Fun at Allagante

On Saturday, J took Bados & I out to Allagante for some practice runs.  Frankie, Nova, and Buttercup were there, too - along with all the Allagante dogs, of course.
Nova was a bit tentative running with faster dogs, but she may be getting the idea.  Buttercup was not interested at all until her mom waited at the end to catch her rather than  helping to load at the box.  I guess she'll be just like Appley & only race if her mom is waiting at the end.  Frankie & Nike ran great (as always).
Bados ran well most of the time, but he really need to work on getting out of the box faster - then he would not have to struggle to catch & pass the leaders - that's not always possible with fast dogs.  The last practice he got frustrated & snapped at Nike when passing.  That was a 1st for Mr. Focus.  NIke had been really annoying earlier up at the house, but I hadn't noticed him irritating Bados.  Maybe he did.  Who knows . . .
I ran by myself.  I confess that I get snappy when I'm passed; it's just so frustrating to be passed when you are running your fastest.  Anyway, it's still fun to chase the lure.  Plus, when running alone you get to bring the lure back to the start.  I brought it all the way back after all 3 practice runs..
A neighbor came over with his "rat"; I mean his overweight Jack Russell.  J had me on a leash  when the man picked up the Jack Russell and stuck it in my face.  I think this was supposed to be an introduction, but the "rat" snapped at my face.  I lost it & snapped back.  Geez, the man acted like I had started it!!  Everyone else who saw it knew that it was not my doing.  Well, I didn't get a tooth on the rat, but I did get J's hand as she whisked me away.  That was embarrassing.  At least I didn't snap hard enough to break the skin.  Her hand is OK.

The next day J took Mintz & Appley to a UKC show down in Albany, OR.  Our friends Lego, Patty, Maggie, River, Tootsie, & Breezy were there.  Lego had earned a Grand Championship the day before.  Some other dogs that I know slightly were there, too:  Teddy, Poppy, Cobweb, Moto, Cooper, Xerox, Summer, & Gemma.  But I wasn't there.  I am sure I could have won Altered Breed, Group, and maybe even Altered BiS - but no - J didn't take me.  Mintz & Appley split it; each won Altered Group once.  Neither won BiS, but I think that's because they were doing the judging in a very screwed up way.
  
Each of the 2 judges only judged 1/2 of the groups represented for each show - alternating for the 2 shows.  Well, the judge who had selected best of the sighthound group was not the same judge for BiS.  Not surprisingly, this judge did not pick the sighthound (Appley v Mintz)- which she had not selected as Best in Group (in the other show).  The Bulldog won both shows - hmm, the same BiS  judge had picked 'Best' for that Group.  According to J, she heard the BiS judge ask where the Greyhound was when he did not appear in the BiS ring; she was surprised & disappointed to learn that the other judge had not picked him for the Group.  Oh, well.