Blue Ribbon Boy!

He outshone the class with his brilliance and obedience. He charmed the judge with his adorable looks and nearly perfect heeling. He even stood... almost... the entire time for the "stand and examine" portion of the class... There was a slight hiccup with the sit at the end of the recall, but he was too cute, and no one was watching.

He's a blue ribbon boy! 1st place out of 7!

So, we're done with the 10-week class... and we've turned our little hellion into an obedient show-worthy Kennel Clubber. Okay, maybe a bit of exaggeration there.

And also, I might note-- huge disappointment-- they promised ribbons for graduation, but there were none. I'll wait for the comment card to come in the mail, and I'll give them a piece of my mind. There was a tacky "certificate" and VERY OFFICIAL Obedience Judge's Worksheet, that of course, we'll frame and display proudly in a prominent location of our house.

So, after we'd told Darby to step up his performance in pursuit of the Blue, he was pretty bummed when there was just a MILKBONE as his reward, needless to say. So I dug through the basement to find a little substitute, and we had our own ribbon ceremony tonight... Don't be fooled by his forlorn look. It's tough to be a Champion.

And not to be left out, we gave Poppy a blue ribbon, too. For being Practically Perfect in Every Way. I think she's owning it, for sure...