Hey Peeps! It’s me, Penny! Guess what, guess what, guess what???! Mom and I went to a Rally trial on Friday and in spite of mom I got my first AKC title!

It all started when mom rushed me into the car in the morning. This was unusual and I wasn’t sure it was going to be a good day. I was afraid maybe I was going to the vet. Or the groomer!
But we ended up at my school and I’m always excited there. I’ll tell you a secret. I’m not excited because I get to hang out with other dogs and do fun stuff.

Nope. I’m excited about the cheese. Don’t tell mom, I don’t think she realizes, she still thinks I’m an intellectual dog that’s all invested in learning new things.
Let’s not disappoint her.

Anyway. Mom got us there way too early. We had to wait through a whole lot of people and dogs before we got to go. I mostly sat around and begged other people to share their treats.

Mom kept saying NO! Everybody said I was cute and they all wanted to share but mom was a meanie. Except once when we were all done she let me have a tiny salmon liver thing. OMG! Mom’s cheese is nothing compared to salmon liver!

Anyway…once it was my turn I was a very good girl and followed mom all around that course. There were lots of circles which are not my favorite but I stuck pretty good, even though mom thought I was lagging behind sometimes.

And we ended up with a 99 out of 100 and first place! And since that was my third leg (you have to get three qualifying runs to get a title) I got my first title too!

Mom and I went in the back and got our pictures taken with my ribbons.

But then I found out mom had entered us for a 2nd run. Mom called it insurance in case I didn’t qualify in the first run. But it meant waiting all that time all over again until it was my turn!

GEEZE mom, this is not fun.
But then my breeder, Mama S, showed up and I was sooooo excited to see her. She’s one of my favorite people, right up there with daddy and mom and she came to watch me! And then we waited and waited and waited…and I was soooo bored. Mom tried to keep me occupied but all I wanted to do was nap.

And when it came my turn, finally, I didn’t want to play the game anymore. I decided to protest by not sitting when she asked me to, until she asked four or five times. I also decided I wasn’t going to circle left at all. And I was going to walk reeaaaal slow. So mom had to keep trying to get me to move along.
I found the whole thing totally boring.

Lucky for us the judge was a nice lady and didn’t disqualify us. I think if we weren’t doing beginning rally we would have been kicked right out of the building! But we got an 89 and qualified and even got a third place ribbon (cause there were only 3 of us in that group) and mom was relieved.

We went in the back and got our pictures taken again, even the lady judge posed with me!

And then mom drove us home. We were both very, very tired. Mom and I took a nap when we got home and today mom’s going to go back to the school to watch the obedience trials. She says we’re going to try that next month! She says I can stay home and rest up.
Cause I’m a rock star. Or something.

I think I better rest up!
July 19, 2025 at 9:19 am
Way to go, Penny! Congrats on the first place win. Frankly, I don’t blame you for not being enthusiastic about being put in a position to have to prove yourself again a second time in the same day… but we’ll keep that to ourselves 😉
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July 21, 2025 at 8:55 pm
Exactly! I did it once, why should I even have to enter the ring a second time? Mom should recognize genius when she sees it the first time.
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July 22, 2025 at 8:50 am
Seriously, Mom… 😉
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July 19, 2025 at 9:36 am
Well done Penny! (And well done Dawn) 🙂
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July 21, 2025 at 8:55 pm
Thank you Ms. Ruth!
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July 19, 2025 at 9:46 am
Congratulations, Penny! I guess I knew but didn’t know that a “Shelty” is a “Shetland Sheepdog”.
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July 21, 2025 at 8:56 pm
Yes it’s just a shortened name for my breed, Mr. Trent! Most of us are not nearly as formal as Shetland Sheepdog sounds! We’re more bouncy (and barky) than that!
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July 19, 2025 at 9:59 am
You most definitely are a rock star! Congratulations to you, Penny!
Dawn, I love the picture of Penny with the lady judge. Penny looks tiny!!
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July 21, 2025 at 8:57 pm
She is bigger than Katie was, but probably smaller than most people think she is. Her big personality makes her seem bigger.
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July 19, 2025 at 11:00 am
Congratulations, Penny!!!!🥳🏆🥳
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July 21, 2025 at 8:57 pm
Thank you!
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July 19, 2025 at 11:49 am
Way to go Penny! Congratulations to you and your Mom!! All of the extra practice and work paid off! 😊
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July 21, 2025 at 8:58 pm
Yes, hard work and practice usually pays off, doesn’t it Ms. Denise!
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July 19, 2025 at 12:46 pm
Penny you ARE a rockstar!!! CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST TITLE and ALL OF THOSE RIBBONS!!! What a smart girl you are!!!!! (you ARE smart, even if you do want to succeed just because of cheese!) well done Mama too! xoxo
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July 21, 2025 at 8:58 pm
She’s pretty proud of all those ribbons!
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July 19, 2025 at 9:01 pm
Penny and Mom, The Dynamic Duo, but yes, Penny – you are the star with your ribbons and title!
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July 21, 2025 at 8:59 pm
I sure am the star, Ms. Linda! It’s best mom remembers who’s in charge here.
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July 22, 2025 at 9:36 pm
Of course Penny – don’t let Mom forget that either! (But I wouldn’t remind her of that fact until AFTER you get your cheese treat.)
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July 23, 2025 at 8:24 am
Good idea. Ms. Linda!
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July 19, 2025 at 10:55 pm
Super work, Penny! You’ve trained your mom pretty well, but she could use some remedial work on being more enthusiastic later in the day. 😉
Congratulations on the title and the ribbons and NINETY-NINE score!!
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July 21, 2025 at 9:00 pm
Thanks! I was amazed myself at the 99!
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July 19, 2025 at 11:12 pm
Penny, you ARE the title, the top of the pile, the pinnacle of the heap, the best of the every one in the room! Wow, that was really cool. Ok, give credit to your mom for helping, but give a LOT of credit to yourself. I was so impressed with that map of the exercises. It was so mathematical … and you nailed it. 🙂 You are … simply … excellent. Thank you for sharing.
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July 21, 2025 at 9:01 pm
Thank you Ms. Ann. I decided that at least for the first run I’d concentrate on my mom and do the best I could. By the second one I didn’t really care any more…but mom knows that about me so she wasn’t too surprised.
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July 20, 2025 at 8:46 am
Good job, Penny. I love your honesty: I mostly sat around and begged other people to share their treats. I’m sure mellow attitude helped you win the competition— as did a few extra nibbles.
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July 21, 2025 at 9:01 pm
I was so mellow I almost fell asleep in the ring! Tee hee!
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July 20, 2025 at 10:29 am
This is so cool, congratulations, Penny! You reminded me of all the dog shows my parents dragged us to when we were kids. Your cousins, the collies were the stars of the show back in the day. Dog shows are fun and I hope you can go back and get another title! Cute pic with you and your mom!
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July 21, 2025 at 9:03 pm
Collies! I haven’t met a collie yet Ms. Terri! I’d like to meet one that is the same colors as me. I think that would be so cool! We’re scheduled to do a beginning obedience trial in a couple more weeks. Mom is getting nervous about that now. Mom should get a life.
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July 21, 2025 at 10:05 pm
You would love your collie cousins!
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July 20, 2025 at 10:45 am
Congratulations, Penny! You indeed are a rock star! Three ribbons — wow! I find it amazing how GOOD a pup can be when you give him/her the right kind of snack. That salmon liver thing sounds like something the Monk would enjoy — not that he’d do rally. Well, maybe, if he wanted to!
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July 21, 2025 at 9:04 pm
It does sound good, doesn’t it Ms. Debbie! I can tell you it was DELICIOUS! I have directed mom, my personal shopper, to find some for me pronto. You never know about Monk…he might like to do some rally if it gets him some special treats. You can give him my number and I’ll talk to him about it. Oh wait. Mom won’t let me use her phone. Drats.
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July 21, 2025 at 7:34 am
Penny congratulations. Your hard work and love of cheese paid off. I know secretly, deep down, you had fun. I can’t wait to hear about your next rally! Maybe your momma will find some of those yummy salmon treats!
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July 21, 2025 at 9:05 pm
Oh yes, Mr. Clay. Secretly I am having a good time whenever I’m with mom. She thinks up the best adventures. Except to the groomer or the vet, she needs to take those right off her adventure list.
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July 24, 2025 at 8:58 am
How exciting! Great job Penny and Dawn!
I have to say the perspective of the photo of Penny and the judge is kind of funny – Penny looks tiny and the judge appears to be extremely large – or was the judge just really tall?
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July 24, 2025 at 11:39 am
She was taller than me, so maybe she was 5 ft 7 or a bit taller.
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July 27, 2025 at 8:49 am
Penny living the rock star life! Good girl! I’m very proud of you and your mom. Congratulations on your first title. Yay!
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July 27, 2025 at 1:35 pm
Thank you Ms. Sara. Mom enrolled me right away in an advanced Rally class. Now I have to learn all new signs. Sigh.
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