Hey Mom! Remember me as a gorgeous pup?

CH MACH Otterby Abercromby and Fetch CD RE XF NAP NAJ

I am quickly approaching the weekend when I go back into the conformation ring for the first time in seven years.  It will be Ghilley's first show in what I hope is a long competition career where conformation is only the beginning.

I find myself looking at her a lot.  She is very pretty.  She is also difficult to resist with a personality to match her looks.

Nearby is my "little man", Robbie.  Robbie is 10.  He will turn 11 in June (same birthday as Ghilley, actually).

Robbie has two championships.  He is a conformation champion, shown by me and finished when he was three.  He is also an agility champion.

He sports a lot more gray these days but he remains a handsome dog.  Most striking on him has always been his perfectly black ears.  Those ears really stand out now with his gray face.

Robbie is my special guy.  He has always had a confidence issue but darned if he does not show how brave he is by his willingness to work with me.

He is my little charmer and flirtie boy too.  He loves to curl his body and wag either in excitement or if he gets embarrassed.  Either time elicits body rubs from me and lots of kisses.

I think he is enjoying his new status as the alpha dog but I can also tell it seems like a lot.  I continually tell him that he is doing great and that he does not need to protect me.

Ghilley and he regularly play and they play without some of the underlying tension that could result from his tussles with MacDuff.

I realized that after a few months of my blog, I have not really had a dedication post to Robbie.  Well, that is him at six months old in the picture at the top.

If I think Ghilley is gorgeous, that picture reminds me that Robbie is too.