Little Nali is not so little anymore. At 6 months she now weighs 39 pounds and is a little over 20 inches at the shoulders. Size-wise, she's about done, though she still has quite a bit of filling out to do. As you can see from the picture, she is quite feminine and gracefully charming. Or maybe not... She also has a huge personality and is still very content to bully her much bigger brother Zander. I think Zander is relieved to know that she will not get any bigger, as their play fights are pretty evenly matched at this point, even though Zander has a solid 20 pounds on her.
We still go to conformation classes every week. She has greatly improved. Her free stack now ranges from flawless to all-over-the-place depending on the day, but the good days are ever more frequent! She lets me hand stack her now with no problems, the only problems with stacking her now fall on me and my apparent inability to place paws correctly. She can also move like a dream... most of the time. If I can keep her in a straight line, all is well. There are still many MANY flaws in the routine, but it gets better every day.
We still go to conformation classes every week. She has greatly improved. Her free stack now ranges from flawless to all-over-the-place depending on the day, but the good days are ever more frequent! She lets me hand stack her now with no problems, the only problems with stacking her now fall on me and my apparent inability to place paws correctly. She can also move like a dream... most of the time. If I can keep her in a straight line, all is well. There are still many MANY flaws in the routine, but it gets better every day.
About a week ago Nali competed in her first show. It was a 4 to 6 month old puppy class, so it was really more of a friendly with no points awarded. It was all about getting the puppies out there into the ring to get a feel for what it's like. We had a pretty bumpy first day, which I have lots of video of, and a fantastic second day, which I have no video of. Oh well... So I don't have any decent show videos to share at this point, but c'est la vie. We did not place at the show, though we did win Best of Breed (she was the only Siberian husky puppy in the group, but hey, I'll take the ribbon!) It was a wonderful experience and ton of fun for both of us. I would love to get her out more into the ring as soon as possible, but unfortunately there are no shows within a 6-hour drive until September. It's all for the best though, because these few months will give her a chance to get her coat in so she can keep up with those fluffy adults. |
In the meantime, Nali has been ever entertaining at home. Sometimes she's a sweetheart, sometimes she's a mischievous genius who outsmarts everyone and somehow ends up pooping out my earplugs that I didn't even know were missing. She has a great talent for finding trouble, but she is equally good at making up for it with overflowing affection. She's also very level headed. No fear of thunder, fireworks, vacuum cleaners, vets, having her nails trimmed, ears cleaned, teeth brushed, or anything else.
Make sure to check out the gallery for all of the rest of latest pictures. Feel free to drop any comments or questions! And wish me luck at home and in the ring as Nali gets ready for her first real shows!
Make sure to check out the gallery for all of the rest of latest pictures. Feel free to drop any comments or questions! And wish me luck at home and in the ring as Nali gets ready for her first real shows!