Friday, March 20, 2009

As humans we should look to our dogs.......

This blog is suppose to be about my boy Maroo but since he was with me last night at the dog show and what occurred at this show I feel I can relate some of what he has given me to a situation that I experienced last night......
A little over a year ago I began grooming and some light training a dog for a client of mine.....During this past year this dog has also spent a great deal of time in my home as a guest when he needed to be boarded........all of my "guest" dogs are treated as if they are my own....living in the family room, sleeping on the sofa or love seat, playing in the yard with my guys (good behavior permitting of course) Recently the owner of this dog has decided that she wants to venture into the world of dog shows with him.........hopefully making him a champion! I was thrilled that she decided this because he is a very good dog as far as confirmation is concerned and he moves very nicely.........a good representation of our breed! We agreed that I would show him the upcoming shows this Spring and Summer.....His first show was this past weekend and due to my own schedule I was unable to attend all of the shows which were held. I did manage to change my schedule to show him on Sunday because the first two days in the show ring he really did not do his best when one of his breeders was kind enough to show him. On Sunday he still tried to pull some antics with me but since I have been working with him for some time now I have a pretty good grasp on which buttons to push when he needs to be brought back under control...........He was also entered last night at the regional speciality show which I did not plan on attended either.........but since I did have a schedule change with my own business I agreed again to make it to the show and bring him into the ring for the owner.....What I seen last night was a big improvement over this past weekend.......still some minor issues to be worked on but all in all a much better dog in the ring as far as his behavior was concerned........The owner of the dog watched carefully as I presented him to the judge and did the routine movements around the ring as per the judge's instructions.......He ended up placing 2nd out of 3 dogs in his class which I felt was fair since this particular judge does like a dog which has more body and a bit more bone in his structure.......After leaving the ring and handing the dog over to his owner I was a bit disappointed that there were no words of gratitude or "Good job"..........just a disappointed look and harsh words directed to the dog that had beaten him. At this time I went back to the grooming area to check on my boy Maroo to make sure that he was resting..........which he was.....actually he was sound to sleep :) I took him out of his crate and offered him some water and proceeded to walk around the show site with Maroo on leash with me.....he did a great job meeting new dogs and was not as timid when approached by strangers....I was very proud of my cute little guy! I headed over to the show ring area to see if I could find my client and her dog to let her know that we needed to start packing up to leave since it was getting a bit late in the evening...........To my surprise she told me that she was waiting to speak with one of the Professional Handlers she had contacted earlier this week about showing her dog for her in the future......The reason she gave was that I could not show him on a few weekends coming up and she wanted him to be entered so that he would win and become a champion sooner....I felt very hurt by this because I had been working with her dog for awhile now and have much emotion invested in him........I explained to her on another occasion that her dog deserved to win because he is good dog and not because she would basically buy a championship sending him out with a well known professional.........not that there is anything wrong with a professional handler showing a dog....but her reasons were, she wants him to have his championship the fastest way possible.........totally not the way I see things or do things in my business. I love it when I dog wins because he/she is a good specimen of the breed and showed very well after some good solid training.........The hurt I felt by what she had done was much deeper than I anticipated because I really feel that her dog is a member of my own dog family....spending more than a year with him working and training has done this.......After she had a long conversation with the Professional Handler we walked back to the grooming area together and I explained to her that if she did indeed decide to allow this Handler to show her dog that I would no longer be apart of his show career in the future...........she expected me to be the "back up person" for when this other Handler could not show her dog..........Again I do not do business this way.......I think she was a bit taken back by this and we left the conversation at that. Upon arriving home last evening she informed me that she did not have her check book with her and that she would drop off a check for me today for my handling fee last night.....It is now Friday afternoon and I have still not heard from her.........The money is not the issue at this point but her thoughtless actions last night still are.....I have decided that I am going to re-focus my energy and training on my own dogs that still need to be moved into the Spring and Summer show schedule.......I really am disappointed in her and do not want to be in this situation again in the future. With our dogs everything is unconditional and this sort of behavior would never happen........They do not betray us or take advantage of us because they want to end up being a winner........They tolerate all of that training and taking them to dog shows because they love us and want to please us.......They could care less about ribbons and placements and points and championships..........But what they do care about is how we treat them and returning that love. I have had dogs for many years now and have loved each one of them for many different reasons...When I brought Maroo into my life I was at a point in my life that I did not expect to have my heart opened up to the love that I feel for him......He has given me so much more in such a short time.....a little guy who never had the love and care of humans can trust me and begin to trust others........it is genuine. Humans can become so caught up in getting ahead of others and being on top that they lose sight of the things that really matter........the feelings of others. What I have learned here is an excellent lesson in human nature.........I will move on and eventually not be as hurt as I am right now.......And if I need one, Maroo will be there to give me a lick and a kiss to make it all better :)

1 comment:

  1. What a selfish woman she must be to put winning a dog show over a friendship! You will be much better without this toxic person in your life, dump her!

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