So Long, Farewell...

...to the Irene Leduc Memorial Trophy, which has graced our living room for the past year. The Leduc Trophy came home with us after Dinah won WB at the BCCC National Specialty last year. Since we can't attend the show this year, UPS had to do the transport honors for us.

Just before I boxed it up for shipment, though, we had to have one more farewell photo...



I am weeping great salty tears at not being able to go to Quebec this year. As Canadian shows go, this one is practically right next door. Maybe next year we can go, and Dinah can enter Best of Breed...

Public Service Announcement: Handling Classes in Lincolnville, ME

Listen up, Dog Show Newbies! Wag-It Training Center in Lincolnville is offering the following show ring practice sessions (borrowed from Sumac Grant-Johnson's announcement):

Friday: July 31 6:30-7:30
Friday: Aug 21st 6:30-7:30

Sue Morlan will offer a show ring practice session to prepare for the breed ring. Sue will act as judge directing and going over dogs as at a show. (No actual judging or placements will take place.)

Pre-registration required
$20.00 - Two handlers from one household, $35.00.

limited to 12 handlers (handlers may alternate their dogs)

Sumac also is thinking of offering a regular beginners' handling class. Contact her if you'd be interested.

A nice introductory article from Purina Petcentric

petcentric: Becoming A Champion

Shared via AddThis

Some Nice Virtual News

The Lovely One has done it again! She took BOB in the MB-F Virtual Dog Show held earlier this year, and she just took BOB again in the latest show. Group judging is later in the week. She didn't get any love from the group judge this last time around, but we're hoping for better in this outing. Dinah scored a virtual Group 3 last year with most of the same competitors -- both Collies and the Aussie are very nice dogs indeed.

Now, before you think, "Of course she went BOB -- she was the only special Beardie entered," I have to point out that her breed competition was no slouch, either. She's been in the ring with some stunning girls, such as my friend Maryann's Sparkle and my friend Beth's Celia. If this had been a real dog show, she would have had to work for the honor.

I like that MB-F is holding these virtual shows more often (plus you can't beat the price). It took us a long time to accumulate enough nice photos to enter, but now we look forward to it. I only just found gaiting photos that I thought were worthy of entry, so I'll have to put one of those in the next virtual show.

From AKC's Meet the Breeds Flickr page...

Bearded Collies R #1
Originally uploaded by Meet The Breeds with AKC & CFA

A Very Special(ty) Photo

Isn't she lovely? Our judge is Kimberly Meredith-Cavanna, and she and Kathy look pretty cool in the photo, considering that the sun was beating down on both of them and Dinah at the time.

Social Networking Comes to Dog Showing

Today I received a bunch of invites to a dog show-related site called The Dog Show Network. It offers some of the same benefits as other social networks, plus some extra bennies for the paying customers (including "premium content"). You can upload photos and videos, set up a blog or a Web site, participate in forums, create classified ads, and so on. The site isn't much to look at (it parties like it's Microsoft FrontPage circa 1999) and could benefit greatly from the judicious application of a spell checker, but its content does have some potential. I plan to go back and check it every so often to see what's up.

Just for the fun of it, I also decided to go have a peek at the Infodog group on eons.com. This group benefits from the eons.com interface and the fact that show superintendents MB-F, the folks behind infodog.com, are the group owner/moderators. It doesn't show a lot of message traffic yet -- 73 messages for 487 members -- but that could have a lot to do with the fact that eons, the self-described "social network for baby boomers," isn't exactly a booming metropolis either. Although I admit to having been born on the late end of the aforementioned boom, I'm not entirely sure I like the idea of a social network for people who don't get Facebook... but that's just me.

There are lots of groups on Facebook related to dog showing. The UK Kennel Club and AKC both have group pages, as do various parent clubs (including the UK Bearded Collie Club) and dog events (Westminster, Crufts, and the US and Canadian Bearded Collie Club National Specialties). Of course, if you can't get enough, there are also groups such as Dog Showing is Awesome!.

I don't have a MySpace account, but there are undoubtedly dog-showing devotees there, too. If you are on MySpace, let me know what dog-showing groups are there and how busy they are.

Who's the BOS?

Northeast Regional Beardie Specialty, Ladies' Dog Club
5/31/09
Best of Opposite Sex




It's hard to believe that six months have gone by since Dinah's last show. The last time she saw the inside of a ring was on her very first day as a special, on the Sunday of the Thanksgiving shows in Springfield.

The show season began quite a bit earlier in the year for me. I served as trophy chair for my local kennel club's shows, and stewarded for Vacationland (where the show chair really knows how to take good care of the stewarding staff). Dinah came along to Vacationland to act as my able assistant in the CGC tests, but she didn't show. She was less than impressed; she felt that if she came to a show, she should be able to show, thankyouverymuch. No crappy spectator stuff for this girlie.

Of course, I had to enter Dinah in the first-ever Northeast Regional Specialty (or whatever the heck we call it) at the Ladies' Dog Club show. The Specialty was a joint effort between the Bearded Collie Club of Maine and the Minuteman Bearded Collie Club, and it would have been impolitic as hell to not show my support by putting my girlie in. Besides, Wrentham is only a few miles from my hometown, and I couldn't just show up to my dad's house with my hands empty of visiting Beardies, could I?

Plus, I've always had a soft spot in my shriveled little heart for Ladies. 19 (eeek!) years ago, my very first Bearded Collie puppy went to Ladies for his very first show, and came in 4th in his class. Woohoo -- a ribbon! It was as though the little guy had just won at Westminster! I was so tickled that my baby Beardie boy had his very first placement there that I've been a touch sentimental about that show ever since. The rest of Merlin's story is short and sad, but that day still comes back to me with fuzzy golden edges.

Back to Ladies 2009: The weather gods smiled on us. Kathy the show chair, Debbie the hospitality chair, and Val the trophy chair all outdid themselves in making sure we had enough food, fun, and fellowship to make the weekend memorable. We even drew 5-point majors in both dogs and bitches! (This answers my agonized question of the past couple of years as to what we need to do to get majors in this region... throw a party!)

The show even brought out friends I haven't seen in ages. Rosie's mom Cindy brought her veteran girl Abbey for Veteran Sweeps. Lesley and Sue brought Cali and Jezebel, who were both still very much puppies when we last hung out at Thanksgiving. Michele (with Brock and Tart) even came up from PA and attended the show with Joanne and Jack (who is a very handsome young man!). Our friend Kandis was the Sweeps judge. Best of all... we got to stage a reunion of the fabulous all-star team of Auntie Kathy and Dinah Moe!

The Lovely One was pleased as anything to be there with her favorite boy (Traveler) and his kids Chester and Fiona. She's had weekly play dates with the Bramley/Avalon bunch since Val and I signed up for Tuesday morning Weight Watchers classes -- Dinah and Charlie come along for the ride and get to romp with Val's Beardies after each meeting. For her, the show was Old Home Week.

The puppies and veterans acquitted themselves well in Sweeps. Chester and Fiona looked wonderful, and did very well considering that this was only their second or third show. Barbara's Spirit ended up as Winners Bitch and getting the 5-point major. Barbara handled her in Bred-By, but Kathy handled her in Winners and won! Barbara was so thrilled that Kathy now gets to finish Spirit's championship. (She's also going to handle Barbara's new puppy Denbigh when he's old enough to start showing.)

There are some photos on the Web at the BCCME Web site, though all of us who took pictures are still slowly combing through hundreds of shots for the best ones. Come see what we have thus far.

I must admit that I'm liking this Best of Breed thing. Sure, you have fewer opportunities to compete in a given show since you're not showing in the classes, and there are really only two things you can win in breed competition, but if the entry is sufficiently large, the pace is much more leisurely. You can spend more time getting ready, and you're not on until last. Best of all, you don't have to care if there are majors at the show. You just go. Sure, you might get skunked more often since you're only competing in the breed ring for BOB and BOS, but the whole show experience is a lot more fun. If you're lucky enough to win BOB, the wait for Groups is usually long -- and thus more leisurely than you might like sometimes.

Kathy and the other handlers I know have always said that if the judge speaks to you while going over your dog, then you're doomed. When I saw our judge flash a big smile at Kathy and Dinah and say something, I honestly didn't know what to think. We've shown to judges who have obviously hated Dinah's type before, but they've never grinned at Kathy while doing it.



After the individual evaluations and the last go-round, the judge pulled out Roy, Dinah, and Traveler for her BOB finalists. Dinah couldn't have been more pleased -- she got to stand out there with two of her favorite boys! She shows best when she's happy, and the judge gave her Best Opposite to Roy.

Kathy told me later that the judge had REALLY liked Dinah, and that Dinah had come close to beating Roy for the breed. Roy's a magnificent dog with a high-powered handler and a big financial backing, so it's no small honor to come in second to him. Kathy also enjoys making Cliff (Roy's handler) sweat for BOB. The judge had remarked to Kathy, while going over Dinah, "I really like what I'm feeling here!" She went on to praise Dinah's structure and substance, and mentioned that Dinah did come within a hairsbreadth of getting Best of Breed. As much as I wish we could be on the other side of the hairsbreadth sometimes, you just can't hate that. Going Best Opposite at a Specialty, however small, is still a pretty good-sized win.

Of course, it's never official until I've texted Alan and emailed Gill and Jana. Jana replied that Buffy appeared to be starting labor. She had a hard road and an eventual C-section, but Buffy is now the proud and loving mum to two baby brownies, a boy and a girl. (The proud papa is Leo, Bendale Special Times, the gorgeous brownie who won Breed at Crufts.) Dinah is now an aunt!

We didn't fare as well with Dorothy Collier on Sunday -- she pretty much ignored everyone except Roy, but she deserves some props for putting up Lesley's girl Cali (who took the major on Sunday and went BOS to Roy over the bitch specials). Dinah wasn't as cheery that day as she had been on Saturday, and kept pulling on the collar and gagging herself for some reason. When Dinah's not into showing, she's Not Into Showing, and it does no good to complain.

Still, if we had to pick one day for Dinah to shine, we'd have picked Saturday anyway. Can't hate that.

A Friend in the Trade...

Got an email announcement about these Show Ring Seminars being held in conjunction with Groom Expo 2009 in Pennsylvania in September. The faculty includes Frank Sabella, Peter Green, and Margery Good.

Virtual Dog Show

Every year, I enter Dinah in the MB-F Virtual Dog Show just for giggles. Just think of it -- a dog show where you don't have to do hours of grooming ahead of time, change into your show clothes, or get soaked in the rain!

The Virtual Show isn't just for conformation competitions among photos, though. People can submit and vote on "fun" photos in a variety of categories. Although entries for both categories have closed by now, you can still go and vote for your favorite fun photos. Or not. I always like to go look.

Dinah Moe was the only special entered this year. My friend Maryann's puppy Sparkle took Reserve -- that little girlie should be sweeping all the kudos as she gets older. She's a NICE puppy.

Anyway, The Lovely One took Best of Breed again this year...



Group judging starts on Thursday. We had a Group 3 last year. Wonder how we'll do this year...

A Nice Surprise

Our BCCC newsletter arrived in the mail yesterday. I opened it up, read the news, and whose name should I see in the conformation standings but Dinah's! It turns out that according to Dogs in Canada (January - March 2009), Dinah accumulated enough points with her two show wins last year to be the #6 Bearded Collie in all of Canada for the year 2008! What a nice surprise! Incidentally, #5 was Seamus's brother Conor.

Another Year, Another Season

Winter's finally gone, except for a few shrinking piles of dirty snow in shady corners. Here in Maine, that means the coming of...

1. Mud
2. Blackflies
3. Dog show premium lists

Even though being unemployed means that there won't be huge numbers of shows in our future for this season, I'm still looking forward to those few that we will enter. It's Dinah's first show season as a special, plus we have that one more point to get in Canada.

And then there's this guy...


Meet Badger Blue Burfitt (Breaksea Revolution). If you've been following our tales of adventure on my other blog or on Facebook, you'll know that Badge came to live with us after his former owner sadly passed away. Jeff had intended to register Badge with the AKC and show him, but that never came to pass after he got sick. I'm now in the process of getting his paperwork done in three countries.

You have a perfect right to collapse in peals of hysterical laughter at the merest thought of me showing again, after all of the agony and drama we went through getting Dinah finished. Kathy hasn't met Badge yet, but she thinks it will probably be easier to finish him since he's 6 years old -- he won't have to go through any awkward adolescent-puppy stage. Back in the Old Country, the B-Man collected some fairly impressive wins, though it's so hard to finish a dog in the UK that he didn't finish there. He has shown at Crufts at least a couple of times, and he has 24 offspring, including one AKC CH.

Depending on paperwork, cash flow, and other circumstances, Badge's AKC debut is still a big TBD. Watch this space for any announcements. Whether or not he's entered in the show, I have promised that if I make it to the BCCA National this year, I'll bring him along so Gill, Alan, and Margaret can see him again and see how he's doing. As for the BCCC National, that's also a TBD for Badge. Dinah already has an HIC, but they are offering herding instinct tests there this year...

Dinah Moe: the Ima Special Tour

This year's first show for The Lovely One will be our Northeastern Regional at the Ladies' Dog Club show at the end of May. I decided not to enter her in the YCKC or Vacationland shows earlier in the month. Since I'm a member of YCKC and always tear-my-hair-out busy at that show, I made the executive decision to preserve the remains of my sanity and wait until Ladies to start our show season in earnest. Auntie Kathy will be at Ladies, so Dinah can make her Best of Breed debut in the best possible fashion. (Actually, Dinah made her BOB debut last November on the Sunday after she finished. This year is the first year for her to start the season as a special, though.)

Between Ladies in May and BCCC in August, we haven't made any concrete plans yet. We'll figure that out as time and my employment prospects go on. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone, though, and I know that Trav will be happier at the shows when he sees Dinah there.

Speaking of Trav...

Congratulations to Auntie Val and Trav's daughter Fiona! Fee placed 3rd in her class at the National Capital Regional last Friday. Not bad, considering this was Fee's show-ring debut. She's only been in a ring once before, but she did very well at that match.

We're all waiting to hear news of Trav's kids. Ebby Ritchie should be having hers any day now. Sadie, Fiona's mom, had a repeat breeding a couple of weeks ago, but we're hoping that this year's puppies will be as gorgeous as last year's. Dinah and I just helped out with collecting for our old friend Rosie's AI breeding with Trav. (Dinah got to realize her dreams of being a professional "teaser bitch," a task she always performs very well. We're sure Trav appreciated the additional -- er -- inspiration.)

We're also waiting to hear whether Dinah's litter sister Buffy will be having puppies. Jana and Buffy have recently returned to the Czech Republic after a whirlwind breeding tour of the UK. The proud father-to-be is Leo, the handsome brownie who won BOB at Crufts this year. If I weren't already full up with four dogs, I would beg for one of those puppies.

Public Service Announcements

Closing date for the Northeast Regional/Ladies Dog Club show on May 30, plus the supported entry at the Framingham show that Sunday the 31st, is May 13. MB-F is the superintendent. For the Beardies and their people, we'll have some fabulous trophies and rosettes, a raffle and silent auction, a potluck lunch buffet, and plenty of camaraderie.

Closing date for Vacationland is 4/29, and the show is May 16-17 in Scarborough at the traditional spot. We don't usually have a huge Beardie entry at this show, but I hope that the folks with the puppies and other Beardie folks will enter. I'll be stewarding both days (I've requested the Beardie ring), and will be offering CGC tests after Best In Show on Saturday. The one hitch with offering CGCs at a dog show is that only dogs who are eligible to be on the grounds for the show can come for the tests -- i.e., only dogs who are entered in conformation, rally, or obedience at the show. You don't have to sign up ahead of time for the CGC test, though. If you're planning to enter Vacationland anyway, come on by after BIS. Bring $25, a brush, and a plain flat collar (and bring your dog's AKC number on your show paperwork or in the catalog).

"Supported" Entry at YCKC

I suppose we BeardieMainiacs brought it upon ourselves. By choosing to hold our first-ever Regional at the end of May, we should have predicted that only the locals would bother entering our supported entry at the beginning of May. Between that conflict and last year's crappy weather, our entries aren't exactly huge:

Saturday's entry is 6: 1-3(2-0)0

Sunday's is 5: 1-2(2-0)0

That's okay, really. We know some people who would have come will be home with little puppies at that time. I'm kind of bummed that we don't have a Veteran entry for Sunday, though -- we had a rosette and a nice trophy.

We could have decided to skip the supported entry at YCKC altogether this year, but somehow, that wouldn't have been right. It was at YCKC that we decided to form the Bearded Collie Club of Maine, after all, and we now have a tradition to uphold. Since YCKC is hoping to cluster with Vacationland after this year (assuming both clubs make enough money to be able to offer shows next year), the old Acton get-together will be no more after this year's shows. We'll decide what to do about supported entries once we see how the Regional goes.

Public Service Announcement: Handling Classes in Gorham, ME

Penny Cary of PETIQUETTE Canine Education will be holding indoor handling classes at Refreshing Paws in Gorham. Classes start on April 1 and run 6 weeks, on Wednesdays at 6:30 PM. Contact Penny for class prices and other information.

A Candid from Crufts

Congratulations to Leo (Bendale's Special Times) and his mom Anne Wilding for winning BOB at Crufts! We were cheering for him for BIS, but the judge didn't pick him for the group. Ah, well.

I hope this link stays up a while, but take a look at this CLASSIC photo taken at the show by a Reuters photographer.

A Brief w00t and a Few Shout-Outs

Just wanted to announce that my article on Maine dogs at the Westminster Dog Show appears in the March issue of Downeast Dog News, and the paper's designer made the story look just fabulous. I'm deeply tickled that Holly (the editor) asked me to send her one. Thanks, Holly!

That article wouldn't even exist if it weren't for David Frei, director of communications for the Westminster Kennel Club. Because I didn't have access to a print catalog, he saved me thousands of hours of painful combing through the online results for every single AKC breed in existence by sending me the list of local competitors. I contacted a couple of them and asked them a few questions, and had the most delightful conversations. Thanks, David -- you've saved my life and helped me make my deadline. I owe you one.

Thanks too to the kind ladies who took time out of their post-show days to let me interrupt them and beg them for stories. I'm looking forward to seeing them in the ring when the snow finally leaves this latitude.

The Westminster Post-Game Show

Congratulations to CH Clussexx Three D Grinchy Glee (Stump), the Sussex Spaniel who took BIS at Westminster! We who love our old guys can be especially proud that 10-year-old Stump took the honors, as if to declare that our senior dogs can still show the young pups how it's done in the show ring. Those of us who have less-popular dog breeds can be cheered that for once, a Best in Show judge had the guts to choose the dog from the 145th most popular breed in AKC registrations, instead of just going for the easily-recognizable breeds or the toy dogs again and again.

I'm happy to admit that Stump was my pick for BIS. I fell in love with that beautiful brown face during the Group judging, The camera obviously loved him as much as I did. "There," I told Greg. "There's the dog I would pick for BIS, but he doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell. Just you wait -- that Best in Show judge is going to pick a Poodle or some little foo-foo dog. No one ever picks the rare breeds."

Not that I'm knocking the BIS judge at all — Sari Tietjen has been a legend in the dog-showing world for ages, and I remember as a little kid, reading her name in the AKC Gazettes that my uncle gave me back in the '60s and early '70s. Although she is known most for her involvement with Japanese Chin, I could swear she also had Pekingese at one time. (I stewarded for her sister Joy once. We didn't hit it off.) 

Anyway, I was sure that this meant she'd favor the Brussels Griffon -- who was quite the little specimen in his own right. And, of course, there was a Poodle in the ring. I also loved Tiger Woods, the Scottish Deerhound -- another breed that I figured wouldn't get any respect. In short, there wasn't a loser in the bunch -- but the big question remained, Who would be the biggest winner from among the winners?

Was I tickled when Mrs. Tietjen picked Stump! "I can't believe it!" I told Greg. "She picked the best dog there, and it wasn't the Poodle!" I know this means that the Sussex Spaniel Club of America is going to have its collective paws full with people calling to buy Sussex puppies -- but the Sussex is a breed that won't end up going into manufacture to meet the demands of Flavor-of-the-Month fans. 

Stump has a busy year ahead of him, as Uno did last year. As the newly crowned "America's Dog," Stump will be traveling with David Frei, Westminster KC's communications director and my current hero (more on that later), to appearances all over the country. He will assume a new role as spokesdog for all good dogs. He'll visit children and soldiers in hospitals. He'll help educate people about responsible dog ownership. I'm hoping that he'll help people to think about what it means to live with and love a dog, and to help stem the crazy, wrong-headed tide of anti-dog/animal-rights-sponsored legislation that's rising all around the country and trying to end dog ownership as we know it. It's a big job, to be sure. Miss America should have as important a mission. Although David will do a lot of the talking, Stump's gorgeous hazel eyes will also speak volumes.

20 Minutes of Fame, Up From 15

You might remember last year at about this time, when my friend Monica Collins (a.k.a. Ask Dog Lady) asked me about a certain little-discussed, but no less vital, aspect of showing at Westminster. Thanks to Monica's witty syndicated advice column of the same name, dog lovers all over the country (wherever her column appears) had the chance to -- er -- go behind the scenes at the Garden. It just figured that when my 15 minutes of fame came around, that I'd spend it discussing dog poop.

Anyway, when Monica asked me to join her and her co-host on her weekly radio show, I was just tickled to bits. (I did wonder whether I'd have to watch what I said about poop over the airwaves.) We had a delightful time chatting about Stump, and our feeling that his win was a victory for senior dogs everywhere. She asked me to explain some of the acronyms in Dinah's list of accomplishments, and we even had a caller! That was perhaps the quickest 20 minutes I've experienced in my life.

You should be able to hear our portion of the show on the Ask Dog Lady Web site once it's available. The sound experts probably have to edit out all my "um"s and "ah"s. Oh, and we didn't talk about poop. (Much.) The FCC will be proud.

Public Service Announcement: Handling Classes in Fryeburg, ME

Telling Tails Training in Fryeburg is holding breed handling classes with Dayna Rousseau. The classes take place on Tuesdays from 7-8 PM. If you're in southwestern Maine or that part of eastern NH, they should be well worth the trip. I know Dayna slightly from back when I was trying to do agility with Charlie, and Dayna took some priceless pictures of Chuckles for me.

Now is a very good time to get come practice in before the show season starts in Maine. Fryeburg is a haul for me, but if you go, let me know what you think.

Dog Showing in a Nutshell

A big thank-you to Szizlin Vizslas for having this article on the very basics available on their Web site. Although there are parts specific to Vs, most of the article contains information that any Dog Show Newbie can use.

The Obligatory Look Back, and Where We Go From Here

At the end of every old year/start of every new year, it's customary to look back at the year you've just slogged through and try to assess what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks just happened. Top 10 lists abound, as do pleas to vote for the Best Whatever of 2008. Given the state of things these days, there are plenty of Worsts out there, as well.

I don't feel any sense of loss in saying goodbye to old 2008, though for us, it will be the Year Dinah Finally Finished, Dammit. Just for chuckles, I scanned the past year's blog posts to compile the year's statistics. We really didn't show that much in 2008, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

Here's what we did in 2008:

• 6 AKC shows, 4 BOS, 1 WB at a Regional Specialty, 2 majors


• 3 CKC shows, 9 CKC points, 1 WB at a National Specialty


• 6 eaten entries, 4 more where we pulled out before entries closed


• 1 broken major


• 3 UKC shows, 85 UKC points, 3 BOBs, 1 major, 1 Group 3

Some folks have told me that I'm a masochist for doing this, but I went back and calculated how many shows it took to finish Dinah. 30! 30 frickin' shows (if you count Saturdays and Sundays separately) -- and that doesn't count all of the ones where we ate the entries due to lack of competition! Granted, we did almost all of our early showing in places where Trav was the only other Beardie, so there were no points to be had. I probably should count them as lessons, since puppy entries were (at the time) cheaper than handling classes. However, the AKC counts them as shows, and so must I.

However, I am NOT brave enough to calculate how much money we spent getting there. I'm afraid I might cry.

You'll have to forgive me if I avert my eyes, stick my fingers in my ears, and sing "La la la la la la, I can't heeeeear you" every time I get reports of someone else finishing a puppy in three shows, going BOB or BOS over a dozen specials for a bazillion-point major every time. We never had that kind of luck. It was such a struggle for us that I just plain don't want to hear it. Congratulations. I'm glad for you, really. Now go away. I'm not bitter; I'm just tired.

Where Are They Now?

Nicole, the editor of The Show Ring Online (for which I'll be writing soon), asked me whether I've been bitten by the dog-showing bug as a result of my experience. The answer is maybe. A true dog-show addict, feeling just a tad bereft after finishing her first show dog, would probably rush right out and buy or breed the next puppy, and then start all over again. A real die-hard would also special the new champion.

It's not that Dinah and I don't have plans -- we do -- but I feel that achieving the CH is just the beginning of our adventures together, not the end. I'm just so relieved to finally get the whole frickin' thing over with that I can't even begin to think about starting over again with another show puppy at this point. I honestly think I don't have it in me to do this all again. "La la la la la la, I can't heeear you!"

So What's This Beginning Thing You Speak Of?

What's in store for Dinah and me for 2009? Kathy and I have been trying to compile our to-do list. The top of the list for me is to take Dinah back to Canada and get that last point for her CKC championship. Kathy pointed out that we should try to bring her back to the BCCC National as a special this year. Dinah would be only the second Am/Can CH in the Breaksea family, and the first bitch to sport that combination.

The joy of being a special is that you can pick and choose your shows, instead of desperately hurling money at every show within a 300-mile distance that stands even the remotest chance of attracting enough class dogs to make the trip worthwhile. With that in mind, we'll make an appearance at Ladies to support the local Beardie club's first Regional. Kathy and I both have warm spots in our hearts for the Garden State Regional, so we'll definitely want to head back there (and make plans for dinner at that Tuscan bistro) -- assuming we're home from the National in time. Since I have to show up to the BCCA National in Minneapolis anyway and the Burfitts will be there, Dinah might as well come along. At this point, Dinah's 2009 career as a special will probably be limited to those shows. We haven't the time or money -- or the need or desire -- to put Dinah out on the specials circuit every weekend. Kathy has a life, too -- and dogs of her own as well as other clients. It's Diva's turn to be at the top of the show-handling food chain.

Since the BCCC National is coming to Quebec (the closest thing we'll ever have to a local National Specialty), we'd be crazy not to go. Kathy and I would both like to show Dinah there as a special -- so we can plan on two Canadian shows this year.

There's always UKC, too. We've made it this far in one weekend, even with our pulling from the last show due to burnout. We might as well get that done.

Performance Events: Sticking With What We Know

Whatever will we do with all of the extra time and money we'll have now that we're not going to so many dog shows?! We've been enjoying our Tuesday-night agility classes with Auntie Cindy, and Dinah just keeps getting better and better. She improves by leaps and Beardie bounces. I improve by baby steps at best, but my handling is getting just the teensiest bit better. We're not ready for trialing just yet (as our performance at our first CPE trial strongly suggested), but we'll have more time to practice. With the money I'm not spending at dog shows, I can purchase some more equipment (or materials to make some) and a subscription to Clean Run.

Dinah also accompanies Seamus and me to Sunday morning rally-roo classes. I have her enrolled in Auntie Judy's Novice class, which meets just after Seamus's Advanced/Excellent class. I don't think Dinah sees the point of rally just yet -- why stop so many times when you could fly around the ring and really have some fun? -- but she does the best she can to humor me. Seamus loves to work for the sake of working, but Dinah's work ethic is a little different. She wants to know why one would bother. If you give her a good enough reason, she'll put her heart and soul into it.

Me to Charlie: Jump!
Charlie: Nah. Been there, done that. Ask one of the kids to jump.
Me to Seamus: Jump!
Seamus: Yes, ma'am!
Me to Dinah: Jump!
Dinah: Why?

I confess to being the world's laziest trainer, which partially explains why Dinah's littermate Buffy already has about 658 performance titles after her name while we have only two. Add to that my stage fright, and it's a wonder any of my dogs have ever earned titles at all. Duncan the Wonder Dog really only needed me to sign the entry checks and drive him to events; he could have done everything else without me.

But What About the Blog?

Ah, not to worry. I'll still have plenty to say in between shows. As an owner-handler, I'm still very much on the newbie end of the scale -- so there are plenty of newbie adventures to be had. Here's to 2009!

Belated Report from Bay Colony

Quite a lot has happened since the Bay Colony Dog Shows on December 4-7. Since then, we've endured a couple of snowstorms (including the one currently falling out of the sky) and an ice storm that left us (and 220,000 of our neighbors) without power, heat, or Internet connectivity for five days. More on that later in my other blog.

Anyway, I did in fact make it to the Eastern Dog Club show on Sunday the 7th. Julie, owner of the PR firm for the cluster, met me in the lobby, showed me the coffee, and briefed me on the order of events. We passed quickly by the Beardie ring, only long enough for me to spot my friend Joanne and her puppy-boy Jack.

The Cluster puts on a fabulous buffet luncheon for the judges/stewards/show staff. Julie very kindly obtained a lunch ticket for me and introduced me to members of the clubs.

My task this year was to serve as MC for the Rescue Parade. Some of the local shelters and breed rescue organizations exhibit at this show, including NEOESR. The Sheepie contingent included my little buddy Denver and his mom Martine, Charley-girl, her Shih-Tzu mix roomie, and their mom Sandy, and Niles and his mom. We also had several German Shorthaired Pointers and one Wirehair, a Pom, a Lurcher, and a host of other happy dog/owner teams.

It took me a few attempts to get the microphone situated for optimum listenability (now I know why singers look as though they're swallowing the things), but Julie managed to keep me from getting too confused and tongue-tied. We offered up a couple of trivia questions for the audience (next time I'll come prepared) and handed out goodie bags to the people with correct answers.

During the parade, I read a brief biography of each dog as penned by the adopter, and people applauded as the dog/owner team took a victory lap around the ring. Some of the dogs' stories were genuinely heartbreaking, but all looked fit and happy in the ring -- and some came dressed for the occasion. We invited members of the audience to come in and meet the rescue dogs after the parade was through, and many of the dogs were surrounded by adoring fans.

We had to clear out fairly quickly so the Meet the Breeds event could set up in the same ring, but everyone left the ring happy -- and some with fans trailing behind. I hope that we can draw a good crowd for next year's parade in Providence!