Taffy the Laffy Samoyed Stories
page 13
37. Taff the No Show
Sunday we went to our first ever Samoyed Dog Show, to show you how little we know I believe it was a Conformation show, it was put on by a group of several AKC Kennel Clubs from the surrounding counties. There was other breeds there and it was a 5 day show, but we only went half of one day to see the Sammies. Taff stayed home, no pets allowed.
It was at a large fairgrounds and inside a building which was good and bad as it was hot enough to stretch rail.
I got some info off the internet and had an email from a Samoyed club secretary, when she looked me up to introduce herself she was as charming and friendly as a Sammie herself.
Charlie was manning the camera, ogling the puppies and mingling with the crowd, my brother and his wife and my sister and her husband all stood around and admired the dogs. My sister had brought chairs but you can see better standing.
They ran out of programs so that made it a bit harder to tell what was going on and of course we did not know who was who, then when they judged the dogs they only announced the dog's number as the winner or pointed.
So here we stood watching about half a dozen dogs trot around a circle then the judge checked them all over, then they went around again and he picked the winners.
It was amazing. There was lots of Sammies outside the ring and even more Sammies outside the building in crates, pens and vehicles.
So probably it was better to not have a clue what was going on and just watch the people and the dogs, we weren't distracted by how they were doing, (somebody needs to write a show dog for dummies book) hahaha.
So of course we are all comparing all the Sammies to Taff, since that is the only Sammie any of us ever saw up close in real life. If anybody overheard us they might have thought we were comparing the other dogs to a mystical breed standard and we did get some odd looks hahaha.
So here we stand, 6 total strangers (and apparently everybody knew each other) going-hummm -that hair is shorter/longer/courser/softer etc., you get the idea.
We "Taffafied" them hahaha.
Then came the behavior: frisky, sedate, attentive, why are we here, look at me, and my favorite LOOK PAPER ON THE FLOOR hahaha.
We were all surprised at how little barking went on, maybe they all knew each other? It is also REAL tough to tell a male from a female Sammie under all that poofie hair, (we later found out they had even and odd numbers for males and females). We did realize there was different ages when they called the dogs into the ring. The younger dogs were really cute, the older ones were just stunning!
I still have no clue what exactly was being judged, probably "not dog people" don't go to many dog shows except to just walk around, but we had a wonderful time just watching the people with the Sammies inside the ring and out. We sort of started a mini-fan club for one young girl with her Sammie as you could tell she has utterly devoted to the dog and he/her to her. We clapped real loud when she got ribbons and told her how good she was and how nice her dog was when she walked by, she was very shy but had a big Sammie smile herself.
The people showing the dogs and their families, friends and supporters (?) were just as friendly as can be and they had a free buffet for everybody, which endeared them to my brother let me tell ya, he wanted to know if he got a Sammie if they feed you where ever you go, I said I doubt it hahaha.
What an amazing variety of dogs of the same breed, of course being a keen observer of Taff I know every hair on his body, every look, move, and sound he makes. So it was fun to compare and ,as I have suspected all along he does have bigger ears, even though they are tuned for a sound different than my voice hahaha.
We heard the judge say there is just not enough ribbons to go around for this group, which we all applauded, but we were intrigued by which dogs he picked. We could not figure out for the life of us what made one a winner over another, but you could sure tell they were well cared for and socialized. Each one was unique, some were Veteran Champions and some were Novices (somebody told us). One was 11 years old and sure did not look it.
You could also tell there were crowd favorites and some of those dogs grew 4 inches taller when they pranced into that ring I swear, talk about "Strutting Sammies" we were all laughing at some of those broad "look at me" smiles and tails waving like an Ostrich fan! hahaha.
Every one we met and talked too (some who had been on this site) all told us some little tidbit about their dogs, what was going on and complimented us for saving a Sammie. One little girl told us we could pet her dog (just before going in the ring) "go ahead" she said "I have a comb", which made us realize how much work they did on their coats to show them so we declined and thanked her profusely. I was surprised at how many children there were tending Sammies in one way or another. We must have seen a 100 Sammies!
We had to leave early cause Taff was home alone, so we took off to go shopping at the vendors and get him some special stuff,I even bought stuff for myself! (don't tell Taff) hahaha.
We sure underestimated how much time it takes to see a dog show, they had agility and obedience too but I think that was on different days and maybe different breeds even. I also underestimated how much info I needed to understand what was going on. Since I have Taff my brother and sister kept asking me stuff and I just shrugged. Listen just cause a Samoyed decides to lay over in Schenley don't mean I'm a Samoyed expert, get a grip are you kidding me?
Obviously it takes a LOT of work, dedication and knowledge to breed, raise and show dogs.
I know this- Taff is no show dog, he would have had all of them whipped into the biggest bark fest those people ever heard, plus there was still mud everywhere, he would have started a digging contest too and topped it off with a racing raid on all 100 port a jons for the paper! And we won't even talk about the huge buffet at NOSE level, talk about well behaved Sammies-wow!
Now if they ever have a DIS-obedience ribbon Taff would be an "abcdx whatever" Grand World Champion, hands down! hahaha.
I am now convinced that Taff is truly a Sammie and woeful representative of the breed potential that he is, we love him, he is our shinning star, (actually more like a meteorite but whatever). hahaha
So if you get a chance go to a Samoyed dog show, and here is a tip, if you can't get a program sit behind somebody who has their kennel name embroidered on their fold up chairs, they are a gold mine of information. mfb
38. Taff the Cool Dude
We have had weeks of cold rain here, all of a sudden it quit and the temperature soared, it was in the 90's today and so humid you could hardly breath. We decided to turn on the AC.
Now Taff was laying around like a throw rug but the longer the air was on the friskier he got, the friskier he got the more he decided he needed outside. I tried to explain to him it is sweltering out there like August, but you all know Taff, he wants out, there is no peace!
I open the door and out he bounds, right into a wall of heat. Taff stops and looks around like he has been beamed up to the surface of the sun! I of course can't resist telling him, well I told you so, see that temperature, you could die out here!
Taff decided to come back inside.
About ten minutes go by with him romping around in the cold air and he decides he needs outside...I said no...he starts leaping in the air body slamming his whole torso against the door.... I let him leap about 12 times and then decided maybe, just maybe, he NEEDS to go outside. I open the door and Taff bolts out-smack into the heat.
He stops and looks around like an alien stepping off a space ship, eyes sort of glazed over! See it is still HOT out here Taff, he bolts back inside.
Now this game of inside-outside goes on about five times while Taff tries to figure out why the furnace is on outside and by this time he had decided he preferred it in the ice house where it was cool enough to run around and act like a maniac thanks to the big grey box on the wall.
He contents himself with playing a game of fetch, well not exactly fetch, he gets the "stuffie" ,runs full speed through the house, you have to chase him, pry it out of his mouth to toss it for him to get, then he comes back and taunts you with it, but entertaining nevertheless.
I am not sure how his mind works exactly but Taff kept taking a break and going to the window , that is when it dawned on me he might be thinking the house finally hit the rails like his former caboose home (and everything else here still does), and maybe the house had finally came back to the place where his cool dirt used to be.
In Taff's world everything moves, and it is perfectly logical to expect the house to too, which would explain why his cool dirt went from cool to hot so quick, dad must have moved the house with the big engine, so may as well stay inside for the ride, cause even Taff knows our track don't go nowhere! hahaha.
Boy there is times I wish I could read his mind, probably better I can't, it's pretty scary what I can figure out just watching him, but the boy is a riot to live with that's for sure! hahahah mfb
39. Taff & The Booster Bath
Charlie bought Taff a booster bath and a week before I bought him a dog dryer. Yesterday the truck showed up with the tub. Charlie was so excited, we rip open the box and start putting it together, the more parts we install the more skittish Taff gets, almost like he recognizes what it is. hahaha.
Once we get it all together we realize it is huge, if you are as old as me I can only say an old time wicker baby bassinette only wider, longer and taller.
So now it is 97 degrees outside, our plan to put it on the porch is on hold as it is too hot. Suddenly it comes to me, maybe we can put it inside the bathtub? Sure that is great, then we can use the shower head to wash Taff with two hands! Well first off it did not fit IN the tub but it did fit ON TOP of the tub as mine is small. Charlie was a little leery, I said heck it says BOOSTER bath. So we set it up with the flat legs on the flat edges of the tub rim, but then I had to get the little step ladder to reach Taff.
We hoist Taff up about 5 feet in the air, over the tub into the new tub. Taff goes ballistic- he don't like heights, I said listen kiddo this is not high, railcars are 15 feet ,you want me to set this up on top of the box car? He calmed right down.
So I am wetting Taff , then shampooing him and then rinsing him, this is GREAT! Charlie is operating the knob to switch the shower off and on while I soap up the boy. Whoo-hoo this is easy, even if it is a tad high hahaha.
We get Taff sort of dry and haul him back out of the tub down to the floor and roll him in a couple towels. Off he goes like a rocket racing through the house.
So now I decide to move the lightweight booster tub from the bathroom to the dining room so I can dry him.....do NOT try this at home!
First off I never had the dryer on so had no idea how powerful it was, I hook Taff up to the neck restraint, what a joke that was, turn on the dryer and Taff leaps out of the tub whipping the neck restraint right over his head. He is off like a racehorse.
I go get Taff who is now running 97 miles an hour through the house, flinging off gallons of water, I put his harness on and put him back up in the booster tub and hook the restraints to his harness, now he is not going anywhere.
I turn the dryer on to high and hit Taff with a blast of air! OH MAN this thing is like a fire hose for air! I am just blowing his hair all over, back and forth, back and forth, staying away from his head and Taff is just standing there, It can't get any better than this can it?
Just then Charlie rounds the bend and yells bloody murder, OH MY GOD........ SHUT.. IT... OFF.....!!!!!!
I turn around and realize the blow dryer was blowing loose hair off Taff all over the room, I am telling you HAIR is EVERYWHERE.....! I could hardly see Charlie across the room!
It looked like somebody turned a JUMBO jet engine on a field of dandelions that had gone to seed, HOLY COW!
To make matters worse the ceiling fan was circulating them all over the room and off to the rest of the house.
I shut off the dryer, turn Taff loose, run in and get my new sweeper and attack the loose hair!
I got hair in the air, I got hair on the floor, furniture, lamps, table, fan blades, I got hair in clumps in the house plants, the air is alive with hair, I start at the ceiling and try to sweep my way down, I am swinging the nozzle of the sweeper back and forth like a machine gun trying to grab hair out of the air. Every inch of my clothes is covered in hair from the static from the plastic sweeper hose. My arms look like they belong to the Abominable snow man!
I hear the sweeper fan motor go into low growl which means a full bag, I swap out for a new one, clumps of hair are floating in the air down the hallway, I chase them, Taff helps and every time he grabs one he shakes it in his mouth adding even more hair to the air, I think I might get white lung here any minute, hahaha.
Me and Taff chase the fuzz bunnies all over every room, he thinks it is the best game, I am not making any headway as Taff keeps adding to the fuzzy fog. I am sure this was his great revenge for the bath!
I only got a dozen sweeper bags and am starting to worry about being able to do all three rooms hahaha.
Well after an hour and about 7 sweeper bags I think we got them all and by this time Taff had kind of air dried.
I drag him back to the booster bath and go to combing and raking him. Taff is now turning from one side to the other and then to his butt to me like he has done this before (at his REAL groomers hahaha).
I think we got past "get the undercoat loose" hahaha.
So two hours after I started I got a clean, dry, fluffy boy and a spotless house. That is the best I was ever able to wash him and definitely the dryer works to dry him, but I need to go set this whole shebang up in the box car, then I can just call in Bubba up the hill to bale the bounteous batch ....That should only take a couple days hahaha. mfb