December is here !!!

Well December is here and it's starting to get cold. I really don't like winter. It's like being locked up for three or four months and we all (including the dogs) get a severe case of Cabin Fever before spring arrives. Plus I'm soooo ready to go back to the mountains.

First off, it's Happy Birthday to Cruiser, Harbor, and Maggie. They were born on Pearl Harbor day. They're three years old now !!!

Cruiser went to Bellville IL last weekend trying to get his last elusive Major win. The show was not a major, but "IF" he managed to go Best of Breed over the three specials entered, it would have gotten him a major. I know, it was a long shot but we're very optimistic at Lawood Paps and you just never know...

He won Reserve Winners Dog on Saturday... soooo..... The chase continues.

I've been meaning to get some new pictures of Kix to post on the Blog. It's been a while !!! He's doing fine and growing bunches. He's going to be a real character and should be a lot of fun to show. (hopefully) It's hard to believe that he'll be old enough for the 6 - 9 puppy class by March and sooner than that if we can find a puppy match somewhere.

Stay tuned.... More later........

This too will Pass.........

Well, Laura came out of the other room the other night just in time to see Kix with "something" in his mouth. She just had time to say "what have you got" and "give me that" ... but Kix said

"GOONK" and the mystery item was gone ... on it's way on a doggy intestinal roller coaster ride. We looked around and discovered a zipper with the little piece that you grab to zip something up ... MISSING. Yikes, surely he couldn't have chewed the little flappy piece off of a metal zipper and swallowed it .... SURELY.

Well, out comes the three percent peroxide and we made attempts to make him spit the mystery object back up but that didn't work. So... with visions of surgery bills dancing in our heads.....it's off to the vet we go hoping it was just a false alarm.

So... Here's a picture of Kix's first X-RAY !!! and the zipper thingy plain as day.

Sheesh ...

Oh ... For those of you that are concerned.... Everything came out ok in the end so to speak (pardon the pun).... :)

Ozark Kennel Club Dog Show -- Nov 13 -14

Two long distance dog show weekends in a row. We're all exhausted and looking for some well deserved time off !!!

Laura and I traveled back to Missouri this weekend to the Ozark Kennel Club dog show. The show this year turned out to be Majors in both Dogs and Bitches both Saturday and Sunday. This was great since Cruiser only needs one more Major to finish his championship. And both of our Girls could use a major win also. Mimi is getting very close to being pointed out and we don't want to be chasing "two" majors for her. Brook just needs points of any kind right now.

Ok, Cruiser showed well both days but didn't get winners Saturday or Sunday, so the major chase continues.

Brook showed very well both days. She needs to settle down a little more ... (OK a lot more). She's still a wild little puppy. She even got away from Laura while showing in the ring Sunday and ran out of the show ring (yikes) !!! I just saw Laura running after a flash of black and white fur. I thought that Laura was going to have a heart attack. It's a thousand wonders that she caught Brook. Her favorite game is "catch me if you can". Some lady outside the ring stepped on the lead that she was dragging and Laura was able to return her to the ring.

Mimi didn't win anything Saturday, but won "Winners Bitch" Sunday for a four point Major !!!
And won "Best Opposite" also. So, Mimi now has one of her two required Majors in the bag. She now has 10 points toward her championship. Cruiser better watch out or little sister is going to pass him and finish before he does and he'll just be eating her dust.

We're going to take a winter break from dog showing. Thanksgiving and Christmas is just around the corner. We'll enjoy that and start back full blast shortly after the first of the year.

Joplin MO Dog Show Nov 6 - 7

Ok.... We took off work Wed. Thurs. and Friday. Our original plans were to go to Knoxville for a four day show. Since Cruiser desperately needs another Major win to finish his championship, and we did not think that Knoxville would be a Major, we decided to skip Knoxville and go to the dog show in Joplin Mo. Joplin is in the extreme Southwest corner of Missouri. That is over a six hour "one way"road trip for us (ouch)!!! While we were there we made a little junket into Oklahoma and Kansas, just to say that we had been there, plus once we left Kansas, I always wanted to be able to say "Toto... I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore".... :)

Ok, back to the dog show results. Cruiser won his Bred By class both days and won Reserve Winners Dog on Sunday. Mimi got a third place in her class on Saturday and Won her Bred By class Sunday. No points for either dog but I guess we made a respectable stab at it. Casper and Brook just went along for the ride.

Next weekend we'll be back in Missouri for the Springfield show. Brooklyn gets to show next time. Wish her luck. She needs her first points. There will be over 1200 dogs in Springfield and it's Majors for both Dogs and Girls both days.

More Later..............

Home Alone (2)

Well, no dog shows this past weekend. Laura and I both got to just stay at home and get stuff done around the house/petting zoo. All in all it was a nice cool peaceful weekend.

Two of our kids had birthdays this weekend. Casper is 4 years old and Brooklyn is a whopping one year old. As wild as Brook is, she's lucky to still be here. She has settled down somewhat though. Usually as in times past we take pictures of birthday dogs with stupid birthday hats on, but this time we decided to spare them the embarrassment. Casper (Lawood's Fiery Ghostrider) was born on Halloween weekend. He's another one of our puppies that named himself.

Next weekend it's off to dog shows again in Joplin Missouri followed by Springfield Missouri the following weekend. So, BREAKS OVER PUPPIES it's back to work for you guys knocking down those MAJORS.

Cruiser and Mimi are showing, as well as Brook (we're breaking her out of moth balls) and Casper's going too (just for moral support).

Kix update

Kix is growing like a weed. Here's my first try at a video.
It's Kix's first movie !!!!

Tri-Star Kennel Club Dog Show Oct 16 - 17

Ok, we're back from the Tri-Star Kennel Club dog show in Nashville. Laura and I went up to Nashville "Early 5:00 a.m." Saturday morning. We had entered Cruiser and Mimi in the dog show and also carried Brook just for the ride. Brook hasn't got the hang of traveling well in the car yet, so we just took her along for a practice trip. We've also been holding Brook out until she grows some ear fringes. She's kind of stuck in that in between stage of "more than a puppy" but not quite "fully grown".

Anyway, on Saturday, both Cruiser and Mimi won their bred-by classes, then both went back in for winners. Cruiser won Winners Dog and Best of Winners. Mimi won Winners Bitch and Best Opposite. Both Cruiser and Mimi earned points toward their championship. Way to go Lawood Paps !!!

We didn't show Cruiser on Sunday since Sunday was not a major and he only needs one major to finish his championship. He currently has 13 points.


Mimi now has 6 points toward her championship. She seems to be earning them one at a time, but we'll take them any way we can get them.

We had a very enjoyable stay with friends this weekend and also enjoyed the company of our dog show friends. We also got to eat at our favorite Cajun restaurant. You know it's real Cajun when one of the "specials" is Alligator Bites and Alligator Boudin. Yummmmm...!!

Also one of our very good friends, Pat, put a first point on one of her female puppies and also got "Best of Winners" and "Best Opposite " on Sunday. We were all proud for her.


The weather was nice and it turned out to be a very nice weekend away from home.

Kix update (With Pix this time) Yaaaaa !!!

Well Kix is 5 weeks old today. We stopped weighing him, so we have no idea how much he weighs now. I think it's quite obvious that's not a problem. He's a TOAD !!!!!

Anyway, Here's some new Pictures.

Murfreesboro Dog Show Oct. 2 - 3

*** Mimi ***

Well, It was another weekend alone at home with the dogs. Maybe soon, I can start going to the shows also. I've been stuck here puppy sitting and working on stuff around the house. Between my list of things to do and Laura's list of things for me to do, I'm getting worn out. At least it's nice and I can work outside.

Anyway, Laura went to Murfreesboro to the dog show this weekend with Cruiser and Mimi.
Cruiser won third place in his "bred by" class Saturday and won Reserve Winners Dog on Sunday.

Mimi won "Winners Bitch" both Saturday and Sunday!! That's three conformation points toward her championship !!! She also won "Best of Winners" Sunday. Way to win Mimi !!!
We haven't been showing Mimi lately. Maybe sitting the bench did her some good.

She sure did school Cruiser on how it's done. Hope he took notes.....

Quick Kix update

Kix is four weeks old today. His eyes are open. He can hear sounds and can stand on all fours. If he yawns he still falls over though. Come to think of it, I've been guilty of that too.

Kix weighs in at 1 1/2 pounds now. He's still predominately black and white. If he ends up a tri-color, it will be very minimum. I'll try to get some new pictures soon, so check back.

Weekend Sept. 18 -19

Cruiser

Ok, I made it through my solo weekend with just me and the dogs. Kix is still doing fine. He's doing his two favorite things (eating and sleeping). He's at 15 7/8 ounces !!! He's still gaining weight and should be a pound puppy this afternoon or certainly by tomorrow. His eyes are beginning to open also.


Laura and Cruiser attended two different dog shows this weekend. They showed Saturday at Tuepelo MS and then drove to Chattanooga TN to show on Sunday. Not much to report from the Sunday show. Cruiser won his Bred By Exibitor class Saturday and got to represent the Papillons in the Best Bred By toy group. He won a Group One in the toy group and got to go back in to compete for overall Best Bred By. He didn't win Best Bred By but making it that far was great. Way to go Cruiser !!!!!

Kix update

Kix is still doing fine. I think I reported last that he had reached 10 ozs. We blinked and did not weigh him Wednesday and we blew right through 11 and 12 ozs and he is now as of Friday a bit over 13 ounces !!! He'll be a pound puppy before long. I'll get more pics later. His eyes are still not open yet but it should be any day now. It won't be long before he's zooming around the house aggravating the snot out of the other dogs. I can't wait !!!

Laura's out of town this weekend attending two dog shows and I'll be "home alone/eating my own cookin' " once again this weekend. I've got plenty of stuff to keep me occupied though (honey dew list).... ;)

Kix

Kix is kicking. He should soon have his eyes open. He's over 9 ozs. now and putting on about an ounce per day !!! As you can see, he's already a handfull..... :)

He looks like a "Black and White" right now but you can see bits of some other color maybe starting to show.

Kix update

Proud Momma Abby

Well about the time I'm reporting that he's over 5 oz. he busts 6 oz. This boy is a chow hound. So far so good. More later. I'm sure you'd rather see pictures than read my ramblings anyway. We haven't been suplimenting his food in a while. He's eating on his own and gaining like crazy.

Puppy update

Cruiser


Little Kix is doing great. He seems to be getting strong and eating very well. He weighs 5 ounces now and is one week old. So far so good.

Saturday September 4th

Well, so far so good. The puppy's doing great so far and Abby's turned out to be a decent mother. Who knew!!! Thank goodness, We were worried that she would be indifferent to the puppy and not take care of it. She's kind of a wild child. She's turned out to be a very caring, very protective mother.


We had been getting morning and afternoon reports on the puppy's status. Each time Laura would get off the phone she would tell me the so far he's doing fine. I would think to myself, well he's "still kicking".

If you just wait long enough, Puppies will always name themselves. So this little fellow is going to be "Lawood's Kicking Against All Odds". We're going to call him KIX.

Friday September 3rd

I was off today (Friday). We kind of knew that we would have to go pick up Abby and the new puppy sometime soon.

The Vet called me Friday mid morning and asked if there was any way that we (I) could come up and pick them up.

The puppy is doing excellent.

So ... I loaded up into the car and made the third trip to Nashville this week. Whew.... driving to Nashville is getting old.


Any way... I made it over there, picked up mother and puppy, and drove straight back home. It's a six hour round trip !!!

Here's some pics of the new puppy, if anyone is interested. He's doing great. Keep your fingers crossed.

Thursday September 2nd

Well the puppy and mother are still at the Vet clinic in Nashville. The prognosis looks better though. He seems to be stronger after a very week start. We get morning and afternoon reports and although very reserved, the reports are encouraging.

Laura and I have four tickets to see the very last concert from Brooks and Dunn. They are tickets for the mid level suites just to the right of the stage so, we were hoping that we would be able to go. As it turns out we were able and we asked two of our "dog show" friends to go with us.

So, guess where the concert is located??? You guessed it .... Nashville. So, we loaded up in the car and made the second trip to Nashville this week. (almost 200 miles)

We had a super good time and the concert was one of the best that we both had seen.

We needed the break !!!

Very eventful afternoon and night

Well, yesterday afternoon was different. Several weeks ago we bred one of our females. (Abby) The last time we bred her, she didn't have much luck carrying the puppies full term and lost the pups. So... we decided that we would try her one more time. Even this time she seemed to be having some type of trouble again. Abby's been acting like she's been in pre labor and stressing for the last 36 hours. She's been staying here at home during the afternoon and night and staying at the vet's office during the day. Needless to say, our hopes were not too high this time either.



Yesterday afternoon, Abby seemed to be going into labor. The vet told us that the x-ray only showed one puppy. Laura's stressing. I'm REALLY stressing. We're both upstairs trying to help Abby as much as possible. I'm so nervous that I just have to go downstairs, get me a glass of wine, and watch some tv !!!! Later, I hear the door at the top of the stairs fly open and Laura yelling what made me think of the old Young Frankenstein movie. (IT'S ALIVE !!!!)



Not having our hopes up for success left us totally unprepaired for a new puppy. We both had more or less prepared ourselves for the worst.

We had to start dragging out heating pads, supplemental formula, and all of the other stuff needed for the new arrival.



The pup seemed to be having trouble catching his breath and was very tired and weak.



So the puppy spent night last night at the emergency vets office getting some oxygen. It's a nicely marked little Boy. He was very weak last night, but seemed to be doing much better this morning. Both He and Abby are going today to a vet's office outside of Nashville. They're puppy experts and have the incubators and stuff needed to take care of newborns.





We're still not out of the woods yet, so everybody wish us luck. I think this little boy is going to be named TOUGHY.

Memphis Southaven dog show August 19-22

Well this was another long four day dog show !! It began for me on my day off Wednesday. I loaded up the Papillon Motel solo and carried it down to one of our favorite places to camp in Southaven MS. I set the whole thing up by myself because my wife had to work Wednesday. She came down Wednesday after work and showed the dogs on Thursday and Friday. I had to work Thursday and Friday (someone has to earn a little money to support our dog show habit !!!)

I then came down Saturday morning to watch the dogs Saturday and Sunday. We then packed everything up and came home Sunday. I know, It gets complicated sometimes.

Anyway, Cruiser took Reserve Winners dog on Friday and again on Sunday.

Mimi (who has lost 1.5 pounds and is much slimmer) took Reserve Winners Bitch on Thursday and Saturday.

Brooke won first place in Puppy Sweepstakes on both Thursday and Friday. She also won best Papillon Puppy on Saturday.

Again nobody won points, but all the dogs showed well and we did win several reserves.

Oh, well maybe next time.... !!!!!

Little Rock Arkansas Dog Show August 14 - 15

Well it certainly was a HOT weekend with temps in Little Rock far in excess of 100 degrees and that's without the heat index. H...O...T

Anyway we managed to show our three dogs ( Cruiser, Mimi, and Brooke).

Saturday, all three dogs won their classes. Cruiser and Mimi scored blue ribbons in their "bred by" classes and Brooke won her 9 - 12 puppy class.

Mimi won Reserve Winners Bitch to a five point major (not too shabby). Brooke also won "Best Papillon" in the best puppy competition. Of course that made us have to stick around till late afternoon to show Brooke in the best puppy toy group . She didn't make the cut but we were proud of her making it that far anyway.

Sunday, Mimi and Brooke won their classes, but no points.

All in All it was a pretty respectable weekend. Some points would have been nice but all of the dogs did very well.

The dogs only get three days off and it's off to Southaven MS for a four day show this Thursday.

Greater Shelby Kennel Club dog show

July 17-18 we traveled to Southaven MS for the two day show held by the Greater Shelby Kennel club. This time we were inside in the cool air (thank goodness) because it was another hot weekend. We stayed at one of our favorite camp grounds ( it has a pool and a hot tub, super nice facilities and an RV dealership next door) !!! We walked over to the RV place Saturday afternoon to drool over the class c motor homes. Maybe one day when our ship comes in we can upgrade the Papillon motel to a rolling "Papillon Palace". Yeah right.

All the dogs showed well and we were quite pleased. Saturday, Cruiser won winners dog and gained two more points toward his championship. We're still chasing his second major however. Cruiser has now broken into the double digits finally with a total of 11 points. We just waited till we got home to take his picture with his ribbons.

Our Kids at play

Well, we started our long weekend as soon as we got off work and got home Friday. We first had to make a trip to Camden to run an errand. Then we got up early Saturday morning to meet a friend of mine that I work with. He got one of our recent rescue dogs ( not a Papillon, just a plain ole puppy dog ) to take home with him and be the new family pet. She's on a week trial period, but I think she'll be fine. Good for Holly. Then we traveled on after taking care of that to Alabama to pick up Cruiser. Cruise's been with a handler attending shows in Florida trying to get his elusive second major toward his title. I'm glad my dog is finally back home safe and sound (no more empy lap syndrome in the mornings). We spent the rest of the weekend just haning out, attending church (we've been lazy lately), making homemade ice cream, working in the gardens, and just enjoying the weekend.

Since we don't have any dog shows this weekend or next weekend, and since it was another hot weekend, the pool was open for business.

Cruiser's Big Adventure

Well, Cruiser's been away with a handler for over a week now. He was entered in a three day show in Orlando Florida. Sorry, no pictures ( Laura wouldn't let me go ). Any way Cruiser's best chance for a win and a second major win came (and went) on Saturday at the show sponsored by the Central Florida Kennel Club. There were a ton of big name dogs there that he had to compete with. Anyway, Cruiser came away with Reserve Winners Dog to a four point major. For those who don't know, Reserve Winners means that you were the best of the losers. It means that you were painfully close to winning, but no cigar.

I guess we'll just have to keep on chasing that elusive second major win. We're proud of his reserve win none the less. That's not too bad for a little country dog from Tennessee.

Next we have to figure a way and a time to drive down to Alabama and pick him up. I'm sure he's ready to come home !!!

June 19 - 20 Dog show at Purina Farms

We traveled this weekend to Gray Summit Missouri for the dog show held at the Purina Farms facility. This is our second hot outside dog show in a row and it's taking it's toll on both us and the dogs. We were showing four dogs this weekend, Mimi, Brooke, Cruiser and we even broke Casper out of moth balls and entered him as a special on Sunday.

All of the dogs showed well under the circumstances. Our little puppy Brooke won Reserve Winners Bitch once again on Saturday from the 6 - 9 puppy class. That makes her record 5 reserves out of 8 shows !!! Not bad for a 6-9 puppy.

Cruiser went home with a handler this weekend to Alabama. He's entered in at a show in Florida next weekend. Wish him luck !!! He needs another major win to add to his points.
He should be back home in a couple weeks. I can't wait. I'm suffering from empty lap syndrome already.

Not much else worthy of reporting. Next stop South Haven MS.

Paducah Kentucky dog show

June 12 and 13, we attended the Paducah KY kennel club's dog show. Let me tell you, it was HOT. The show is held in a former corn field and the sun is absolutly unmerciful. Anyway, thank goodness the Papillon Motel has an airconditioner.... :)

We showed Cruiser and Brooke. We left Mimi at home this time.

Cruiser didn't do well on Saturday, but did take reserve to a major in dogs on Sunday.

Brooke did well both days, taking Reserve Winners Bitch both days and came really close (our humble opinion) to taking her first points on Sunday. We think she just let her puppy tendencies bubble over too much in the ring. Oh, well maybe next time. Brooke's won Reserve winners Bitch four out of the last six shows and she's only in the 6 - 9 month puppy class. This was only her second show weekend.

Way to go Brooke !!!!

Next stop Grey Summit MO. next weekend.

I promise to take my camera this time. It's an outside show, so I should get some good pics to post.

Plus Casper comes out of moth balls next weekend to show as a Special going for Best of Breed.

Ranger 2010

AKC Champion -- Ch Jansu Lil Lone Ranger o' Lawood

Tuesday June 1, 2010 we lost our very oldest member of our Papillon menagerie. Ranger was Laura's first Papillon and was an AKC champion. Ranger was just a few days short of his fifteenth birthday.

JTDFA Dog Show

Well we had 5 days of dog show prep, hard work, showing dogs and both good and bad weather this week at JTDFA's AKC dog show event.

Cruiser won winners dog on Thursday for one point and our new puppy Brooke showed like a champ and took reserve winners bitch from the 6 - 9 puppy class TWO days out of four. This was her very first show weekend. Way to go Brooke.

Happy Anniversary Sweetie

Today marks the four year mark since the day that my sweetie and me got married. I must be having fun, cause time sure has flown. It seems like yesterday. I really, really, really do love my wife. How she puts up with me I'll never figure that one out. I seem to be rapidly turning into a grumpy old man. I'll try to work on it. (Maybe there's a pill for that too) ... hmmmmmm

Anyway .... Happy Anniversary from the Big Dog

The Papillon Motel

April 9, 10, 11 Birmingham Kennel Club Dog Show

On Thursday April 8th both myself and Laura took an extra day off from work and loaded up the "Papillon Motel" and traveled to Brierfield Ironworks Alabama state park to attend the Birmingham Kennel Club's annual dog show. This was a three day event Friday through Sunday.

Mimi was only entered on Friday since she has blown her coat and is ... well (a little portly as of late). Laura has suggested a green bean and carrot diet. Also she has suggested that I walk her every afternoon in the driveway. Come to think of it she wasn't specific about exactly who the beans, carrots, and extra exercise was for. She may be trying to kill two birds with one rock. Hmmmm.

Anyway, Cruiser did quite well on Friday, winning his class, winner's dog for one point and best of winners.

Oh ... and our new puppy Brooke got to show for her first time in a puppy B match after best of show Saturday afternoon. She did well. Go Brooke !!!!

Meanwhile ... back at the ranch

Meanwhile, back at the ranch the dogs revert back to being ... well .... just plain ole dogs doing what dogs do best.

We get time off this weekend, not going anywhere, just staying around the house and working on stuff.

Cruiser's Big Day

Cruiser has a big day Saturday. Winners Dog and Best of Breed.

Dog Show March 27 - 28

Do you think he knows that he won ???

We attended the Maury County dog show in Lawrenceburg this weekend and camped at the Davy Crockett State Park. This was a really nice place to camp, one of the best we've stayed at.

Anyway, Cruiser "FINNALY" snapped his extended losing streak on Saturday and won his class and winners dog for some long awaited addition to his conformation points. He went back in after winners and won Best of Breed !!!

Big Congrats.... Cruiser

Dog Show March 27 - 28

Mimi wins her class Saturday and wins Reserve Winners Bitch on Sunday.

Brooklyn out enjoying a spring day.

Franklin Dog Show March 11,12,13,14

Mimi

Whew.... Four day dog shows are murder. To make matters worse we had to show at 8:00 or so in the morning all four days !!!! Everyone was tired after four days of this including the dogs. Anyway we had an excellent time showing dogs and visiting with our dog show friends.

Our female Mimi won Reserve Winners Bitch to a major on one of the days and first place in her class two days but that's about all of the bragging we can do.

Showing dogs is a lot like fishing. If you only have a good time when you catch fish, you'll be a sad fisherman most of the time. You have to learn to have a good time on the lake even if you don't catch any fish. Well showing dogs is about the same thing. The dogs didn't have much success this weekend, but we all had fun staying with friends, visiting, eating good food and seeing people we haven't seen in a while. That's what it's all about anyway. Our friend Mary finished her dog "Tango" (congrats). If we have to lose it's better to lose to friends that you can be proud for instead of strangers.