Next Mood Swing: 45 Minutes - a few needed disclaimers and updates.

Miss D was quite something yesterday (and her mother reports that the delights continue today). She's suddenly acting like the classic Terrible Two, thankfully in fairly brief but startling and very, very loud bursts.

The first blast occurred yesterday when we arrived at the dog show. We entered through the grooming area, because the shuttles to the front entrance were nowhere in sight and it wasn't far to walk. So, no problem; there were ticket takers on duty. They took the tickets and stamped our hands with very small stamps for re-entry. Rather, they stamped Mommy's and Grandma's hands. When the lady reached down with the stamp to tap the back of Delaney's hand, she screamed like she was being branded with a hot poker, "NOOOOOO!!!" hid her hands, and burst into loud, dramatic tears. We showed her our stamps, we tried logic and soothing, and finally her mother played the "Because I said so!" card and managed to get her hand stamped. Miss D SCREAMED about this for the next 10 minutes. (Of course, last night it was a topic of happy conversation - she'd show me her blue stamp, and then examine the back of my hand for the remaining traces of my red stamp. The Dreaded Stamp of Doom was her favorite souvenir of the day. And this morning, her mother reports that she doesn't want to wash the last traces of it off.)

That pretty much set the tone for the day. It was like walking around with a live grenade - we never knew what little upset was going to pull her pin and launch an explosion of Tears and Drama. One elevator ride was okay, the second was NOT, etc. None of these meltdowns lasted more than a minute or two, but when they occurred, oh my, the TEARS! The DRAMA!

In between the T&D she was her sunny little self and we had a fine old time:

This French Bulldog fell in love with her:

The people at the Old English Sheepdog booth at Meet the Breeds were super-nice and went a long way toward improving her mood. The nice man had a grab bag of little stuffed toys for kids, and Christmas cookies, and she got to brush one of the dogs. (The pile of white hair behind her is the dog.)

Her mom got to visit with her Dream Dog, the Spinone Italiano. The Spinone people were also very nice and chatty, and couldn't stop singing the praises of this breed as a family dog. UPDATE: PLEASE NOTE - the dog's acute case of pinkeye is a bizarre effect from my flash! I didn't notice until I reviewed the post live. Rest assured that this sweet baby had two very meltingly beautiful eyes.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any pictures of the Bostons! Which is a damn shame, because while a sweet little female loved on Delaney I chatted with the humans - they know Sophie's breeder, and said their dogs had been bred with hers! Of course, it was hard to tear Miss D away from this Boston, and led to a minor meltdown about how she wanted to go home and See Sophie NOW!

And of course there was the Dock Dog competition, which was entertaining as always. Miss D applauded every jump.

UPDATE: I forgot to add that the agility trials were also a big hit with Miss D. She particularly loved the closed tunnel that looks like this: HDP Dog Pet Agility Obedience Training Tunnel Chute 15' and when the dog erupted from the end she'd "Whoa!" and clap. Agility was OK with her, Dock Dogs was good, and at Meet the Breeds she definitely showed herself to be a small dog person. I'd have LOVED to get a pic of her with the mastiffs again this year, but she was just, "Eh," and I wasn't about to press her, given her live grenade attitude. Frenchies, Bostons, Westies - those were her speed.

We didn't stay as long as the grownups would have liked, because Nap Time Approached and we had a very volatile explosive in the stroller, so we said goodbye to the doggies for another year.

Her parents dropped off Miss D for an evening with me, while they went to Mommy's work Christmas Party. It was an exhausting evening as the same pattern continued. We had random meltdowns interspersed with moments of defiance and Not Listening, followed by sunshine, sweetness and cuteness, followed by "NOOOO!" meltdowns and writhing on the floor in tears. Her fingers were also in her mouth as she got tired, and it seems she's getting her 2-year molars. Let us pray that after those suckers are all the way through, the Drama will subside and the sweet and sunny Miss D will return for keeps.