The Patheticness of Males

Here we go again. I may have said this before, but if the males of the human race behaved liked dogs do, our race would not have continued. Done. Finished before it began. No woman would ever put up with the whining and crying and overall sissiness, let alone be attracted to it.

Zee is pathetic.

Zuzu is not impressed.

This is the first time that Jim has been around to see it too. It's bothering him a lot more than it's bothering me. Haha! I've seen it all before. She'll be out of standing heat in a few days. Zee will only cry for a few days. Whatever. It will end. But Jim hasn't been through it, so he's all, "Zee! Quiet!" "Zee! Knock it off!" "Zee, man UP!" "ZEE!!!!"

It won't help; trust me.

Some things that help a little though are keeping them separated so that he can't see her, scented candles, bleach, original pine sol (and WOW do I hate that smell), and letting him stay near me.

That last point is important. If she's near me and he's not, a full blown panic attack can occur!

With that in mind, we'll just hang on for a day or two more.

Now, WHY did I schedule my telephonic job interview for this morning? I hope my interviewer is a dog lover!

SNOW!!!

In this "tale of two dogs", you must read the captions with Zee having Mufasa's voice and Zuzu having Simba's.

I am KING of the Snow!

I will stand here and guard the snowflakes all day.

Hey - TOY!

Bored now.

I rule the snow.  I protect the snow.

Dad!  Dad!  Play with me!  You're IT!!

You can't catch me!

Zuzu:  Oh Crap!  Sorry Dad - you CAN catch me!
Zee:  Leave me alone, Zuzu.  How can I be "King-of-All-that-I-See", if I have to play?

Play more!  Play More!!

Baby-Daddy

Lucky man, Zee, got to spend Thanksgiving down in NC with his girlfriend.  It was a super-fun slumber party!

This is McCoy, Zee's girlfriend.  The top picture is her at a dog show this year.  The second picture is what she looked like several weeks after the 'party'.

And on Sunday, January 20th, McCoy gave birth to four puppies!  Zee is now the proud papa of three girls and one boy, and Zuzu has some half-siblings.

Maryland Dog Show

I finally found a show that was local!  It was up in Maryland so the drive was only about 45 minutes from the house.  I conned...I mean talked....Jim into going with me, so we brought Zee as well!

The facility was really really small and super crowded.  They let us set up two crates right next to a ring and two Leo's, so we put blankets all around them.  The show went really fast both days though, which was nice.  We didn't stay for Best in Show either afternoon, so we were heading home by 1pm each day!

SHOW ONE:

The judge was reading his UKC standards book when we came out.  He seemed to like both dogs, but Zee won.  He didn't say why.

In group, Zee took fifth of five (Newf, ABD, Boxer, Leo, EMD)

I have to admit that, at this point, I was becoming quite frustrated.  Jim was bored and was questioning the money that we spent on shows if Zuzu was never going to win.  I was getting mad at all judges everywhere, for not recognizing the beauty of MY dog!  I’m not good at garage sales either.  I can’t stand people picking through my stuff and making lame comments about it not being worth the one dollar I’m asking for it.  It offends me!  I was starting to feel the same way about judges.

Jim and I both agreed that if the same thing happened in the second show, we might not bring Zu back on Sunday.  Or maybe I would come back, just with Zu, to see if she could place in group.

SHOW TWO:

The judge said we had the wrong armbands on.  We double checked the names on the back of our bands and they were correct, but he said his paperwork did not match, so he made Jim and I trade armbands.  

As we were waiting to go into the ‘Best of Breed’ portion with both dogs, I leaned down and whispered to Zee to be a good Daddy and let his daughter win once.  I thought I was being quiet, but some ladies near us turned around and giggled at me.  I grinned, sheepishly.

When we went into the ring, I swear Zee had listened to me!  As Jim led him around the ring,  he was all big, happy, goofy dog.  He wiggled every inch of his body, even causing his head to wobble around!  It was kind of hilarious!

And....wait for it........ZUZU WON!

I was so excited when the judge pointed to me and said, "I'm giving it to the female," that I said, "WHAT?!" and squealed! And jumped!  I think I nearly made him doubt his own judgment.

In group, she got fifth out of five, but the judge did not give me any feedback about why.

 (I spoke with the office about the number screw up, and they said that that would make it an invalid entry and the points wouldn't count. They said that I should not have listened to the judge.  I got quite "stern" with them, and they switched the numbers properly for me for the Saturday show and redid the forms for Sunday to make sure that everything matched.  I told them that there was no problem with the numbers during the Saturday morning show, but I'm thinking now that I probably should have had them double check so that they don't accidentally give Zee's points to Zuzu.)

SHOW THREE:

Yes, we made the trip back to Maryland on Sunday morning.  With both dogs.  I had one win under my belt and it felt GOOD!!!

This judge loved Zuzu!  She barely looked at them again in breed except to have them go around once.  She said Zuzu had a much better gait.

In group, Zuzu got crazy because she couldn't find Jim or Zee (the first time she acted up all weekend.)  She placed fourth out of four.

SHOW FOUR:

She said that Zuzu showed beautifully, much better than Zee, but that she was crooked (higher in the back than in the front).  

I got cranky again.  It's hard having your dogs judged when you think your dogs are the coolest, best looking, most awesomest dogs on the entire planet. 

I thanked her for her feedback, when what I wanted to say was, "Oh yeah? Well your FACE is crooked. And my dog ROCKS!" 

As it turns out, that’s acceptable in the Estrela breed standard and should not have been counted against her.  I need to study up a little more before my next show.

The judge told Jim that he needs to think of something that motivates Zee so that he shows better, which is also a little inaccurate.  Estrelas are allowed to hang their heads level.  Zee’s normal ‘happy face’ is level, especially if he’s approaching anyone for scratches.  We call him Eeyore when he does this.

In group, I handled Zee.  He wanted to eat the male Newfie behind us.  He got fourth of four and the judge said that he was more attentive and energetic with me, but that he actually showed better with Jim. She said he seemed to lack confidence with me, maybe because he's more protective of me.  (I think he was just pre-occupied with Newf eating, but maybe he would have ignored the Newf if Jim was handling him.)

So, it was a pretty good weekend!  I probably won't get Jim to another show other than PoP, which I won't let him back out of, but only one more win and she'll officially be "CH Ditto by TrailsEnd, Princess Zuzu of the World"!!

More Pics

Darby turned her twin trundle-bed into a King sized bed.  This became an open invitation to all Estrelas!  She 'thought' she was going to sleep in on this weekend morning.  Her doggies disagreed!

A walk in the first small snow of the year.

A romp in the snow.  Wheeeeee!!!!

A new doggie door.  The old one was a little small, and Zee didn't like having to bend down to get though it, so Jim built a new frame and put in a new XL door.

See - Zee fits now!

Dogzilla, the pillow-pet.  Why would you watch TV any other way?

Zuzu loves Zee!  She actually laid down right next to him like this to cuddle.

Holding Hands.  I will never EVER let him go!

Morning Snort

As I was in the kitchen straightening up, Jim was out in the front entryway getting the dogs ready to go out.

"Zuzu, sit."

"Zee, sit"

"No, Zu here." "Zee, No."

"Really?"

I'm quietly listening, and sipping my coffee as the conversation continues...

"Zu, No. BLUE is for boys. RED is for Raving Lunatics!"

Bwa Ha Ha!!!! And that folks, is when I choked on my coffee!!