Monty Python's Flying Circus

I've noticed something odd about the dogs since moving here. Odd but good. Ridgebacks don't really smell of anything. They don't smell of dog unless they haven't been bathed recently but even when they do need a bath it's more because of the dirt and oil build up in their coats than an actual smell. Even when they're wet and come in from the rain they don't have that typical wet dog pong because they lack the undercoat that causes the smell.

What I have noticed in the last few days is that the dogs smell ... really nice. Kind of like fresh laundry. They haven't had a bath in 5 weeks so I can't say it's the lingering scent of dog shampoo. Even Archer, who is losing that divine puppy aroma, smells like he just came off the wash line.

It's a sort of soft, pleasant, warm hay kind of scent and I like to bury my nose in the folds of their necks and breathe deeply. They think I'm full of extra love which works out well for everyone.

Speaking of baths for the dogs; both Raimi and Leeloo will get a dose this Thursday for a show we're attending this weekend in Canning, NS. It's a limited entry show so the entry is quite small, as they usually are here in the Maritimes, but I am looking forward to more pleasant Ridgeback competitors(there were great people in Alberta but the rotten apple spoils the barrel as it were) and seeing what the east coast show scene has to offer.

It's Leeloo's very first show ever and she will be almost 10 months old - kind of late to start a show career. She attended a show when she was 5 months old to get used to the atmosphere but she hasn't ever been in the ring. The combination of her age, the litter, and the move timed out so that I was not able to get her into a show before now. We'll see what Atlantic Canada thinks of my white footed, light wheaton, Ridgeback/gazelle ballerina.

I also entered Raimi as a special. Hee hee. I have to smile whenever I envision how this is going to go. See, I will be showing Leeloo in the classes, there are 3 class bitches entered so I'll be in and out a couple times. Without The Boy. I'm not sure how he is going to handle watching me show another dog, giving her treats, cooing at her, and running around the ring with her. My mom is helping and I already told her to have a really good grip on him when I take Leeloo in. He is going to go mental with joy when he realizes that I will also be taking him in the ring. It won't help that he hasn't been in the ring in almost a year - he needed to grow up, grow a brain(faint hope) and I do not believe in campaigning dogs under two years old; showing to a championship fine ... specialing ... no.

So in a few days we'll take this circus on the road and see how it plays out - it's 4 shows in 2 days so both dogs will get ample opportunity to make asses of themselves and me.