Sorry for no posts for ages - Showing update

Sorry, I haven't posted for ages, but with shows and decorating time just seems to be flying.

Inko went to her first championship show at Builth Wells in April. We had a ridiculously early start, having to leave home at 5.30am so that we could get to mid Wales for 9.00am! It turned out that this was very much worth it, as Inko managed to get first place in the Junior Finnish Lapphund Class and then got Best Puppy in Breed. She didn't place in the puppy group, but just getting to take part in the puppy group was an excellent experience...even if it meant we had to be at the show ground all day, till gone 5pm! At shows, in a bid to get Inko used to all the sights, smells and sounds of the show, I like to keep her out of her crate as much as possible. At Builth, she decided that she was going to steal Adam's chair and watch the world go by in comfort! I decided at this show to keep her bark collar on the whole time while she wasn't in the ring to try and prevent her getting into the habit of barking and it seemed to work really well. Although I had to remove it when we went into the ring, she behaved really well and her usual vocal approach to showing was absent...much to my relief as I could then concentrate on the business of getting her to walk nicely without having to fight against her barking! It obviously worked for us to get the result we did - this means she qualified for crufts at her first attempt! Her brother Tarkka also qualified for crufts, getting 2nd in junior, and reserve best dog!!

Inko and her rosettes

Inko - sat in Adam's chair watching the world go by

Why sit like a dog, when you can try and sit like a person!!

Starting to feel rather pooped towards the end of the day

Because Builth is so far, we really didn't want to do the return journey in the same day so booked into a local campsite and stayed with fellow lappy owners Steve & Shelley (with Apina and Kippis) and Jo (with Tarkka). They were staying in a caravan and we were in a tent alongside - Inko was very good in the tent - this is where having a happily crate trained dog is really helpful! We had a lovely evening in the lovely Wales countryside next to a very pretty river having a yummy take away and natter in the caravan!

Beautiful scene by our campsite

A very sleepy Inko when we finally got back home....didn't hear a peep out of her for ages!!

We have also recently been to the WELKS (West of England Ladies Kennel Society) championship show where Inko got to catch up with a brother (Rauhan) she hasn't seen for a very long time (since they were about 3 months old), her half brother (Taito) who she may have met once I think, but doesn't see often, plus her mum and dad (and her breeders Jennifer and Jay). The weather was stunning and it was our first outdoor show...I even got a bit sunburnt, which was rather a surprise for April! I was a little concerned about how Inko might behave when being shown on grass as she just wanted to run and play like she is normally allowed to do on grass. She was definitely more distracted here than at Builth, and ended up coming second of 2 in the puppy class against her brother.