The Adventures of Mookie the Mudi

Titles earned this month....    UKC NOSEWORK Novice Exterior (NE) Novice Container (NC) Novice Interior (NI) Novice Vehicle (NV) Novice Nosework (NN) AKC Scent Work Scent Work Interior Novice (SIN) Scent Work Exterior Novice (SEN) Link to Mookie's titles         What is a title, really?  (...a must read!)  October photos are in this album! October videos are added to this album! October was a bittersweet month. Lots of good things happening but centered in the middle of the month was Jake's passing   which I documented also on Facebook .   He was 13 and ready but I'm not sure Mookie was.  After it happened, Mookie stuck like glue to me for the first week but then started doing things more independently.  All of a sudden he had access to the whole house.  Previously, I kept them separated because Mookie tried to play and Jake wanted to but physically couldn't.  There would be stretches of time that we were all in the kitchen which was Jake's hangout and Mookie woul

Mookie started out life in the United States with a harness!!  Why, you ask?  Well, when you pick up a black puppy at night from the cargo area of O'Hare airport in Chicago, you don't want to lose him!  Friends lent me a puppy harness and the first one was slipped on him along with a Whistle GPS tracker as he came out of the crate he traveled in.  Apparently it was pretty comfortable because it didn't hinder his sleep in his new home in the states at all!      Next he graduated to a slightly larger red harness that was similar to the original one.  That lasted for a bit but then I bought him an orange harness with more hooks that ended up being my favorite so much so that when that got too small I bought the next size up that he still wears as an adult today! And then there was water to deal with... swimming and rain!  He still doesn't realize (at 9 months old) that swimming will make him really happy when he can do dock diving!  Regardless, he didn't mind the li

UKC Conformation is a competitive event open to UKC registered purebred dogs, designed to evaluate a dog’s external appearance and structure as it compares to a breed standard. The breed standards describe the ideal qualities measurable through movement, appearance, and temperament of each breed.  UKC Conformation is unique from other registries as it does not allow the use of professional handlers creating a venue in which the owner-handler can excel. Conformation is a great gateway to the other UKC events and is an important part of UKC’s Total Dog award. Total Dog is an award given to dogs that not only look good in the Conformation ring, but can also excel in UKC’s Performance Events (Agility, Obedience, Rally Obedience, Hunting Events, etc.). UKC strongly believes that the Total Dog philosophy is a great test of canine ability and strengthens the bonds between dogs and their owners. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And the journey begins (in reverse order) 2023 February  No doubt the

The official term for dog shows is conformation — as in, the act of conforming or producing conformity. While a dog show may look like a beauty pageant, it’s not. Dogs are not being compared to each other; they’re being measured by how closely they conform to the standard of their particular breed .  Why? Because the closer a dog’s appearance is to the breed’s standard, the better that dog’s ability will be to produce puppies that meet the standard. It’s also the reason why mixed breeds and spayed or neutered purebreds are ineligible to compete in conformation. As one of the most popular AKC events , conformation events range from large all-breed shows, with over 3,000 dogs entered, to small local specialty club shows that feature only one breed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And the journey is on...  (in reverse order) 2023 January   The second show that Mookie was entered in was held by the Winnegamie Dog Club at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh was much bigger but still there was

The International All Breed Canine Association of America (IABCA) began more than twenty years ago with the intent of making an International Championship Title available to the American public while not exposing the dogs to the danger and inconvenience of international travel.  International Dog Shows are held in accordance with the regulations and guidelines that have been established by IABCA. These guidelines provide for a WRITTEN CRITIQUE FOR EACH DOG ENTERED and a rating number of how well the dog conforms to the breed standards. These standards are based on the ' country of origin ' for each breed, if possible. 2022.8.7-8 Mookie's first adventure in the world of CONFORMATION shows started with this organization. Because the Badger State Sieger (as it's called in Wisconsin) is held at the Winnegamie Dog Club 20 minutes from my house, I had no excuse and had to enter it!!  Mookie was born February 9, 2022 so he was just under the 6 month age limit and was in the