Breeding Test Preparation
This week is all about preparation for our Breeding Test and it began yesterday. Mum has a list of jobs to get through. First on the list was to check that the mice hadn’t eaten any of the equipment we need to use. We all went out to the shed. Mum had her clipboard and our job was to check that things were there as she called them out. Most of the items are the ones we need for our character test. In our breed, we make sure dogs are of good character before they are allowed to breed. The cow bell and the horn were there, the umbrella and the waffle board as well as almost everything else. Two things were missing. Firstly the can of stones, but Mum knew she needed to make that. Secondly the tarpaulin.
Where’s the tarpaulin?
We have a tarpaulin that dog and owner have to walk across, so the dog can show that he or she is not bothered by different surfaces. The tarpaulin was missing. It wasn’t that long ago that Mum used it for a Breeding Test. It should have been there, but it wasn’t.
At that point, Aristotle had the guilty look of a dog who knows more than he’s letting on. It all came out eventually. When he ordered some mulch for the garden he’s made sure it was dog friendly by getting a type made from straw that expands when it’s wet. He thought it was a good idea to buy a whole pallet of it as there’s a lot of garden needing to have mulch put down. The only problem was that he didn’t put it all down and needed to keep it dry until he was ready to use it.
Leaking Carport
This is where it is important to understand that our carport has more in common with a sieve than a garage. To say it leaks is just too much of an understatement. Ari had borrowed the tarpaulin to wrap ten or fifteen large bags of mulch to keep them dry. Mum looked at the size of the job to move them all to rescue her tarpaulin, knowing she’d have to move them all again afterwards. On balance it was easier to dock £10 from Aristotle’s pocket money to replace the tarpaulin than do a lot of heavy lifting.
As long as the tarpaulin arrives as scheduled, the mulch can stay where it is and we have everything we need. Today Mum moves on to printing the Breeding Test paperwork and filling in the details of the dogs who are taking part, so that will be all ready.
Love
Wilma