Widget Tries Again

Did he show? No.

Widget's experience back in November was terrible. For whatever reason, his little brain could not take in the activities at the Classic, even though he had been to a large show hall like that one on a previous occasion. It will be at least a few more months before he goes back into the show ring to compete for points.

On the other hand, it will be difficult for him to change his perspective and learn about shows if he stays at home. So, now that he's had a chance to stay home a bit and relax, it's time to restart his education. Kathleen and I decided to take him to the Alexandria Kennel Club show, where we would be trying to get Cyi's final grand champion points before we retired her to trick and obedience training--and puppies. We decided that Widget could come along for the ride, watch people walk through the crating/grooming area, and maybe. we could walk him around if he felt able. If we felt really good about his behavior, we thought we might try to enter him in the much smaller, much quieter, much more loosely judged match on Saturday night. It all seemed like a perfect plan.

Off to the Show!

Widget took the four-hour ride to Alexandria in stride, relaxing in his big wire crate in the far back of the Suburban, alongside Cyi, who relaxed in her own wire crate. Yaddle and Joy rode in the back seats in their crates, while Badger rode shotgun in his. Little did I know that Widget was storing energy to partake in the Twilight Barking at the hotel. Fortunately, almost everyone around us had dogs entered in the show, so we did not have to fear being kicked out of our room! Widget did eventually settle down after everyone was fed and exercised. Yay, Widget!

Saturday Morning

Toy Fox Terriers had a 10:00 ring time on Saturday, so we were in no rush to get to the show hall. Our relaxed pace only helped Widget, as none of us were under any stress at all. As I mentioned in a previous story, "stress goes right down the lead." Dogs sense the owner's/handler's stress and grow nervous themselves. Although Widget barked almost constantly as we unloaded the dogs from the cars onto the crate trolleys and as we wheeled them through the crating/grooming area and as we arranged our set up and so on, he didn't cower at the back of his crate or growl at anyone. We helped him calm down a bit with a snack and a crate cover while Kathleen got the other dogs ready for the ring and I collected arm bands and reported a ring conflict to the stewards.

Discretion being the better part of valor, we left Widget, Yaddle, and Kieran (one of Kathleen's dogs) back at the set-up while we showed the others. To my surprise, he did not cut up a fuss as we wheeled the crate dollies away. We were across the show hall for almost 30 minutes, long enough for the pugs ahead of us to finish showing and for all seven Toy Fox Terriers to be shown. The good news from the conformation ring is that Cyi got her final three points--Yay! Yuma got another point toward her AKC champion title, too. The bad news from the ring is that poor Badger was the "bridesmaid" yet again. Now that Badger's head is starting to gray significantly, it's probably time to retire him from conformation.

We stayed at ringside for a few minutes to chat with the person who had handled Cyi for us, thanking her profusely for her help. As other exhibitors moved into place to show their dogs, we cleared the area for them. We stack our crates on trolleys and double up on dogs in the crates, but it's simply polite to move on. To my surprise, Widget was remarkably quiet when we returned to our set up. He did bark, some, but he was more relaxed than I remembered seeing him since bringing him to either show. I gave him a word of praise, then it was off to another ring for Kathleen to show Yaddle. Here's a few seconds of Yaddle gaiting in the ring. What she lacks in style, she makes up in enthusiasm!

Hotel Redux

Long story short, Kathleen and I decided that it would be in our best interest, as well as that of the dogs, not to stay for the match that evening. Widget had crated beautifully and the several walks that we took him on were generally acceptable. He did growl at his reflection once or twice, but he didn't pay much attention to either dogs or people. We decided that staying to show Yaddle at the match would be asking too much of him. Because we had brought him to rehabilitate him for shows, we decided that we would pack everyone up and bring them back to the room. An hour later, we were all back at the room, unpacked, and out of our peopling clothes. Other than picking up something to eat at around 5:45, we were done for the day.

The silence that ensued that afternoon was a wonderful thing! All of the dogs were quiet, even when I let Badger and Yaddle out to nap with me. Widget was exhausted from the show, even if he had barely walked around for a half an hour, and slept right up until Kathleen brought our food back to the room. Except for a brief bout of barking at dog supper time, Widget was acting like a pro at this show hotel thing. The only thing we heard from him after turning off the lights was the occasional squeaking of the toy we'd put in the crate with him.

Sunday Morning

We had an 8:00 ring time on Sunday, so we needed to get ourselves out the door a bit more quickly than on Saturday. We pulled Cyi from competition, to give Feather a better shot at picking up some grand points. I wasn't a fan of this particular judge, given that he put up a six-month-old puppy as best of breed over two champions, but he DID give Feather Best of Opposite sex, so yay! LOL

We had a couple of hours before needing to show Yaddle, so we exercised dogs and walked Widget around some more. This time we let strangers give him cookies. One brave man even allowed Widget to sniff his hand. Widget did seem a bit apprehensive and defensive, but not aggressive. Good job, Widget!

(Widget gaiting outside the vendor area, so it's noisy. Look at his growing confidence, not at my fat self!)

Did it go according to plan?

In a word: Yes!

Widget has a long way to go, but he's made a lot of strides in two months. Even with Dan and I only able to work with him for a few minute on an infrequent basis, the majority of his happy nature has returned. After deer season is over and I have more time (I help process deer during the winter), I will be able to take him to Tractor Supply Company to meet and greet people. We'll probably enter him in one day at a show in April and see how he does leading up to it.

It's entirely possible that we'll have to focus on trick training and Rally obedience for a bit longer. Doing both would allow him to build his confidence and participate in events without anyone being too near to him and touching him. I'm feeling a bit better about his future now. Geaux Team Widget!