# Just need one more!



## spoowhisperer (Apr 26, 2010)

Very exciting!!! Good luck, and share pics!


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## sgeorge (Jul 31, 2011)

Wow, very impressive. Hopefully tomorrow goes well for you


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Best wishes!!


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Please know I will be crossing my fingers, toes, legs and eyes in support of you and Bonnie! Fantastic news!!!


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## tintlet (Nov 24, 2009)

So exciting!!! fingers crossed that you will win today ))


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

Great news O/W!  Break a leg today, eh?


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## NOLA Standards (Apr 11, 2010)

Best Wishes and Lots of Luck!


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## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

How thrilling! COngrats...and good luck...and your hubby is funny...


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

sgeorge took the words I was thinking "very impressive". You must be over the moon. You are on a roll. I hope tomorrow continues it; my fingers are crossed.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

All your wellwishes worked, thank you! 

Bonnie did it, she is now a Grand Champion! [doing the happy dance]. I can't believe she blew through that Grand Champion so fast!! Another exciting day for us. Who would have thought this little standard could hold her own so well. I am so proud of her. I loved that UKC looked at her favorably. She won with 5 different judges in the champion classes in a plain Jane sporting cut. Part of having a poodle do well in AKC is to see if they are capable of growing massive amounts of hair. I almost wish I had let her hair grow out and tried AKC, but I was convinced she couldn't hang with the big boys. Maybe she could have. 

Bonnie is completely crashed. After being 'on' for two days, she is happy to vegetate. I was looking down at my cute little standard and feeling a little sad about spaying her. I said to my husband, "I guess we can get her spayed now..." My husband said, "Maybe we should hold off on rushing to spay her. Lets think on it a while. Maybe we could do all that testing you talk about and we could have little Bonnie's." I about fell on the floor. He is, apparently, very proud of how well she has done, too. 

Grand Champion Tiara Marmalade Skies looking sad to be stuck in a crate:


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## NOLA Standards (Apr 11, 2010)

VERA VERA Happy for you and Bonnie!

Congratulations! 

WooooHOOOOOOOOO


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

AWESOME!! Congratulations!

umm, - Show pics, please?

She is a pretty girl.
I need to look into UKC, from what little I've read, it seems more my style than AKC.
(and I agree, hold off on the spay - I would love to see little Bonnies romping in the ring next. Hmmm maybe I should consider a Standard someday....)


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

My husband took a few show pics with the judges and her ribbons yesterday. Today there are a few, too. I will look through them.  I thought her sad little face in the crate was cute. She didn't have to stay in there long. 

UKC is fun and relaxed. There is not the competition there is in AKC. It is far cheaper. In some states UKC is big and some not hardly at all. Most of the shows are small. Many dogs being shown are things like Windhounds (not accepted in AKC yet), standard poodles of all sizes including the Moyen poodles and parti poodles, American pit bull terriers (beautiful dogs, not your run of the mill pitbull in personality or looks- very sweet dogs) and other dogs that don't quite fit into AKC or aren't accepted anywhere else. There are also AKC dogs being shown in UKC, too. Yesterday there were two AKC standards, for example. There are a couple of toys that are working on their AKC champions that show up. One of them only need one more win in AKC to be a champion. 

It isn't as serious as AKC, so I don't take it really seriously. It is fun and the people are all friendly. You get kicked out for doing things like wiggles or dye in poodles or paying a handler, so most people just run around showing everyones dogs. The dogs are not always shown by the people as well as they are in AKC, but that's okay.

I take it for what it is, a great way to spend a weekend with new friends who like dogs, too. The judges are often both AKC and UKC judges. Last weekend there was a judge who came all the way from Mississippi. The judges are really good and will often talk to you afterwards, which is nice. Since Bonnie is in a sporting cut, she can't hide her faults well, but it didn't seem to hurt her. She has great, strong shoulders, ribcage and back, so the sporting cut was able to show that off for her. Her neck is also strong, but not really coarse. With long hair her neck may have seemed more elegant, but instead she looks like she could carry a duck out of the water with no trouble.


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

I would like to try that. I tried the AKC thing. I got out of it before I did any serious damage to my ego. lol

I was told that I would not be able to finish my bitch because she was a black tri (Aussie) as everyone prefers merles. Can't have healthy merles without the blacks, I say. Oh, and I was (strongly) advised to use Miss Clairol on her - I don't even color my hair! Although, mom says I should since apparantly, I have the fading gene as well.  IDK, I wanted to show my girl sort of a 'what you see is what you get.' She was a nicely bred girl from an established bloodline, yada, yada, yada. 
She made a nice pet either way. 

I want to handle my own dog(s), I got them for my entertainment after all. I don't like the back-stabbing politics I encountered.

Oops, I just hijaked this thread, didn't I? 

I'm sorry.

Can't wait to see her pics!


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## Poodlesrule 1 (Jan 16, 2011)

Congrats on job well done. Now you should think about showing her for Top 10. Or maybe bring her to Premier.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

BorderKelpie, a brown tri Aussie won best in show a couple weeks ago. There does seem to be some Aussies there. I wonder if the merle thing is why? 

Poodlesrule, Bonnie's cousin is #2 poodle right now (last we checked). They share the same sire, but not dam. We're taking a break from it. I wish I didn't work the weekend of Arizona. I might do it some more. I think I will miss the people.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Good luck you must be thrilled!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I went through my husbands pictures. None of them are very good- boo hoo. Here are some okay ones. 

At 10 months old, it is clear that Bonnie looks different than many American standards. Not bad, just different. She weighs 38 pounds last I checked. She may hit 40 pounds. I love her near 22 inch size now. She takes after her dam's side, which has Belgium and Latvian ancestry. She is muscular, athletic and a little smaller than most. She is sparkly, smart and intuitive. I have also grown to appreciate her athleticism. She can practically keep up with my whippet in a dead run. Even though she is muscular, she has retained her ability to prance. Her tail has a curl at the end like her undocked mom, but is placed perfectly at the end of her spine. Her face is pretty to me and her bite terrific. Her coat is thick and soft, starting to really get dense, curly and spongy now. I like her coloring. She measures square, but her legs can appear short and her body long if she isn't cut well. Her neck could be longer, too. If she was lankier, it might throw her balance off, though. She can walk on her hind legs with no support. One of her cousins was in the Sea World shows. She taught herself to open the back door with the paddle handle at only a few months old by standing up and wacking it with both front paws. 

I am happy to share a poodle with you that I love and is a little different looking. In the end, she is my pet. She is a cuddler. She could have three eyes and I wouldn't care. 

I don't think her type could cut it in AKC, but I think there is value in her type, but then- I am biased.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

Congratulations, I am so happy for you. I expected Bonnie to make Grand Champion because she definitely has the "it" factor but to win one so quickly is really impressive. If she passes all the health tests I think there would be a line for Bonnie pups.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

She won 5 out of the 6 shows with competition of 3, 4 and 5 spoos. I was honestly shocked. My little spoo kicked butt. She certainly has the attitude needed. Someone called her a 'peacock', which I didn't really understand until someone explained it to me.


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## cavon (Aug 10, 2010)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! I told you you would do it in short order!! Now the next step is to go for a rally qualifying score and a placement in conformation at the same show!! Then she will also have a Total Dog award! Do this before you make a decision about spaying her, this award is only available to intact dogs!!

Go Bonnie! Go Bonnie! Go Bonnie!!!!!

WHOOOO HOOOO!!!!!


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

outwest said:


> BorderKelpie, a brown tri Aussie won best in show a couple weeks ago. There does seem to be some Aussies there. I wonder if the merle thing is why? .....



I think it was more the breeder/handler I was trying to mentor with. She and I have much different goals, so I opted to just quit while I was ahead. I would rather have a well-bred, well built pet than a breeding machine anyway. 

Bonnie is gorgeous - I love her look. I still don't know much about poodles, but I would be more than willing to take her home.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Now I have to see what rally is.


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## Randi6567 (May 22, 2011)

Yay Bonnie!! I'm so excited for you guys did you go to the Claremont show this past weekend? I was gonna bring stedman but decided to give him a break before az on the 10th, I wish I would of went to see u guys win well now you can go for your top 10 points I think, either way congrats


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Yes, both days. She won even with a so-so haircut.  Have a terrific time in Arizona!

ack: I never emailed you the neat pics of Stedman. I am so sorry. I posted them here and then promptly had a brain fart. I will do it now.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

WOW! How exciting!!!!!! She's a little package of dynamite!

I noticed the beveling on the cuffs of her legs. Looks great! Much better than before! Her groom is looking TONS better. Just keep scissoring as close as you can to the back of her thigh! If you bend her back leg, you should scissor on that top part, above the bend, about as close as a number 4 blade


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Her haircut is better, but still not terrific. There were some mistakes done. Unfortunately, you can easily take hair off, but not put it back on. The front of her leg hair was hacked off as well as the front of her topknot- sigh. I asked for the back of her leg close to her rear and they misunderstood and did the front, too. Her upper thighs look wonky and with hair left on the lower legs it makes her knee look too straight, but you can feel their shape at least. I was afraid to ask her to shape them anymore. Instead of her topknot coming forward in front of her eyes, it goes straight up! I spent a lot of time pulling her topknot forward.

That's what I get for using a new to poodles groomer, but I stick by my guns with her because I like her, the price is right, she is close to my house and Bonnie loves her. As you can see, she has gotten MUCH better. It should all work out in the end. If I ever decide to give AKC a try with a poodle in the future, I will have to get a show groomer. For UKC, an off haircut doesn't kill her chances. She is in top condition, so even with a poor hair day, she can hold her own if the judges just look past the cut a little. Her cut isn't too bad, but not terrific. Luckily, poodle hair grows and it is just hair. 

I like this picture of her. She is a little spitfire, but she knows how to calm down, too. I just say 'enough' when she is being too rambunctious and she huffs a little huff and calms down. :


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