CIKC Show and Chili Supper Recap

Well, we survived another year of chili supper and dog show. We have so much fun every year, but we put so much of ourselves into the chili supper (26 quarts of chili, and only 4 quarts or so left!!) and showing that we usually need to go back to work on Monday to rest!! But man, did we ever have fun. I daresay it was the best January event we've ever hosted!! We had exhibitors and pet owners come and enjoy all of the festivities, and we even managed to con a couple of Working Group people to come and enjoy us "herding types" for a couple of hours (thanks for coming Steve and Joyce!!).;o) We also got to finally meet Joy (of Tracking Trekker fame) and boy did she ever get a crash course in Corgis!! LOL

We had 10 of us staying in our 1500sq foot house with 18 dogs. It was a big slumber party and outside of the fact that our 3 girls all decided to be in season, even the dogs were all very well behaved and we had no grumbling. The guest Corgis all made new friends and I'm sure there were not just a few people who wanted to smuggle Dove, Ell, and Zoe home with them! Oh, and not all of the dogs were Corgis either! We had our token Puli and a GSP also stay with us.

Everyone loved watching the 4 little puppies (all about 15 weeks old) romp and play and cause as much chaos as they possibly could before the humans decided they had enough and would put them back in their crates. ;o)

We watched the 2005 Cardi National on DVD and we all learned a lot. Thanks to Garrett for bringing his copy to share.

On to the show. I don't have the exact results (I was too busy shuffling dogs), but I think most everyone had a little piece of the winning, as it seemed that everyone came away with at least red ribbons and lots of smiles. There was a lot comaraderie between the exhibitors as everyone congratulated the winners, consoled the losers, and leads were passed between people as dogs were juggled between the classes and breeds (Pems and Cardis were back to back so it got busy right away). Thanks to Cindy McDonald for taking my brindle monster Bear into the ring for me right away on Sunday. I think it really helped calm him down so that he didn't feel rushed for his second weekend in the ring (he won Reserve Winner's Dog too with her handling him!). Congrats to all the winners, but big congrats go out to Connie for finishing Prophet, Sonja and Chelsea for their nice BOB win on Saturday, and to Emily for her Best of Breed win and Group 2 on Sunday with Picasso.

I also have to brag a little and say that Ransom won Best of Breed on Sunday and gained a huge fan following during the Herding Group. He had by far the largest and most rowdy cheering section in the Herding Group. The little man just took it all in stride and showed his little heart out.

Central Iowa Kennel Club Show and Winjammin's Annual Chili Supper

This weekend is the CIKC all breed show and The 4th Annual Winjammin' Chili Supper on Saturday following BIS. Approximately 1000 dogs are entered...pretty good for a winter show where the weather is known to be anywhere from 45 degrees to -20 degrees, sunny to blizzard conditions on any given year.

Forecast for this year: Sat: 28 degrees and light flurries and Sun: 33 degrees and SUN!!!

For those of you who haven't made it up to the great white north yet, here's the scoop:

We, at Winjammin' host a Corgi-Q at our house in September following the Saturday Des Moines Kennel Club show. And NO, we don't BBQ the losing dogs!! Shame on you for thinking that (and I know some of you did!)!!! ;o) We traditionally have burgers, hot dogs (again with those nasty thoughts!! LOL), chicken legs, baked beans, and whatever else everyone decides to bring. We average about 50 people rain or shine every year, and the neighbors love to see all of the different show dogs set up in ex-pens outside in the yard. I think it makes their year! LOL

Then in January we also host, again at our house, a chili supper. Sherilyn makes about 22 quarts of homemade chili and then it's another pot luck. We always end up with lots of good food, and loads of company. I think we average about 25 people for this event. We even light the fireplace as it's usually REALLY cold, so those who are still frozen can warm up.

These two events are solely for fellowship, getting to know one another outside of the dog rings, and to play with puppies who are too young to have at the shows, as we encourage the little ones to come and play with everyone. We also have a lot of pet Corgi owners who come and they are able to talk to other breeders, who they wouldn't normally have met. We also have loads of people from other breeds come and enjoy the company as well.

So, for those of you who frequent our gatherings, THANK YOU for coming and helping to make it a great success, and can't wait to see everyone this weekend!! For everyone else, please consider coming out to Iowa for a show and the big party. We guarantee you will have a great time!! :o) No one ever leaves a Winjammin' feast hungry, and if you do, then it your OWN fault!! :o)

Early Morning Serenade - The Encore

Yes, that's right folks...the early morning serenade has continued, but with a new twist. Frick and Frack have enlisted help...namely Dreamy, although this morning there was another participant as well, and we're not 100% sure who it was.

Ransom has been sleeping upstairs with Bekka at night, so I'm sure Bear has been bored with his "singing" a solo. So, he enlisted Dreamy to help him in the last couple of days. They have been perfecting their routine, and it sounds prety decent, considering Dream's sound is more of a howling twitter (you have to hear it to believe it) than anything else.

Then, this morning, Bear and Dream start in, and are soon joined by a mysterious third voice, who can be heard well above the other two. So, I start to do a process of elimination....Phantom: in bed with us, trying to push me out, Ransom: upstairs and asleep, Bear: downstairs and singing, Dream: downstairs and singing, Cristal and Chianti: in the office playing, Emmy: downstairs and not usually one disposed to singing but is a possibility, and finally Duchess: downstairs and is a known singer (mostly to the song Blue by Leann Rimes), but hasn't in a long time...another definite possibility.

Duchess has her own distinctive sound that I did not hear this morning, hence the mystery. When she howls, she also puts "words" with it...Woof, woof, AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, woof, woof, yip, yap, ROOOOOOOOO, etc. You definitely know when she's a part of something like that.

I got to thinking that if these clowns actually can put all of their distinctive sounds together, we might actually have an album!! Oh, how I feel for our house guests this weekend!!!

To Cindy, Garrett, Cyndy and Emily, and Marla: I hope everyone brings earplugs, because you might need them! I'm sure the kids will try to entertain, and put on a nice little concert for you! Unfortunately, it'll be at "oh my god it's early o'clock...someone shut those d%$$@^ dogs up!!"

Now now another thought to ponder....what is it going to sound like if the GSP client, Frank or whomever of the FB crew comes to socialize, Ell, Zoe, Sulley, Picasso, or Pongo (a Puli....hmmm....might have a reggae sound to it! ;o)) decide to lend a hand?????????

Early Morning Serenade Frick and Frack Style

Leave it to Frick and Frack to liven up what would have been a lovely morning to sleep in. Everyone had been out for their early morning romp and potty, and then right back into the house and their crates for breakfast. This usually buys us anywhere from 2-3 hours more of blissful sleep. Well, Frick and Frack decided that they had had enough sleep and wanted to be back out on the snow playing tag with Emmy (who, by the way, was snuggled in bed with us and in no way willing to move from her warm, soft nest).

We were laying in bed and everything was quiet until we hear this low, mournful, rip the soul right out of you howl from Bear....

AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Then silence.
AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

He must've talked Ransom into helping him at this point because we hear...
(Extremely high pitched) ROOOOO
Silence.
(Slightly lower pitched) ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Silence

They put it together...
AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Then Ransom changed it up, while Bear kept his part going...
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
(slightly lower and harmonized with Bear's howl) AROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was a pure pitched call of the wild type of howl that you hear on the nature channel's wolf specials. It was really nice to listen to, even if we did get a good chuckle out of it initially.

Those two boys can really drive you nuts, but at the same time, they can really melt even the coldest of hearts. This was one of those mornings...

Happy New Year to All!

Rus, Sherilyn, Bekka and all the Corgis at Winjammin' would like to wish everyone has a very Happy and Safe New Year! We hope to see you at a show in the near future...wow...2009...hard to believe!

Take care and stay warm! Hugs to all!

Bear Has A New Job

First of all, we hope that everyone had a Safe and Happy Holiday and got everything they asked for. We had a great weekend, all the more so because it was nice to stay home and spend it with all the kids. Port also set out for his forever home yesterday with his new mom, Christy Collins. She will teach him the ins and outs of being a show dog and he'll teach her new ways to terrorize Tibbies and Cresteds, I'm sure! Good luck with the little man Christy!

Now we come to the topic of today's post. Bear seems to have taken it upon himself to be the house guard dog, while he is outside. Yes, we have other guard dogs...namely Duchess, Phantom and Ruby. But Bear has taken this to a whole other level. He sees another dog, he barks. He sees another person, he barks. He sees another squirrel, he barks. He sees another LEAF, he barks. Now let me illustrate just how this barking sounds. It's not just abark, bark, bark, like most dogs. It's more of the ALERT!!! THAT LEAF IS A MUTANT AND IS GOING TO DESTROY THE HOUSE!!! I'LL HOLD IT OFF WHILE YOU RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!! You get the idea. It's lovely at 630am on a wekend holiday morning...NOT. I'm sure the neighbors appreciate it...NOT.

Now, I wrote earlier about his big boy bark and it's still there, except now it's getting deeper as he's growing up. He actually has a lower voice than Phantom and I think his volume control has been eaten by Ransom. He used to have one, I swear he did. He used to have this little girly shrill bark that wasn't too loud. Not anymore. He sounds like a combination of mom Marg and his half-brother Russ....through a megaphone, onto a PA system, into an empty arena!!!

Anywhoo, I digress. Bear feels as if the whole world will end if he isn't the first one to confront a guest or any walker who happens to walk past. If we're out at Petsmart or anything like that, he "protects" mom and dad as if his life depends on it....well, until you wave a cookie in front of his face, then all bets are off. Some protection he is. I see Ransom has had some influence on him again...

This coming weekend at the dog show in St. Paul, MN ought to be a real joy. I can see us trying to walk him to the rings while he yells at everyone and everydog to keep out of his way, because he's so big and bad (not), us trying to wave a cookie in his face to keep him quiet, Ransom trying to steal said cookie because as he will readily tell you...he hasn't eaten in at least an hour, and last but not least, Emmy prancing serenely is if the world should bow down to her and kiss her feet. Yes, this will be the routine for all 3 days of show, as the Cardis and Pems have the same ringtimes. Oh fun!

Now if we can just get Bear to realize that the other dog in his ring is his littermate, who he liked...

Cindy, I see your Merlot issue and raise you Bear.... ;o)

New Game...Thanks Kim and Joy!!

Kim and Joy had a great idea for a new game, so I decided to play along too!! The idea is to think about each one of your dog's personalities and decide that if the dog was human, who would they be...either a general description or a person.

So, here goes:

Duchess - Well, this one is obvious. She'd be the Queen Mother of England. Everyone bows down to her, family and guest alike, even though she has no real ruling power.

Ruby - She'd be the typical nightmare date for a single person. Very attractive to look at and talk to at first. Then, once you get to know her, her neurotic tendencies start to come out.

Phantom - He is the stereotypical beach hunk, with all of the girls in little bikinis fawning all over him, while he flexes his big muscles. Think of a muscle-bound Casanova.

Dream - She'd have to be Paris Hilton...ditzy, total blonde, a player, but there is a brain behind all of that cluelessness.

Emmy - She is Angelina Jolie. She's got a wild streak and can rough and tumble with the boys, but then when she wants to, she is very elegant, sophisticated, and loving.

Ransom - He is the stereotypical star quarterback/homecoming king. He's a pretty boy, and knows it. He's also the ringleader for all of the chaos in our house, and instigates most of it, even if he's not an active participant.

Bear - He is your typical follower. He is usually told what to do by the others, and they convince him that if he's doing something wrong, he'll either get away with it or that it really is ok. And he believes them!!!!

Cristal - She is still too young to really have her personality come out. We expect to see more as she grows up in the near future.

Let's see if we can move this one along too. So, we'll tag:

Cindy at Foggy Bottom
Garrett at Ramsay Farms
and Jinnie at Solsticekennel