Thursday 3rd March 2016 – Getting Ready for Crufts

I’m sure Wilma won’t mind me saying a little about her preparations for Crufts. I know she plans to tell you in detail next week and she’s asked if she can write the diary on the days she is away and of course I’ve said yes. Anyway, yesterday was an important part of her preparation. She isn’t going to be in the show ring, so all her training in ringcraft is for a later date. However, she will be on the Discover Dogs stand some of the time helping our Mistress and introducing people to the breed. The stage of her preparation yesterday was to get her used to carrying her rucksack so that she can carry her own things for the show. You know what it’s like with a puppy. There are always things they want to take that adults don’t think are completely necessary. Well, our Mistress has said she can take anything she wants to as long as she carries it herself. She has been given Megan’s old rucksack. It was a bit smelly having been in the shed for a while, so it’s been through the washing machine a couple of times and is as good as new. Our Mistress tried it on Wilma a couple of weeks ago and got the length of the straps right, but then yesterday Wilma wore it properly for the first time when she went on a walk. It didn’t have Horsie in it, or her treats and water bowl as it will next week. It was so she could get used to the

Wilma with her rucksack
Wilma with her rucksack

feeling of having it on her back as she walked and it turns out she’s a natural. Is there no end to that puppy’s talents? She had it on in the car to see if it felt ok and then walked in it without any concern at all. The next step will be to carry it with some weight in it to see how she is. Our Mistress has some little hand weights that work quite well for practice as they don’t weight too much and can’t be damaged if Wilma does anything silly.

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