another day. Here are some photos from today:

Our Best In Show Reserve: show#2

Best in Herding Group Award

Our very first award!

Farrah meets Big Bruno! Love at first site!

Shiloh Corner

The ever charming Bruno! He is such a sweet character!!

waiting for Best In Show

Virginia, Bruno, Elizabeth, Farrah

Top Dog....

It should be clear from this photo who runs the show around our place. Not only has Sebastien taken over the doggie bed, he now owns The Bone! Poor Farrah.....

2 week long playdate....

Last month, while Elizabeth and I went off to California for a wedding, Farrah went for a playdate with her good friend Tartan (lab cross) and new friends Timber and Aspen (huskies) for two weeks. They were staying in Northwestern Ontario on the Canadian Shield the entire time. This meant she had unlimited access to the pristine lakes of the Shield, which apparently she took advantage of everyday. Today I received 536 photos from my friend of her adventures of early October...here are 14 of the ones I liked best. Thanks Ken and Justin!

Almost 15 months old.....

Next week Farrah will be 15 months old. She recently 'blew' her plush coat and is now in the process of welcoming in a new furcoat just in time for winter. She looked extra skinny for a while there, but now has filled out with her plushness. It seems she's grown a lot longer too in the last few weeks, but is still always ready to pose for the camera.

Tug with her good buddy Tartan

Before Farrah liked to swim

After she learned to swim

boat rider

Farrah figures out swimming....

Last week, while working at one of our research lakes, Farrah figured out that she can swim! Up until now, she has been content wandering into the water, but only up to her belly and only if the shoreline was a sandy beach. Even if you tossed a stick, which is her ultimate playtoy, into the lake, she would previously only go in up to her comfort level and let the stick drift away.

I was working on a raft on a small lake, and there wasn't room in the small boat for Farrah, so she waited on shore, as she has always done at this particular lake. I suppose I was there too long for her liking and she got fed up waiting on the dock. To my surprise, when I looked up she had swam out to us! The look on her face was, "Look Dad! I'm Swimming!!!" It seemed like half of her body was out of the water and she doggy-paddled furiously. We had just finished out work on the raft so headed back to shore, and Farrah followed suit heading back to where she had started.

Now she can't stop swimming. Especially if you toss in a stick for her to retrieve.

Farrah meets Fred Eaglesmith

This week Farrah attended her first outdoor concert. Canadian legend Fred Eaglesmith was the special guest at a celebration party for co-worker. The private concert was held at an outdoor stage in Northwestern Ontario, next to a beautiful Canadian Shield lake, with loons calling in the distance. Being a performer herself, Farrah hung out with Fred post-show.

We're Canine Good Neighbour certified!

Tonight. just 3 days after Farrah's 1 year birthday, we passed the Canine Good Neighbour Examination! (The CGN is the Canadian version of the Canine Good Citizen test performed in the US...click here to see test description ).

There are 12 discrete tests, and Farrah aced them all. I wish I could say it was all the 'handler', but in reality it was her that made us look good. The only comment from the chief evaluator was that Farrah 'whined a bit during the 3 minute supervised isolation test', but she stayed calm and in position the entire time. We had a great time and everyone was so impressed with Farrah's calm temperament in an arena full of dogs and dog smells (the test was occurring at the same time as a 4 day CKC dog show). For the heeling portion of the test, she pranced beautifully about just like the performer that she is! She's such a natural!

Me, Farrah and the CGN chief evaluator
(Farrah looks so small in the photo! I think it's just the camera angle (I'm 6'1")