On Friday, May 19 at the Bell-Vernon KC dog show in Lynden, WA Poppy was Best of Opposite Sex and Owner/Handler. We went to the Owner/Handler Group where Poppy earned a Group 3. Poppy also earned several Select ribbons to add to her growing collection and hopefully earned some points toward her Grand Championship
Beau, thinking about having a snooze in the sun.
Charlie lives in California. What a handsome boy.
Hannah and Poppy celebrate their third birthday today.
Hannah looks stylish in her purple lei!
I realize this picture of Poppy is sideways (computer vagaries) but I want to show a picture of pretty Poppy on her birthday.
Cash, soon to be two years old, had a nice win at our local dog show. He and his owner, Dina, are a great team!
Blue girl after her bath and before the hair cut begins–both girls were good in the bath considering that this was the first time they had a bath. Even with the hair dryer they were good–I can’t say they enjoyed the bath and drying (dogs usually don’t). 
Now Miss Blue has leg and a neck, which were hard to see before she was groomed. Lots of hair on the floor! Of the 2 girls, Blue was the most challenging to groom, but Dena prevailed–she always does–the puppies don’t win!
Blue girl’s face after her trim (with a little hair in her right eye–which Dena got out). Love this age–the pups are so much fun. They are 8 weeks 5 days old.
Red girl after her bath, but before her hair cut–I couldn’t believe how much hair she had. Dena came today and trimmed up the puppies for me–for the 1st hair cut you need and very experienced groomer.
After the hair cut–now Red girl has legs, a neck, and eyes that you can see.
Pretty little Miss Red girl after her trim. Sweet, fun puppy–this is such a cute age.
Now normally we wouldn’t consider flying a baby at the tender age of 5 1/2 months all the way across the country to a dog show.
But then came Oliver. A resilient little guy whose motto seems to be “Eat fast and play hard”.
The BFCA held a beginner puppy competition for the first time this year at Nationals. Puppies entered must be between 4 and 6 months of age. Even with a month of training under his belt we really had no idea how Oliver would behave in the ring. The nationals ring is an entirely different environment and can be quite scary for such a baby. As Karen puts it, puppies at that age are like having a frog on a string. But Oliver was impressing us and we felt he was up to the task. Besides his Grand Daddy Simon would go along to keep him company.
Photo by Dina Taylor (Absolutely Bichons Team Member)
While at Nationals we just hope our dogs will show well. The best of the best compete at Nationals and just getting a ribbon is a thrill for us. All of the puppies entered looked sooooo good and I mean seriously good! It was anyone’s game.
Little Oliver showed like he was made for the ring. He displayed his puppy exuberance with his amazing vertical leap (repeatedly) and was more than happy to visit with his neighbors. At the end of his “down and back” he hit his free stack like an old pro! COULD NOT HAVE BEEN BETTER!
Well respected breeder judge Ann Hearn thoroughly scrutinized all the puppies. She pulled out her 4 favorites for her final cut then on the last go around she pointed to Oliver as the Best Puppy! Whoooo Hooooo!
There is no big prize for winning Best Beginner Puppy at Nationals. There is not even any points toward an eventual championship. But you do walk away with a feeling and a memory that you won’t forget, and a very pretty ribbon.
Ollie is going to be a lot of fun!
Red girl reclining in the little dish pan that I keep their toys in–you can find her in this position playing with the toys. 
Red girl on the left, Blue girl on the right–both looking for trouble. This week they got to go outside on a nice, sunny afternoon and they loved it!! Now it is hard to keep them in their x-pen–they want out all the time–to run in the laundry/dog room or escape through the gate and get out with the BIG dogs. Both pups love the big dogs, get excited to see them and wiggle all over. Both pups are growing rapidly and weigh over 3 pounds now. Red is the larger of the pup–out weighing the Blue girl by almost 1/2 a pound. Sydney and I are slowly weaning the pups and they are good eaters and like their puppy kibble. Sweet pups!
The “girls” are 6 weeks old and growing so fast. This is Red girl in her favorite dog bed. Red girl is a little cautious–in a new situation she’ll sit and look around, assess the situation and decide if she is going to venture forth–and she usually does! The “girls” love to play together and with their mother, Sydney.
Blue girl loves to wrestle with her littermate–and I’m so glad they have each other to play with and learn from–since both “girls” have those little needle-like teeth now they need to learn not to bite, which they are doing. This week the “girls” moved into a new, larger area and have gotten to explore the dog room and meet new people and other dogs. Both “girls” are very sweet! This is such a fun age!!!!