Meet the New Champion!

Ajax went on a road trip with his handler to Calgary this past weekend for the Alberta Kennel Club conformation dog show.  This is a dog show in which a judge evaluates individual dogs  for how well they conform to the established standards for their breed.

A championship from a recognized kennel club is considered an objective indication of merit, as it indicates that the dog has been found to be an above average example of its breed by a number of different judges on a number of different occasions. 

Well as you know, Ajax did already go to 2  BC dog shows in the fall, and between those 2 shows and a number of different judges, he accumulated 7 points towards his championship.   You need 10 points.   Well he actually exceeded the 10 points by getting 5 points in Calgary this weekend,  and was awarded his Canadian Championship!   What a great start to the New Year!

Ajax - A new champion GSD in Canada!  Bravo!

Plus 10 lovely ribbons!

 AND - He also made it onto the CBC Calgary news

 

When he finally arrived home and I picked him up, he was exhausted from the weekend and the long 13 hour drive through the nigh.  He slept for hours! 

 He is retired now.  No more show days, its too exhausting and, after all,  he is really a trail dog at heart!!

Another New Year - 2019

If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results.” ~Jack Dixon ~  Lori Deschene

  

I don’t actually believe New Year’s Day is any different than any other day. I don’t believe a random point in time requires us to make a laundry list of things we need to change or improve.   New Year’s Eve is, in fact, just another day, and the next day is one, as well.

 

I don’t mean to minimize the excitement of the New Year.   What I’m saying is that New Year’s resolutions often fail for a reason, and it’s only slightly related to intention or discipline.

Resolutions fail because they don’t emerge from true breakthroughs. They’re calendar-driven obligations. and they often address the symptoms, not the cause of our unhappiness. 

Some resolutions are smart for our physical and emotional health and well-being. Quitting smoking, losing weight, managing stress better—these are all healthy things.  But if we don’t address what underlies our needs to light up, order double bacon cheeseburgers, and worry ourselves into frenzies, will it really help to vow on one arbitrary day to give up everything that helps us pretend we’re fine?

It’s almost like we set ourselves up for failure to avoid addressing the messy stuff.

We’ll do these things from time to time, and they’ll hurt. In the aftermath, we’ll want to do all those things that every year we promise to give up.  We’ll want to eat, drink, or smoke away our feelings. Or we’ll want to work away our nagging sense of inadequacy.  Or we’ll judge whether or not we’re really enjoying life enough, and in the very act of judging detract from that enjoyment.

So, perhaps the best resolution has nothing to do with giving up all those not-so-healthy things and everything to do with adopting a new mindset that will make it less tempting to turn to them.

 

A Day in the Life of a Dog

When you are a leash-free, west coast dog, this is a typical day, from sunrise to sunset.

A great way to end the year!