World Dog Show Paris

Its about time I updated this blog, I've been a little side tracked of late.

Earlier in the year I was looking at the details of the World dog show and thought it would be interesting to visit, especially as it was going to be held in Paris this year making it quite accessible. Then I had the crazy idea that maybe just maybe I could enter Finn. I mean when else in this life time would I get an opportunity to show at this huge event.

So on the thursday 7th we boarded the ferry and headed across to France. Of course justto keep me on my toes my car started complaining the night before - too late to get it to the mechanic before we went - so I just had to take my chances, and we took it slow.

So after a drive that took alot longer than it should we arrived in Paris, and thenspent a good hour driving round in circles trying to find my hotel, as roadworks in the area gave my sat nav a hissy fit. Eventually we made it & settled in for the night.

Up very early on thefriday morningto get to the showgrounds for 7am to allow myself time to work out what on earth we were doing. There were actually 2 shows going on over the 4 days - the World Show, and the French Championship - with french champ classes being judged in the morning and the world show (different breeds) in the afternoons, making for very long days.

We got to the showgrounds to find total chaos. Just getting into the carpark was a mission in itself. And the 15 min walk from the carpark to the buildings was a stressful exercise of avoiding the masses of dog poo all over the roads and trying to make our way amongst lots of very pushy people with all the dogs crammed in tight together. I'm sooo glad I made the decision to put Tooheys in kennels rather than taking him. He would have completely panicked with the whole experience.

Inside the building & it was a matter of finding a small bit of floor space to set up our crate & dump our stuff. Gradually the floor space disappeared under the masses of dogs, people and stuff! You can imagine my surprise when after going for a short walk midmorning (and leaving Finn in her crate) I came back to find someone had set up their own crate right in front of the door of mine ..so I couldnt even get Finn out. So much for a little consideration!!!

Our judging for the French champ classes was over & done with quite early that morning. Finn only managed 2nd/2 but she just wasnt 'right' and I dont think deserved any better.

That then gave me the rest of the morning to wander through the halls, take a look at the trade stands (alot there, but not on the scale of crufts..), and ogle and the many breeds that I had never even heard of let alone seen before.

We left early afternoon to head back to the hotel. Which then gave me the evening to head into Paris itself & wander the streets. From theLouvre to the Arc de triomphe then across to the Seine. I have to say I totally understand the appeal of Paris seeing it at this time of year, as appose to the middle of winter when I had been previously.

Saturday gave us a slight sleep in before heading back to grounds for our World Show classes. A slightly more pleasant experience getting in as there wasnt everyone all trying to get in at once. As it turned out the cattle dog judging didnt even start until very late (we had many many Czechaslovakian Wolf Dogs being judged before us...) and we werent done until 8pm. What a long day!

Finni was far more settled in the ring and managed 3rd out of 7 dogs. I was quite happy with that given that the judge excused at least 10 other cattle dogs from the ring (why, Im still not quite sure) & half expected the same to happen to us. Even more so as when I discovered I had left my shoes in the car it was too late to go back and get them. Which meant going in the show ring at this very prestigous event in my crocs! Half way around and I lost one shoe, so decided it was easier (and far safer!) to go bare footed. What a sight I must have made!!

Sunday we began the cautious drive back to Calais and spent the evening there before boarding the ferry back the next morning. And as luck would have it my car decided it was healthy again on arriving back in the UK!

Tooh & Finn hit Blackpool

What an absolutely glorious weekend. A combination of sun, water, friends, and fun!

I had entered Finn at Blackpool dog show, and then subsequently wondered what madness possessed me to do such a thing. So I used it as the perfect excuse to escape the city for a few days.

After a (perfectly reasonable) late start on saturday morning we headed as far as leicester and stopped in at the BAA agility show there. At the urging of others I had been meaning to get to some of these shows, especially since the rings are fully netted ie a Tooheys safe environment, but wanted to check them out first. At least thats my excuse for going to an agility show and not bothering to run my dog! Anyway, a lovely day spent outside in the company of others, Tooheys got to spend a little bit of time doing some agility, and Finn got to run riot with the other mad cattle dogs. We took the dogs for a lovely group walk around the nearby lake, but not before Finn promptly jumped in the lake & proceeded to swim away. Did she not realise she had been nicely bathed in preparation for the show the next day!?! She finally came close enough to the bank for someone to hoist her out, with some fuss, resulting in 5 wet doggies and 3 very wet people!

Sunday morning saw an early start to get to the dog show... at which we were done and finished by 10am!!! Definately worth the many hours drive lol.

So wanting to make the most of our trip I headed into town so I could at least say I'd seen Blackpool. As the morning was steadily getting hotter the dogs got to wander the streets with me - what better way to socialise them than crowded streets, noisy amusement parks, trams, and lots of distractions. We survived the experience in one piece - despite a near incident involving Finn and a giant stuffed toy - and then found the dog friendly section of the beach. Of course it goes without saying that the dogs had a blast. Finn, never having seen the beach before, had the time of her life racing up and down, chasing waves, chasing birds, you name it. And by some small miracle she managed not to knock any unsuspecting people or children over in the process!!!

Our final part of the journey was to head east to Jackie's. I was originally going so that Finn could do some herding, but unfortunately the sheep had to be moved to the away fields where there was more food for them. So no herding for us, but still an incredibly enjoyable day, that is minus a dying myxi bunny that one oh so delightful pup chose to drop at my feet. Lots of running in the fields, and more swimming for the dogs, and lots of chilling in the shade for me. And a morning lovely drive over the moors to top if off.

Unfortunately tuesday came, reality set in, and I had to start the long trip back home...