North Shore Kennel Club, 5/16/07: BOS, 2 points
Middlesex County Kennel Club, 5/17/07: BOS, 2 points
We are nine and we are proud! This weekend, The Lovely One has arguably shown the best she's ever shown. She looked beautiful, she behaved perfectly, and she moved nicely. She even smiled at Sunday's judge.
Kathy joked that maybe Dinah overheard us talking about giving her a little vacation from showing until she matured. I'm hoping that all the additional handling classes, plus a little help from Mother Nature and Father Time, might have helped make the difference as well. However it's happened, Dinah has started showing beautifully, and the judges no longer ignore her.
Our new ringside strategy has made a great difference, too. I no longer hide from her, but stand as close to the steward's table as I can without being in anyone's way. Now that Dinah can see me there, she no longer has to spend time looking around for me. She acts relaxed and happy in the ring.
She still has a "cotton head" and plenty of puppy fluff, but the adult coat along her back and sides is coming in nice and harsh and correct. She doesn't have more undercoat than she needs, either, which means that it requires less work and less stripping to show her gorgeous topline and correct length.
On Saturday, we had five bitches entered (one shy of the six we need for a major these days). Three of the bitches were in the Open class. Dinah behaved beautifully and was rock-solid out there, and the judge picked her. Two points! Even when we've taken Best of Breed, we've never managed to get more than one point at a given time. She gave Chaos the Reserve from the Bred-By class. Trav was the only male and the only special, and Dinah went Best Opposite to him. Brian, the wonderful junior handler who helps Kathy out occasionally, took Dinah in so Kathy could show Trav. The two of them enjoy flying around the ring together, and they looked great.
Most of the rest of the day passed by in a blur. I had a chance to wave at a bunch of people and talk to a few, but the early (8:30 AM) ring time, the lack of caffeine, and the sheer surprise and pleasure all shifted my perception of things into a slow-motion crowd scene. Dinah and I carpooled with Connie and Dory. We dropped them off at the Park 'n' Ride, came home, and napped.
Sunday's ring time was still early, but not the inhumane hour of Saturday's showing. Dinah and I arrived at the show to find Kathy, Val, and Pat deep in conversation. They were certain that the Sunday judge would pick Mia from the Open class because she's being shown by a high-powered handler.
There are judges who are love-'em-or-hate-'em types -- and probably every judge out there has fans and detractors. My Collie buddies just love this judge and were psyched to be showing under him. It all depends on one's experience, of course, and I had none.
This judge might not have been a big fan of Trav's, but he loved Dinah and little Moxie, and made a point of saying so. Dinah smiled at him in the ring. He picked her for Winners Bitch (one point) and gave Moxie the Reserve. The high-powered handler didn't seem too thrilled to be in the ring. He phoned in his gaiting patterns with Mia and disappeared... but not before looking Dinah over carefully. Kathy reported that he seemed impressed.
Since Kathy is specialing Trav, her friend Karen handled Dinah in BOB. For one long, long moment, everyone thought that he might pick Dinah for BOB over Trav... but he did put her up for BOS over the bitch special. Karen reported to Kathy that he said some very complimentary things about Dinah to her. No wonder Dinah smiled at him!
Anyway, it appears that we fall into this judge's love-'em camp. Since he's more or less local and shows in this region frequently, we should have the pleasure of showing under him again sometime. Of course, life hands you no guarantees, and the next day might not be Dinah's day... but then again, Dinah's growing up and getting the hang of this dog-show game. It's quite likely that more show days will be "her day" in the future. She has never shown as well as she has this weekend, and Kathy emailed me after returning home to have me kiss Dinah on the nose and to tell her how proud her Auntie Kathy was of her. I was proud to deliver.
For a dog to become an AKC champion, s/he needs to earn 15 points, including two majors (3-, 4-, or 5-pointers). Often, those majors are the hardest part of showing, especially in regions (such as ours) where it's difficult to assemble enough dogs or bitches to make a major. Now that Dinah has 9 points, she could finish with two 3-point majors, or two majors of any size. Since majors are so hard to come by that we're lucky to have three points' worth, it's likely that both of Dinah's majors will be three-pointers unless we win in another region with larger entries.
(After some of our performances this spring, I'm still amazed that I can be having conversations about finishing.)
I reported our point level to Dinah's breeder, who responded, "You're taking her to the National, right? You don't want to finish her too soon, because it's better for her to be a class dog at the National than in BOB." Since the likelihood of our getting Winners' Bitch at the National is minuscule (but certainly a lot more than zero), I replied that I'd be happy to have her finished anytime, since majors are so hard to come by. Imagine my sense of deja vu when Kathy said the same thing about the National this afternoon!
It would certainly make my life complete if Dinah were to finish her championship in a blaze of glory by taking a 5-point major at the National -- and certainly, it happens to one dog and one bitch every year -- but our chances are the same as those of all the other class bitches, and there are a lot of other class bitches. Still, what a fantasy...
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
To See and to Be Seen
Ladies' Dog Club and Framingham District Kennel Club, 2nd in Open, Reserve Winners' Bitch both days
The Ladies' Dog Club has been a Boston tradition since the Victorian era. I've always had a major soft spot for their shows, ever since my very first Bearded Collie (Merlin) got his first ribbon at Ladies'. The Minuteman folks used to have a big Beardie get-together at that show, too.
The show has changed venues since those days. It (and the Framingham show) now take place at the Crackerbarrel Fairgrounds in Wrentham (which was the Wrentham State School back when I lived in town). Dinah and I were able to crash at my dad's house, visit with the family, see a friend of mine from high school, and still have a ten-minute commute to the show site. Sweeeeet.
Dinah made a very nice showing at Ladies', even though we came in second both days to our Beardie-friend Rosie. Rosie went BOS one day and BOB the other to finish her championship. Her owner was so happy she cried; it had been a long time coming. Dinah looked lovely and behaved nicely, even though Auntie Karen handled her one day and Uncle Brian did the other day -- and Kathy was occupied with handling Rosie. Now that Rosie's finished, Dinah moves up to the top of Kathy's handling food chain -- as far as class dogs are concerned. I'm sure there will be days when Dinah and Traveler get to face each other in BOB, but we'll work that scenario out when we come to it.
Dinah also earned her Canine Good Citizen title at the POC match this weekend, so she is now Breaksea November Storm, HIC, CGC.
The Ladies' Dog Club has been a Boston tradition since the Victorian era. I've always had a major soft spot for their shows, ever since my very first Bearded Collie (Merlin) got his first ribbon at Ladies'. The Minuteman folks used to have a big Beardie get-together at that show, too.
The show has changed venues since those days. It (and the Framingham show) now take place at the Crackerbarrel Fairgrounds in Wrentham (which was the Wrentham State School back when I lived in town). Dinah and I were able to crash at my dad's house, visit with the family, see a friend of mine from high school, and still have a ten-minute commute to the show site. Sweeeeet.
Dinah made a very nice showing at Ladies', even though we came in second both days to our Beardie-friend Rosie. Rosie went BOS one day and BOB the other to finish her championship. Her owner was so happy she cried; it had been a long time coming. Dinah looked lovely and behaved nicely, even though Auntie Karen handled her one day and Uncle Brian did the other day -- and Kathy was occupied with handling Rosie. Now that Rosie's finished, Dinah moves up to the top of Kathy's handling food chain -- as far as class dogs are concerned. I'm sure there will be days when Dinah and Traveler get to face each other in BOB, but we'll work that scenario out when we come to it.
Dinah also earned her Canine Good Citizen title at the POC match this weekend, so she is now Breaksea November Storm, HIC, CGC.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Redemption in the Mud
Vacationland Dog Club shows, May 19 and 20
Best of Breed both days, 2 points
It takes a village to show a puppy. I've been lucky that my friends have been so patient and helpful as I stumble my way through the jungle of dog showing. We certainly couldn't have done so well this weekend if we hadn't had a lot of help.
Kathy and Dinah continue to work better together every time they're in the ring. I'm not entirely sure what the magic factor was this time, but with the combination of practice, patience, and Dinah's being able to see me at ringside, she behaved very nicely for Kathy and gaited as well in the mud as anyone could expect. Things can only get better from here.
Connie could easily have decided not to show Dory at all. Dory has more single points than she needs and only needs her majors to finish. A lot of people would have pulled their dogs if the entry was so small, but Connie was kind enough to stay. Dory needs the practice, since she's been away from showing for a few years -- and you could see that she was beginning to remember the drill. It seems a little cheesy to say "Thanks for bringing your dog so we could beat her," but if it weren't for people willing to do sportsmanlike things like this, then even more shows would go begging for entries.
Val did a magnificent job grooming both girls. Kathy got Dinah all pretty for the breed judging, and Val put on the finishing touches (including the waterless shampoo on muddy feet) before Dinah and Kathy went into the Group ring. Val said she was happy to have someone to groom because Trav wasn't entered. I'm glad we were able to help with that! Oh, and Val made the little pink tiara for The Princess.
Plus I can't forget Greg. The Man graciously consented to going for food, parking the car, schlepping equipment, schlepping the dog, taking photos... and all this just for a couple of hamburgers and a creme horn from the concession stands. Dog shows really aren't his thing, but he enjoys any change of scenery.
The Vacationland shows take place every year at a campground about half an hour's drive from here. The facilities really are nice and ideal for dog shows, but someone at the dog club really needs to get in touch with Mother Nature before next year's show. Seems that every year, there's either an active monsoon going on during the weekend, or one has just passed through, leaving the Okefenokee Swamp behind. It's the only show I ever attend where the grooming tent is considered "waterfront property."
To be fair, conditions really weren't as bad at the show as they were last year. I heard scattered reports of people falling and shoes sucked off their owners' feet, but last year was really worse in that department. This is one show where everybody shows in rubber boots and jeans, even the judges. You can bet I'm not planning to show up there again wearing pantyhose!
All the same, you saw more dogs being carried to the ring than heading there on their own four feet. The owner of the Borzoi Kathy was handling kept asking Kathy and me if we would carry her Borzoi to the ring. Surprisingly enough, there were no takers. Dinah put a dewclaw through one of her boots, so I had to lug her back and forth between the ring and her crate.
Anyway, Dinah behaved beautifully and showed as well as can be expected given the ground conditions. Nobody could do much gaiting, since most of the rings had puddles, muddy spots, and sawdust strewn in a vain attempt to soak up some of the moisture. (I almost would not have been surprised to have seen the Creature from the Black Lagoon emerging from one of those rings.) Greg and I stayed at ringside, and Dinah seemed happy enough to behave for Auntie Kathy once she was done locating us. She was such a good girl, and moved so well, that the judge picked her both days. Dory is beautiful, brown, and much more mature -- so winning wasn't exactly a slam-dunk.
Since this is the very first time Dinah has had back-to-back BOBs, of course I had to have pictures taken both days. Saturday's picture was taken in the ring after breed judging, and looks as though it will come out nicely. Dinah was still mostly clean at that point. Sunday's photo, while taken on the nice platform with all the flowers an such, still won't be able to disguise the fact that she (and Kathy, and the judge) all have desperately muddy feet. Maybe I'll have to Photoshop that one before posting it.
Most dog show people started out in horses. Sunday's judge complimented her on Dinah's movement in the ring. Kathy got a laugh when she replied, "Yes, she's a good mudder." It's true -- Dinah actually appeared to enjoy showing in the mud, even if it meant being carried from ring to crate and back.
Dinah is now officially 33% of the way toward her championship. The majors will be the hardest part, but every point is another step.
Monday, May 14, 2007
A Good Weekend for a Butt-Kicking
St. Hubert KC, 2nd in Open
Windham KC, 2nd in Open
Too bad it was our butts getting the kicking (again). There's never any shame in losing to Cocoa -- she's an outstanding girl, and I love razzing her owners and getting razzed in return. We call each other The Competition (in suitably hushed tones), and we mean it as the highest of compliments.
Cocoa's owners have put a very high-powered handler on her, and she got her first major at the Trenton shows last weekend. (That particular handler could show a cat in a dog-show ring and the judges would still pick him -- but I've never heard him say a bad word to or about anyone, and he always has kind words for anyone who manages to beat him in the ring.)
Ah, but if you have to pick a day to get beaten, pick a day like Saturday. The weather was perfectly sunny and not too hot. The fairground site was small but well situated, and the entire place gave off the air of being cheerful and laid-back. There were only a few vendors, but they and the local greyhound rescuers were congenial and chatty. Everyone seemed to be in a good humor, from the handler relaxing with a beer in an easy chair next to his leviathan-class RV to the ladies selling dog toys and chewies. A nice Corgi person handed me his card and announced that his club was holding a herding trial over Labor Day weekend, and to email him for directions.
Kathy and I decided to try an experiment. Conventional wisdom says that a dog being handled in the ring by a handler (or anyone not the owner) will not behave or focus if the owner is standing where the dog can see/hear/smell Mommy or Daddy -- so usually, the owners are advised to stay as far away from the ring as possible. I've done my share of hiding these past few months.
I wondered whether Dinah might not fare better knowing where I am so she wouldn't have to continually look for me, and so she'd cooperate with Auntie Kathy in the ring. Since I've been on a mission to find and correct things that might be hurting Dinah's chances in the ring, I asked Kathy whether she thought Dinah might be more relaxed with me around. We decided to find out.
Kathy walked Dinah to the ring, while I followed. The judge was running quite a bit behind, so we took up a spot near the unused ring on the opposite side of the tent. I took Dinah's leash and sat on the grass with her, while Kathy picked up her armband, watched the judge, and chatted with the other handlers. Dinah just relaxed, and didn't appear at all anxious.
When it came time to get into the ring, Kathy advised me to position myself near the stewards' table so Dinah would face forward while looking for me. At least she wouldn't be pointing her butt into the ring trying to peer behind her to see where I went.
Fo whatever reason, it worked! Dinah never even bothered seeking me out. She maintained her focus in the ring, moved beautifully, did everything Auntie Kathy told her to, and didn't fling her feet to the four compass directions while gaiting. Even though we lost (again), Kathy reported that Dinah was much more relaxed in the ring and behaved nicely. So much for conventional wisdom.
Windham KC, 2nd in Open
Too bad it was our butts getting the kicking (again). There's never any shame in losing to Cocoa -- she's an outstanding girl, and I love razzing her owners and getting razzed in return. We call each other The Competition (in suitably hushed tones), and we mean it as the highest of compliments.
Cocoa's owners have put a very high-powered handler on her, and she got her first major at the Trenton shows last weekend. (That particular handler could show a cat in a dog-show ring and the judges would still pick him -- but I've never heard him say a bad word to or about anyone, and he always has kind words for anyone who manages to beat him in the ring.)
Ah, but if you have to pick a day to get beaten, pick a day like Saturday. The weather was perfectly sunny and not too hot. The fairground site was small but well situated, and the entire place gave off the air of being cheerful and laid-back. There were only a few vendors, but they and the local greyhound rescuers were congenial and chatty. Everyone seemed to be in a good humor, from the handler relaxing with a beer in an easy chair next to his leviathan-class RV to the ladies selling dog toys and chewies. A nice Corgi person handed me his card and announced that his club was holding a herding trial over Labor Day weekend, and to email him for directions.
Kathy and I decided to try an experiment. Conventional wisdom says that a dog being handled in the ring by a handler (or anyone not the owner) will not behave or focus if the owner is standing where the dog can see/hear/smell Mommy or Daddy -- so usually, the owners are advised to stay as far away from the ring as possible. I've done my share of hiding these past few months.
I wondered whether Dinah might not fare better knowing where I am so she wouldn't have to continually look for me, and so she'd cooperate with Auntie Kathy in the ring. Since I've been on a mission to find and correct things that might be hurting Dinah's chances in the ring, I asked Kathy whether she thought Dinah might be more relaxed with me around. We decided to find out.
Kathy walked Dinah to the ring, while I followed. The judge was running quite a bit behind, so we took up a spot near the unused ring on the opposite side of the tent. I took Dinah's leash and sat on the grass with her, while Kathy picked up her armband, watched the judge, and chatted with the other handlers. Dinah just relaxed, and didn't appear at all anxious.
When it came time to get into the ring, Kathy advised me to position myself near the stewards' table so Dinah would face forward while looking for me. At least she wouldn't be pointing her butt into the ring trying to peer behind her to see where I went.
Fo whatever reason, it worked! Dinah never even bothered seeking me out. She maintained her focus in the ring, moved beautifully, did everything Auntie Kathy told her to, and didn't fling her feet to the four compass directions while gaiting. Even though we lost (again), Kathy reported that Dinah was much more relaxed in the ring and behaved nicely. So much for conventional wisdom.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Dumped (Again), But Never Completely Empty-Handed
York County Kennel Club, 5/5 and 5/6: 1st in Open
Bearded Collie Club of Maine Supported Entry
"Winning isn't everything, but losing isn't anything." -- Vince Lombardi
I often tell my herding compadres, "At a trial, you never come away empty-handed. Either you get a leg or a lesson, but you always get something." Perhaps one can stretch that axiom to fit conformation showing, though it might take quite a lot of stretching.
Since Kathy couldn't come up to show this weekend, Tracy agreed to fill in and show Dinah both days. I suppose I could have done it myself, but I was already torn in a thousand different directions at the show as obedience chair and as one of the hostesses for the BCCME Supported Entry that I didn't really need to have that task as well. Tracy was happy to take her.
When we're in handling class, Tracy doesn't always see Dinah as she would in a show-ring situation. In class, Dinah knows we're not working the whole time, and she takes every opportunity to relax in between actions. She'll sniff the ground, sit, seek out the shade, and in general do an otherwise admirable job of conserving her energy until it's needed. The skills that make her an intelligent working dog just don't wash in the conformation ring, though.
Anyway, it was good to have Tracy take her around the ring. She was able to see first-hand how Dinah reacts at shows, and to keep her focused. Tracy worked on keeping her calm and getting her to hold still. It did work -- she looked lovely out there and gaited nicely for Auntie Tracy. She took first place in Open both days. She was the only Open entry, but she did earn it.
Yet again, though, the judges decided to look everywhere else but at Dinah when it came time for Winners Bitch. On Saturday, Chaos got the points. On Sunday, Richard and Debbie's little Moxie did. I can't begrudge them their success, but I sure wish we could have some every once in a while.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
6 Bucks and a Squeaky Toy
National Capital Bearded Collie Club Regional Specialty: 3rd in Sweeps, made the cut in regular 12-18 class
This posting was first printed in the newsletter of the Bearded Collie Club of Maine as "Val and Karen's Bogus Journey."
Val and Karen's Bogus Journey
It started out innocently enough, and even sounded like a pretty good idea at the time. I'd decided to enter Dinah in the NCBCC Regional Specialty, and I couldn't bear to keep all of the fun and adventure to myself. I sent Val an email saying something like, “Wanna go?”... and the adventure was on. I made the arrangements for the hotel room and rented a minivan so we could tote Dinah, Traveler, and all of our show junk to the show and back in relative comfort. We were all set to travel in style... or so we thought.
The morning we were about to leave, my cell phone rang. It was Boobyprize – er, I mean Enterprise – Rent-a-Car, calling to tell me that they didn't have a vehicle for me in spite of my having requested one two months in advance.
“That's okay,” I said. “I'll take an SUV.”
“We don't have any of those, either.”
“Well, what do you have?”
“We don't have anything. We're really sorry.” (Somehow I was reminded of the Cheese Shop sketch from Monty Python.)
I reported the results of this enlightening dialogue to her and said that I'd be running a little late, as I had to formulate Plan B using only my little Subaru and a car-top carrier.
Locating the car-top carrier was simple enough. It lived in our tool shed behind the house, where it had resided since Greg last used it in 2004 to move things out of his old place. In the intervening years, it has acquired its share of cobwebs, bits of dried grass, and suchlike. I hosed the thing off and attempted to unlock the two tiny locks that held the thing closed. The locks were rusted shut. I began to have a very bad feeling about the way things were going, but I persevered. Greg reappeared with a hacksaw, and proceeded to saw off the locks. I decided to use tie-wraps for security, since I had a large bag of them and no other method available for securing the top of the carrier in mid-flight.
I called Val, told her I'd be a little but later, and started to pack.
Finally – about three and a half hours later than I'd planned to leave, I pulled into Val's front yard. The car-top carrier had plenty of space for our luggage and tools, but there was just one teeny little problem: we were both just a little bit too short to reach it. She produced a step stool, and we commenced to pack the car-top carrier. I secured it with tie-wraps and hoped for the best.
Traveler had been looking forward to riding in comfort in the rental van, since he usually travels to shows in Pat's Econoline. He was somewhat less than impressed with the accommodations afforded by the back seat of a Subaru. Val installed his blanket and showed him that his girlfriend Dinah Moe was riding in a crate in the back. He reluctantly took his place. Maybe he knew something we humans didn't know.
Bogus Journey, Chapter 2
In spite of the less-than-spacious quarters in the Subaru, our trip south went smoothly, if not quickly enough to satisfy us. Trav eventually settled down in the cramped back seat, drooling a little. Dinah dropped off to sleep in her crate.
Val and I were just so happy to finally be on the road that we chattered happily all the way from Maine through New Jersey, stopping only for biology breaks and to refuel the car (and the driver). We wondered aloud why Tony Soprano, Bruce Springsteen, and Jon Bon Jovi didn't have rest stops named after them on the New Jersey Turnpike. I learned from Val that there are actual “Sopranos” tours you can take around northern New Jersey – apparently her brother took one and had a great time. Dinner consisted of a couple of greaseburgers we picked up at a rest stop on the Turnpike, but we didn't care. All we cared about was getting there.
Finally, after at least 400 years of driving, we arrived at the Red Roof Inn near the fairgrounds. When we entered the lobby to check in, we became privy to the conversation between the previous customer in line and the guys at the front desk. “You're full? But I had a reservation!” I crossed my fingers inside my pockets, hoping that when we reached the counter, we wouldn't have to sing the same song. After that long drive, I was ready to set up camp in the lobby and sleep there, if necessary. I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to try and find another hotel at that hour.
Our turn came, and we stepped up to the counter. For one brief, frightening instant, the reservations clerk was unable to locate my name in the computer. That lobby floor started to look mighty tempting. Finally, he found our room for us and handed over the keys. Heaving sighs of mixed relief and exhaustion, we headed out to the car to unpack. We cut loose the tie-wraps on the car-top carrier, unloaded our luggage and other necessities, and then tie-wrapped the thing closed again.
Trav was so tired of riding in the back seat that anything – even a camping trip to the Red Roof Inn's lobby – would have sounded like fun to him. In spite of his drool-soaked beard and shirt front, Dinah was glad to see him and insisted on playing with him the moment she was released from her crate in the back. Neither of them would eat, so we walked them and then crashed for the night.
Dinah woke me before sunrise (for which I was appropriately grateful). Figuring that no sane human being would be outside at 4:30 in the freakin' morning, I slipped on some shoes, took my room key, and headed outside with Dinah toward the nearest grassy area.
The little princess sniffed around for at least half a lifetime before finding a spot she thought worthy of her attention. Although I'd been hoping to remain invisible, Tom Dixon spotted me on his early-morning walk. He was already dressed and groomed for the day. My hair straggled in my eyes, I hadn't showered since the previous morning, and my morning outfit consisted of a nightshirt and a pair of Crocs. Bless him, Tom didn't react in fear or horror at my appearance, but petted Dinah and exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.
Once back inside the room, I'd hoped to avoid waking Val, but Trav was up and ready to go. While she sleep-walked him outside, I tried to persuade Dinah to go back to sleep with me. She preferred to play with Trav. I crated her, hoping that she'd settle down, but that proved fruitless as well. We ended up starting our day long before the alarm went off. We cut the tie-wraps on the car-top carrier, stowed our gear, added more tie-wraps, and headed down the street to the fairgrounds.
We followed the line of cars into the fairgrounds and looked around for the Whatsis Building, where our Specialty was supposed to take place. Seeing nothing that looked like a Whatsis Building, we asked the gentleman in the golf cart who appeared to be presiding over the parking. He responded with a storm of unhelpful gobbledegook that left us more confused than we had been before we asked. We finally decided to follow the other cars that were heading out the other side of the fairgrounds and turning. Maybe that road would lead us to the Whatsis Building.
Eventually, we did find the building in question, unloaded pups and gear, and proceeded to set up. Karen Bowens had agreed to show Dinah that day, so I set off in search of her. After finding her setup, i delivered Dinah into her care and parked the car.
Bogus Journey, Part 3
Here's where we actually started to relax and have some fun. Val and I saw loads of Beardie people we knew, including Traveler's Gramma Lesley, Barbara Marshall and her sister Abi, Lucy Campbell-Gracie (who had bought the Mainiacs director's chair at the previous year's rescue auction and had it along with her), and too many more to list.
Barbara and Abi had had a Bogus Journey of their own, trying to find the Whatsis Building, getting set up, and so on. Unfortunately, they didn't make it in time to show the girls -- but they were on their way to a protest in Alexandria, and Barbara did me the enormous favor of helping me adopt a spinning wheel from Gregory Wollon. I had offered to take the spinning wheel back in the days when I thought I would have rental van to bring it home in (remember the rental van?) -- but we had absolutely nowhere to carry, tie or drag the wheel with the Subaru and all of the other stuff. Fortunately, Barbara did have room, and graciously agreed to stop by one of the highway rest stops near Havre de Grace to pick the wheel up from Gregory. (That wheel rode in style, safely buckled into the back seat like a toddler, all the way to the Acton shows back in Maine.)
NCBCC had a wonderful hospitality table set up with coffee, donuts, and pastries for breakfast, plus six-foot subs and other great stuff for lunch. Thanks, NCBCC! Beardie people mostly appear to be caffeine addicts like myself, so the caffeinated coffee disappeared in no time.
Finally, it was time for Sweeps. Dinah was entered, as it would be her last time in the 12-18 month class before she went on to Open. Sharon Ipser gave her 3rd place, which also earned us a check for 6 bucks and a squeaky toy. The 6 bucks barely covered a third of the cost of the show entry, but it did represent the very first time Dinah won a cash prize at a dog show. (You wouldn't believe the number of times people have asked, "So have you ever won any money from all these shows?" Now, I can respond in the affirmative, and I saved the MB-F check stub to prove it.) Dinah was very happy with the squeaky toy.
The regular classes came next. I had hoped that Justine Waldron would recognize the one little Breaksea in the crowd because she loved Dinah's sire Danny, but there were bazillions of dogs in the ring. In the 12-18 class where Dinah was, there were at least 4,876 other entries, and Dinah and Karen Bowens did what they could to get through the ordeal. Dinah showed very nicely until she grew bored. Karen did her best to keep Dinah's attention, but by the time the final go-round came along, Dinah was already thinking about something else. At least she made the cut.
Something like a dozen years later, it was Traveler's turn. Trav had spent at least half a lifetime waiting for Best of Breed, but he'd had plenty to do before then. Gramma Lesley and Val had spent lots of time grooming him with great care, and he looked as stunningly handsome as ever. He had to wait around for ages on his grooming table for anything to happen. Finally, Lesley took him into the ring.
The Best of Breed ring was even more crammed than the 12-18 ring had been, and Trav fared about as well as Dinah had -- except that he didn't even get a check for 6 bucks. He did get a squeaky toy, anyway.
By this time, at least a geological age had passed, and we still had to drive home. Not that we were going home empty-handed, by any means. If they gave out world championships for bargain hunting, Trav's Gramma Lesley would be the undisputed A Number One. She had found a whole warehouse's worth of really fantastic items for National Specialty trophies, and we got to bring them all home! We shuffled the bags in the car-top carrier, crammed most of the trophies in, and barricaded Trav in the back seat with the rest. Trav was understandably thrilled.
The highlight of our trip home (aside from the fun we had loading the car) was stopping along the New Jersey Turnpike for (relatively) inexpensive gas and a dozen Krispy Kremes for Pat. I'm surprised we had room in that car for the box of donuts, but somehow, they made it home with us and didn't get crushed or drooled on along the way.
We ended up meeting Pat at the Biddeford Park 'n' Ride. Val had had the presence of mind to ask him to bring along the stepstool, and the loading and unloading process went a heckuva lot more smoothly. I swear I heard Traveler heave a sigh of relief when he jumped back into his van and settled in.
After all of the expense, aggravation, and just plain stupid stuff that happened on this trip, it was almost hard to believe it was over by then. At least we got a good "war story" out of it.
This posting was first printed in the newsletter of the Bearded Collie Club of Maine as "Val and Karen's Bogus Journey."
Val and Karen's Bogus Journey
It started out innocently enough, and even sounded like a pretty good idea at the time. I'd decided to enter Dinah in the NCBCC Regional Specialty, and I couldn't bear to keep all of the fun and adventure to myself. I sent Val an email saying something like, “Wanna go?”... and the adventure was on. I made the arrangements for the hotel room and rented a minivan so we could tote Dinah, Traveler, and all of our show junk to the show and back in relative comfort. We were all set to travel in style... or so we thought.
The morning we were about to leave, my cell phone rang. It was Boobyprize – er, I mean Enterprise – Rent-a-Car, calling to tell me that they didn't have a vehicle for me in spite of my having requested one two months in advance.
“That's okay,” I said. “I'll take an SUV.”
“We don't have any of those, either.”
“Well, what do you have?”
“We don't have anything. We're really sorry.” (Somehow I was reminded of the Cheese Shop sketch from Monty Python.)
I reported the results of this enlightening dialogue to her and said that I'd be running a little late, as I had to formulate Plan B using only my little Subaru and a car-top carrier.
Locating the car-top carrier was simple enough. It lived in our tool shed behind the house, where it had resided since Greg last used it in 2004 to move things out of his old place. In the intervening years, it has acquired its share of cobwebs, bits of dried grass, and suchlike. I hosed the thing off and attempted to unlock the two tiny locks that held the thing closed. The locks were rusted shut. I began to have a very bad feeling about the way things were going, but I persevered. Greg reappeared with a hacksaw, and proceeded to saw off the locks. I decided to use tie-wraps for security, since I had a large bag of them and no other method available for securing the top of the carrier in mid-flight.
I called Val, told her I'd be a little but later, and started to pack.
Finally – about three and a half hours later than I'd planned to leave, I pulled into Val's front yard. The car-top carrier had plenty of space for our luggage and tools, but there was just one teeny little problem: we were both just a little bit too short to reach it. She produced a step stool, and we commenced to pack the car-top carrier. I secured it with tie-wraps and hoped for the best.
Traveler had been looking forward to riding in comfort in the rental van, since he usually travels to shows in Pat's Econoline. He was somewhat less than impressed with the accommodations afforded by the back seat of a Subaru. Val installed his blanket and showed him that his girlfriend Dinah Moe was riding in a crate in the back. He reluctantly took his place. Maybe he knew something we humans didn't know.
Bogus Journey, Chapter 2
In spite of the less-than-spacious quarters in the Subaru, our trip south went smoothly, if not quickly enough to satisfy us. Trav eventually settled down in the cramped back seat, drooling a little. Dinah dropped off to sleep in her crate.
Val and I were just so happy to finally be on the road that we chattered happily all the way from Maine through New Jersey, stopping only for biology breaks and to refuel the car (and the driver). We wondered aloud why Tony Soprano, Bruce Springsteen, and Jon Bon Jovi didn't have rest stops named after them on the New Jersey Turnpike. I learned from Val that there are actual “Sopranos” tours you can take around northern New Jersey – apparently her brother took one and had a great time. Dinner consisted of a couple of greaseburgers we picked up at a rest stop on the Turnpike, but we didn't care. All we cared about was getting there.
Finally, after at least 400 years of driving, we arrived at the Red Roof Inn near the fairgrounds. When we entered the lobby to check in, we became privy to the conversation between the previous customer in line and the guys at the front desk. “You're full? But I had a reservation!” I crossed my fingers inside my pockets, hoping that when we reached the counter, we wouldn't have to sing the same song. After that long drive, I was ready to set up camp in the lobby and sleep there, if necessary. I didn't have the intestinal fortitude to try and find another hotel at that hour.
Our turn came, and we stepped up to the counter. For one brief, frightening instant, the reservations clerk was unable to locate my name in the computer. That lobby floor started to look mighty tempting. Finally, he found our room for us and handed over the keys. Heaving sighs of mixed relief and exhaustion, we headed out to the car to unpack. We cut loose the tie-wraps on the car-top carrier, unloaded our luggage and other necessities, and then tie-wrapped the thing closed again.
Trav was so tired of riding in the back seat that anything – even a camping trip to the Red Roof Inn's lobby – would have sounded like fun to him. In spite of his drool-soaked beard and shirt front, Dinah was glad to see him and insisted on playing with him the moment she was released from her crate in the back. Neither of them would eat, so we walked them and then crashed for the night.
Dinah woke me before sunrise (for which I was appropriately grateful). Figuring that no sane human being would be outside at 4:30 in the freakin' morning, I slipped on some shoes, took my room key, and headed outside with Dinah toward the nearest grassy area.
The little princess sniffed around for at least half a lifetime before finding a spot she thought worthy of her attention. Although I'd been hoping to remain invisible, Tom Dixon spotted me on his early-morning walk. He was already dressed and groomed for the day. My hair straggled in my eyes, I hadn't showered since the previous morning, and my morning outfit consisted of a nightshirt and a pair of Crocs. Bless him, Tom didn't react in fear or horror at my appearance, but petted Dinah and exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes.
Once back inside the room, I'd hoped to avoid waking Val, but Trav was up and ready to go. While she sleep-walked him outside, I tried to persuade Dinah to go back to sleep with me. She preferred to play with Trav. I crated her, hoping that she'd settle down, but that proved fruitless as well. We ended up starting our day long before the alarm went off. We cut the tie-wraps on the car-top carrier, stowed our gear, added more tie-wraps, and headed down the street to the fairgrounds.
We followed the line of cars into the fairgrounds and looked around for the Whatsis Building, where our Specialty was supposed to take place. Seeing nothing that looked like a Whatsis Building, we asked the gentleman in the golf cart who appeared to be presiding over the parking. He responded with a storm of unhelpful gobbledegook that left us more confused than we had been before we asked. We finally decided to follow the other cars that were heading out the other side of the fairgrounds and turning. Maybe that road would lead us to the Whatsis Building.
Eventually, we did find the building in question, unloaded pups and gear, and proceeded to set up. Karen Bowens had agreed to show Dinah that day, so I set off in search of her. After finding her setup, i delivered Dinah into her care and parked the car.
Bogus Journey, Part 3
Here's where we actually started to relax and have some fun. Val and I saw loads of Beardie people we knew, including Traveler's Gramma Lesley, Barbara Marshall and her sister Abi, Lucy Campbell-Gracie (who had bought the Mainiacs director's chair at the previous year's rescue auction and had it along with her), and too many more to list.
Barbara and Abi had had a Bogus Journey of their own, trying to find the Whatsis Building, getting set up, and so on. Unfortunately, they didn't make it in time to show the girls -- but they were on their way to a protest in Alexandria, and Barbara did me the enormous favor of helping me adopt a spinning wheel from Gregory Wollon. I had offered to take the spinning wheel back in the days when I thought I would have rental van to bring it home in (remember the rental van?) -- but we had absolutely nowhere to carry, tie or drag the wheel with the Subaru and all of the other stuff. Fortunately, Barbara did have room, and graciously agreed to stop by one of the highway rest stops near Havre de Grace to pick the wheel up from Gregory. (That wheel rode in style, safely buckled into the back seat like a toddler, all the way to the Acton shows back in Maine.)
NCBCC had a wonderful hospitality table set up with coffee, donuts, and pastries for breakfast, plus six-foot subs and other great stuff for lunch. Thanks, NCBCC! Beardie people mostly appear to be caffeine addicts like myself, so the caffeinated coffee disappeared in no time.
Finally, it was time for Sweeps. Dinah was entered, as it would be her last time in the 12-18 month class before she went on to Open. Sharon Ipser gave her 3rd place, which also earned us a check for 6 bucks and a squeaky toy. The 6 bucks barely covered a third of the cost of the show entry, but it did represent the very first time Dinah won a cash prize at a dog show. (You wouldn't believe the number of times people have asked, "So have you ever won any money from all these shows?" Now, I can respond in the affirmative, and I saved the MB-F check stub to prove it.) Dinah was very happy with the squeaky toy.
The regular classes came next. I had hoped that Justine Waldron would recognize the one little Breaksea in the crowd because she loved Dinah's sire Danny, but there were bazillions of dogs in the ring. In the 12-18 class where Dinah was, there were at least 4,876 other entries, and Dinah and Karen Bowens did what they could to get through the ordeal. Dinah showed very nicely until she grew bored. Karen did her best to keep Dinah's attention, but by the time the final go-round came along, Dinah was already thinking about something else. At least she made the cut.
Something like a dozen years later, it was Traveler's turn. Trav had spent at least half a lifetime waiting for Best of Breed, but he'd had plenty to do before then. Gramma Lesley and Val had spent lots of time grooming him with great care, and he looked as stunningly handsome as ever. He had to wait around for ages on his grooming table for anything to happen. Finally, Lesley took him into the ring.
The Best of Breed ring was even more crammed than the 12-18 ring had been, and Trav fared about as well as Dinah had -- except that he didn't even get a check for 6 bucks. He did get a squeaky toy, anyway.
By this time, at least a geological age had passed, and we still had to drive home. Not that we were going home empty-handed, by any means. If they gave out world championships for bargain hunting, Trav's Gramma Lesley would be the undisputed A Number One. She had found a whole warehouse's worth of really fantastic items for National Specialty trophies, and we got to bring them all home! We shuffled the bags in the car-top carrier, crammed most of the trophies in, and barricaded Trav in the back seat with the rest. Trav was understandably thrilled.
The highlight of our trip home (aside from the fun we had loading the car) was stopping along the New Jersey Turnpike for (relatively) inexpensive gas and a dozen Krispy Kremes for Pat. I'm surprised we had room in that car for the box of donuts, but somehow, they made it home with us and didn't get crushed or drooled on along the way.
We ended up meeting Pat at the Biddeford Park 'n' Ride. Val had had the presence of mind to ask him to bring along the stepstool, and the loading and unloading process went a heckuva lot more smoothly. I swear I heard Traveler heave a sigh of relief when he jumped back into his van and settled in.
After all of the expense, aggravation, and just plain stupid stuff that happened on this trip, it was almost hard to believe it was over by then. At least we got a good "war story" out of it.
Friday, April 13, 2007
How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?
Same way you get to Westminster: practice, practice, practice.
We pretty much have to look on this past weekend's shows in Springfield as the dog-show version of a "shakedown cruise." The Lovely One, distracted and keyed up after a few months away from the dog-show grind, never did settle in at either of the shows. She took 2nd in her class both days. Sunday's judge practically begged her to move correctly so he could pick her, but that just never happened. Ah, well. Kathy hadn't had a very successful day with her other doggie clients that morning, and we'd been hoping that the afternoon would prove more successful. No such luck this time.
In Dinah's defense, it had been a long time since her last show in Fitchburg in January (especially when measured in puppy time), and surely she wasn't expected to remember all that stuff and do it perfectly the first time out?!
There's nothing else for it except to go back to class and continue our education. I signed Dinah up for three handling classes this week: the drop-in group class at It's a Dog's World, the 2007 edition of our regular group handling class with Tracy at Diamond Dream, and an additional private session with Tracy.
I won't say that the week has been much like show-handling Boot Camp, but Dinah and I remembered a lot of old moves by the time our private lesson concluded. Hopefully she'll retain enough of it to behave for Karen Bowens when Karen takes her into the ring at the National Capital Bearded Collie Club Specialty next week.
News flash: Just received the judging program for the NCBCC Regional a few moments ago. Would you believe that there are 49 class bitches entered in the regular competition?! Ho-ly Pup!
We pretty much have to look on this past weekend's shows in Springfield as the dog-show version of a "shakedown cruise." The Lovely One, distracted and keyed up after a few months away from the dog-show grind, never did settle in at either of the shows. She took 2nd in her class both days. Sunday's judge practically begged her to move correctly so he could pick her, but that just never happened. Ah, well. Kathy hadn't had a very successful day with her other doggie clients that morning, and we'd been hoping that the afternoon would prove more successful. No such luck this time.
In Dinah's defense, it had been a long time since her last show in Fitchburg in January (especially when measured in puppy time), and surely she wasn't expected to remember all that stuff and do it perfectly the first time out?!
There's nothing else for it except to go back to class and continue our education. I signed Dinah up for three handling classes this week: the drop-in group class at It's a Dog's World, the 2007 edition of our regular group handling class with Tracy at Diamond Dream, and an additional private session with Tracy.
I won't say that the week has been much like show-handling Boot Camp, but Dinah and I remembered a lot of old moves by the time our private lesson concluded. Hopefully she'll retain enough of it to behave for Karen Bowens when Karen takes her into the ring at the National Capital Bearded Collie Club Specialty next week.
News flash: Just received the judging program for the NCBCC Regional a few moments ago. Would you believe that there are 49 class bitches entered in the regular competition?! Ho-ly Pup!
Monday, March 12, 2007
Once More Unto the Breach, My Friends...
Dinah's ready for the new season, if you mean Mud Season...
You'd never know it to look at the outdoors, but the world is now slowly emerging from its long wintertime sleep into spring. The birds are returning, the sap is rising in the maple trees... and it's time to start getting emails from my handling instructor announcing the new season of classes.
We haven't really started the show season yet, and already Dinah's (and my) weekends are beginning to fill up with shows and the occasional fun-type activity -- not to mention the odd rally trial here and there with Seamus.
April commences with the Springfield shows on Easter weekend. We're entering only the Saturday and Sunday shows, even though Kathy will be handling her other client dogs there on Good Friday. (It's not a holiday for me, and I'm in the throes of project deadlines. I need that day.)
When Kathy and I emailed back and forth to set things up for Easter weekend, she taught me a term I hadn't heard before. She asked me, "Is Dinah still in 12-18? When does she age out?" "Aging out" is a good enough description for what happens to Dinah when she reaches the age of 18 months and has to go compete in Open with all of the other adult bitches.
This is both good news and bad news. Showing in Open means that an immature 18-month-old has to share the ring with a well-seasoned adult. It's still possible to beat the adults and earn the points, but it's a lot more difficult for a youngster. Because Dinah is neither American Bred nor Bred By Exhibitor, she can't enter those classes instead. On the other hand, most judges tend to pick their Winners Dog and Bitch from the Open classes -- so if your dog does make the cut in Open, the chances of making it to Winners are generally much better.
On the 20th, Dinah makes her debut at the National Capital Bearded Collie Club's regional specialty. I've always liked that show, but this year we have a very good reason for entering: the judge in the regular classes is from the Old Country, and she gave Dinah's dad Danny a first at the Bournemouth shows last year. I'm hoping very hard that she likes Danny's daughter as much as she did Danny himself.
Kathy will be handling her Borzoi client at that breed's specialty that weekend, so Karen Bowens, a Beardie breeder/handler who came highly recommended to me, is doing the honors for Dinah at the Regional. I'm considering having her take Dinah in at the National (in the same area of the world) in October. Kathy shows a number of clients of other breeds, and she doesn't usually stray too far from the southern New England/upstate New York area.
That's just April. I think we have a show or a trial every weekend in May, and none of them are shows I want to miss. The very thought of it makes me want to sleep through June already!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
That Time Again (Already)
Dinah on the stairs. Look at how light she's become!
The coming of spring usually heralds the return of the swallows to Capistrano and of the Red Sox to Fenway... but this year, it also brings a new dog show season (our second one ever). I was relieved to be spending the wintertime on hiatus from dog shows -- it means I've been able to spend my time working with Seamus in agility and rally. The vernal equinox isn 't even here yet, though, and I find myself paging through my Infodog emails every day, scanning for the local shows. Old habits die hard, and apparently new ones take a bit of doing to dislodge, too.
Anyway, with April only a few weeks away, it's time to start planning for the first shows of the season. I've already started making arrangements to show Dinah at the National Capital Bearded Collie Club Regional Specialty in April. Kathy is handling a Borzoi at a Borzoi Specialty that weekend, so I've asked Karen Bowens (a Beardie breeder/handler from Pennsylvania) to do us the honor for that show.
I've always enjoyed the NCBCC Regional, even though I've never shown a dog there before. It's always been a great time to catch up with a whole bunch of friends, including some whom I'm lucky to see once a year. A lot of those folks didn't make it to either of the National Specialties last year, so now's my chance to introduce the Lovely One to them. The judge is from the UK and gave Dinah's sire Danny a first at the Bournemouth shows last year... so I'm hoping she has a pleasant feeling of deja vu at the Regional and does well by Dinah.
Unless Kathy and I arrange to show her earlier in April, the Regional might be both the first and final chance to show Dinah in the 12-18-month class this year. Dinah will be 2 weeks shy of 18 months at that time, which means that she'll have to move up to Open by the time our own local show rolls around on May 5-6. My girl is a very nice specimen, but I'm not sure how much the judges will smile on her when she's out there competing with all of the adult bitches. Keep your fingers crossed for us.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Ice Follies
The Lovely One herself (photo by Nick Diana, City Puppies)
Greater Lowell Kennel Club Show, 1/13/07
1st Place, 12-18-Month Bitches
Since Dinah did so well at the previous Fitchburg show, I let myself be talked into entering this show. We'd had reasonably mild weather thus far, right? What could go wrong?
Actually, Saturday's weather wasn't half bad. It was warm-ish for mid-January (40s) and had stopped raining, so the trip down was actually quite bearable (for all that we had to get up at 5 AM for a 9 AM ring time). Since there were approximately a gazillion Corgis (Pembroke) and Collies (Rough) ahead of us in our ring, we had plenty of time to get settled, help Kathy set up, and socialize before our presence was actually required.
I'm happy to report that Dinah finally beat Cocoa in the ring, but I can't say much else for the judge's judgment. He placed exclusively from the Open classes, so we didn't progress very far. Ah well, there's always the next day...
Only there wasn't a next day. It had iced over during the night, though I'd had no idea how treacherous the going was until I drove down Route 4 myself. It took me over an hour of 5 mph driving before I called Kathy to tell her that we just couldn't bend space and time to make our ring time, at the rate at which we were going. Some friends collected my stuff and brought it back for me.
That's it for shows until the end of April, at the earliest. No more winter shows!
Looking Back Already?
Even though it's technically way past New Year's Eve now, folks continue to look back on the past year. Everywhere you turn, there's another Year in Review -- top news stories, top sleazy celebrity gossip stories... you get the idea. Usually, I just shrug them off -- I'm just not the scrapbooking type -- and then my friend Val (Traveler's mom) started looking back on the fairly amazing year she and husband Pat have had showing Trav. He's done really well for himself -- finished within a year of their starting showing him, got his HIC, and has 8 Best of Breeds to his credit.
It got me to thinking that we haven't done so badly ourselves. For what it's worth, here's a stab at Dinah's Year 2006 in Review:
I'd say we did okay for ourselves. We do have work to do when the season starts up again in the spring, though. Looking ahead, I'd like to see us achieve a few things in 2007:
Those plans look simpler on the screen than they probably will be in real life, but it gives us something to aim toward, right?
It got me to thinking that we haven't done so badly ourselves. For what it's worth, here's a stab at Dinah's Year 2006 in Review:
- 3 breed points
- Best Puppy in Show, BCCC National Specialty
- Puppy Group 2, Mid-Coast KC
- 1 Best of Breed
- 5 Best Opposites
- 4 Best of Winners
- HIC title
I'd say we did okay for ourselves. We do have work to do when the season starts up again in the spring, though. Looking ahead, I'd like to see us achieve a few things in 2007:
- Finish Dinah's US champtionship
- Show her in Canada and make some progress toward her Canadian championship
- Enter some herding trials and get her HT and maybe her PT
Those plans look simpler on the screen than they probably will be in real life, but it gives us something to aim toward, right?
Monday, December 18, 2006
Fitchburg Show Photo
This is by far the nicest show photo Dinah has ever taken (thanks to Kathy's expert puppy-wrangling). It isn't the biggest win, but heck -- it's her third point, and she looks lovely. Not a bad way to finish out the year...
Friday, December 08, 2006
First Snow
It never fails. Every single year it snows on the weekend of the Boston shows. Some of my Beardie buddies are showing there and doing very well, but for my part, I'm content just to stay home and keep letting the dogs in and out. It beats the heck out of having to drive the 90-odd miles into the city, fighting insane Mass. drivers who have never seen snow before in their whole lives. Not for me, thanks.
Here's the Lovely One enjoying the weather.
Dinah's in season right now, so it's just as well we're not down there. Kathy made the discovery last weekend at the Fitchburg shows. She was grooming Dinah's back end while I was holding the other end. She asked, "Is Dinah in season?" I replied that I didn't think so, as she'd only been in season about 4 months before. Evidence doesn't lie, though: Kathy held up a rag with blood stains on it. We made sure not to get too close to Trav or the other guys for the rest of the show. Trav had a dream date with another grrrl named Spirit, and Dinah probably served as an inspiration to him. (Turns out Spirit wasn't ready, so they'll try again this weekend.)
Not that being in season has cramped her style any. She had her "glamour makeover" this past week (more on that coming to Greetings from Blogdog soon). She also attended Tracy's handling class yesterday, where she served as a distraction training tool for Dan the Flatcoat. Poor Dan had a rough time of it, and shared the wealth with his mom Deb. He kept wiggling and wouldn't stand still, but at least he stopped whining after an hour with Dinah. Maybe after the next couple of lessons (while she's still in season), he'll be used to having a fragrant bitch in season right next to him in the ring. For Dinah's part, she didn't tease him -- but that might be my little challenge as the weeks go on.
Here's the Lovely One enjoying the weather.
Dinah's in season right now, so it's just as well we're not down there. Kathy made the discovery last weekend at the Fitchburg shows. She was grooming Dinah's back end while I was holding the other end. She asked, "Is Dinah in season?" I replied that I didn't think so, as she'd only been in season about 4 months before. Evidence doesn't lie, though: Kathy held up a rag with blood stains on it. We made sure not to get too close to Trav or the other guys for the rest of the show. Trav had a dream date with another grrrl named Spirit, and Dinah probably served as an inspiration to him. (Turns out Spirit wasn't ready, so they'll try again this weekend.)
Not that being in season has cramped her style any. She had her "glamour makeover" this past week (more on that coming to Greetings from Blogdog soon). She also attended Tracy's handling class yesterday, where she served as a distraction training tool for Dan the Flatcoat. Poor Dan had a rough time of it, and shared the wealth with his mom Deb. He kept wiggling and wouldn't stand still, but at least he stopped whining after an hour with Dinah. Maybe after the next couple of lessons (while she's still in season), he'll be used to having a fragrant bitch in season right next to him in the ring. For Dinah's part, she didn't tease him -- but that might be my little challenge as the weeks go on.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Our Semi-Grand Finale
Worcester County KC Shows
12/2: Best of Winners, 1 point
12/3: Reserve Winners Bitch
(show photo to follow)
As finales go, we didn't do too badly. Dinah picked up her third point at the Worcester County shows in Fitchburg, and now we're ready to hibernate for a little while. It would be perfectly fine with me if we didn't see the inside of a show ring again until April, but I've decided to enter the Fitchburg shows in mid-January anyway -- partly to keep in practice, and partly to see how much we can accomplish before Dinah has to compete in Open in the spring.
For a while there, I thought I was the only one who was thrilled to bits at the prospect of not having to show for a good long while. It seems, though, that everybody in my crowd is feeling pretty much the same way. We're all a little burned out after the Springfield shows the previous weekend, and all we want to do is stay at home for a weekend (or a few weekends) and hibernate. I'll still plan to take handling classes just to keep working on my own skills as well.
It's an appropriate time to stay home and away from the shows now, as it turns out. Kathy was grooming Dinah for Saturday's shows when she suddenly asked, "Is Dinah in season?" I replied that that was impossible, since she'd been in season just in August -- and then Kathy held up a towel with blood spots on it. I've been told that if a bitch doesn't ovulate during her first season, that she is likely to come into season again when she does ovulate. Since her mother only comes into season once a year, it remains to be seen whether Dinah will have unusual seasons. I'm a little bummed out at the prospect of her coming into season in June instead of February, though.
One thing I do miss about not handling my own dog in the ring (actually, about having to hide from Dinah while she's being handled in the ring) is that I miss out on some of the ringside conversations and the judges' comments to the other handlers. The owner of the other entry in 12-18 reported back to me that Sunday's judge had looked over Dinah and Cocoa, smiling, and told both handlers that he'd judged Bearded Collies all over the world, but that he'd rarely seen as nice an entry as he'd seen that day in the puppy class. Although I still kind of wish that he'd picked Dinah over Cocoa, commentary like that is absolutely invaluable. I'd show Dinah to him again anytime. He's one of those judges who gives feedback to every individual in his ring, and he obviously loves what he does.
12/2: Best of Winners, 1 point
12/3: Reserve Winners Bitch
(show photo to follow)
As finales go, we didn't do too badly. Dinah picked up her third point at the Worcester County shows in Fitchburg, and now we're ready to hibernate for a little while. It would be perfectly fine with me if we didn't see the inside of a show ring again until April, but I've decided to enter the Fitchburg shows in mid-January anyway -- partly to keep in practice, and partly to see how much we can accomplish before Dinah has to compete in Open in the spring.
For a while there, I thought I was the only one who was thrilled to bits at the prospect of not having to show for a good long while. It seems, though, that everybody in my crowd is feeling pretty much the same way. We're all a little burned out after the Springfield shows the previous weekend, and all we want to do is stay at home for a weekend (or a few weekends) and hibernate. I'll still plan to take handling classes just to keep working on my own skills as well.
It's an appropriate time to stay home and away from the shows now, as it turns out. Kathy was grooming Dinah for Saturday's shows when she suddenly asked, "Is Dinah in season?" I replied that that was impossible, since she'd been in season just in August -- and then Kathy held up a towel with blood spots on it. I've been told that if a bitch doesn't ovulate during her first season, that she is likely to come into season again when she does ovulate. Since her mother only comes into season once a year, it remains to be seen whether Dinah will have unusual seasons. I'm a little bummed out at the prospect of her coming into season in June instead of February, though.
One thing I do miss about not handling my own dog in the ring (actually, about having to hide from Dinah while she's being handled in the ring) is that I miss out on some of the ringside conversations and the judges' comments to the other handlers. The owner of the other entry in 12-18 reported back to me that Sunday's judge had looked over Dinah and Cocoa, smiling, and told both handlers that he'd judged Bearded Collies all over the world, but that he'd rarely seen as nice an entry as he'd seen that day in the puppy class. Although I still kind of wish that he'd picked Dinah over Cocoa, commentary like that is absolutely invaluable. I'd show Dinah to him again anytime. He's one of those judges who gives feedback to every individual in his ring, and he obviously loves what he does.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Thank You For Playing Our Game
South Windsor Kennel Club, 11/25 - 1st, 12-18
Springfield Kennel Club, 11/26 - 2nd, 12-18
There are lots of things I truly enjoy about conformation showing. I've run into people I haven't seen in 10 or 15 years. I get to hang out with my friends and their dogs, have some fun at ringside, and maybe go home with a ribbon and/or a point. It also never fails to impress me how easy it is to enter a conformation show. Unlike agility or herding trials that fill up months before the actual event, you can call up the show superintendent the morning of the closing date for a show and still get in. (Okay, invitationals and Westminster don't work exactly that way -- but practically all the other shows do.) Compared to herding trial entries at $60+ a pop, show entries are Bargain City.
All the same, I'm more comfortable doing performance events. When you show in a performance event, of course you can shoot for a placement and High In Trial, but you are mostly competing against yourself. You always hope to qualify, but the better you do, the prouder you can be of achieving a personal best that day. At some trials, everybody qualifies. At some trials, no one does. If you qualify in a performance event, no one else can take the Q away from you. You might not place, but if you qualify, you still win. A CD with three 170 scores is exactly the same as one with three 200 scores -- it's still a CD.
That's the thing about conformation events that I find hardest to adapt to. You can do your very best at everything, from training to conditioning to grooming to presentation -- and still, you can get dumped by a judge who simply likes another dog better than yours on a given day. You can actually lose at dog shows. That's a hard realization if you're not used to it. A couple of my friends have a great phrase they use to describe those days: "Thank you for playing our game."
These Springfield shows were the biggest all-breed shows we've ever entered. It seemed like a good idea at the ime -- majors both days and a chance to see and be seen around Beardie folks who don't normally visit much farther north. A bunch of my friends were going, so there'd be fun and fellowship -- and cider and cranberry bread. There would be lots of vendors, and plenty of shopping for everything from raw knuckle bones to agility equipment. What did we have to lose?
Well, I guess we had the dog shows themselves to lose. Neither of the judges really paid much attention to Dinah this weekend. Dinah herself looked lovely, behaved nicely for Kathy, and moved beautifully in the ring. This happens more often than not at large shows, but I had kind of hoped for at least a glimmer of recognition from either one of them. At least one friend's beautiful little black girl Spirit went Winners Bitch on Friday, and Dinah's buddy Traveler took Best of Breed on Sunday.
Kathy told me afterward, "I'm sorry we couldn't have been more successful." She has nothing to apologize for, though, and neither did we. We acquitted ourselves well enough out there among all the heavy hitters, and some people whose opinions I value got to see the little princess in action. I had kind of dreamed of her getting her first major at this show, but there will be other majors and other shows. Judges who won't put up anyone from the Puppy class aren't that much more likely to do so from the 12-18 class -- so we'll just pay our dues until we move to the Open class.
Next weekend's Fitchburg shows are the last ones for the year -- and for us, for the season. The show season in thsi latitude doesn't really start up again until next spring, except for a couple of shows in the middle of January and February. I'm looking forward to being able to take a break from showing, actually. As fun as it is to go, it can get to be a grind when you're going to a couple of shows a month, leaving four days a month in which to have a home life.
Not that we're going into complete hibernation or anything. Dinah and I can still go to handling classes just to keep in practice. I've also entered Seamus in three rally trials in March and April, so we're shooting for our Advanced title. We have a lot of training to do between now and then, but we're looking forward to it.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Now We Are Two
Kenilworth KC Show, Uncasville, CT 11/5/06
1/BOW/BOS, second point
This weekend's show took place at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT, near New London. I had entered Dinah there with the express purpose of meeting up with a handler who came highly recommended by a friend of mine. Kathy showed a number of my friend Judy's Beardies and finished them. Judy's male wasn't quite ready to be a special yet, so Judy recommended that Kathy and I get together and get Dinah finished in the meantime.
(I am feeling a little funny about going over to the Dark Side of hiring a pro after all my fine owner-hander speeches, but the truth is, I haven't had the heart to show Dinah myself since the National Specialty. More on that when I finally get around to writing about that show.)
Anyway, back to the casino. We navigated the long beltway around the place until we came to the lighted signs directing us to the AKC Load-In area. Anyone wishing to bring show equipment into the casino had to go through a security check at the loading dock. The casino even had teams of people assigned to route people through, and they issued passes good for a certain number of minutes of unloading time.
I called Kathy from the load-in area to let her know we had arrived. Because she had everything she needed except Dinah, she suggested that I just park the car and bring Dinah on the shuttle. We left all of the equipment and the crate in the car, and rode on a shuttle bus from the parking lot to the casino with lots of other dogs and their handlers. Dinah thought that that was just the best part of the adventure. She usually travels in a crate, but she got to sit up on the seat with me and watch everything going on (and say hello to all the other people and dogs).
The bus brought us into the loading area. The grooming areas (such as they were -- good thing this was a small show split over 2 days) were to either side, and the center entrance brought you right into the arena. Judy (the Beardie buddy who introduced me to Kathy) showed there last year, and described it to me as a smaller, cleaner version of Westminster. It had the bright lights, the silent blue carpeting, the banks of arena seats... plus it was much nicer-smelling than Westminster. (I watch that show on TV every year instead of going for a reason -- the air in there is enough to gag a water buffalo!) The people at the check-in tables gave us all colored "hospital bracelets" to wear to signify that we had already checked in at the show, just in case we decided to go gambling in the casino between times in the ring.
Dinah and Kathy hit it off right away. Kathy's a Newfie breeder, and I grew up with Newfies, so we had a lot to chatter about in addition to Beardie stuff. She got Dinah combed and sprayed early, and then spent some time gaiting her and getting used to her. We made a big show of saying goodbye at one of the gates so Dinah could see me leave (but I sneaked behind the big forest of potted plants at the Best In Show display and watched from there. Sadly, no photos -- I'd forgotten the camera in the car, plus I was hiding in the potted jungle the whole time.).
This was Dinah's first entry in the 12-18-month class. She was the only entry, so of course she took First. She then went on to beat the class bitch (a beautiful brown) for WB and BOW. After that, she went BOS in Breed to the male special (who was out there with a very well-known handler, though he wasn't that impressive himself). Dinah got only one point, since there were only four dogs entered, but she did beautifully for Kathy.
I have to mention that the owner of the brown bitch did a very nice and sportsmanlike thing by coming to the show this weekend. Her bitch only needs a major to finish, so she could easily have stayed home and reduced the number of points to zero -- but she didn't. She didn't need the single point, but she came anyway. She had as good a chance to win Breed as any of the rest of us did.
Here's the best part: After I rejoined them outside the ring, Kathy raved about Dinah and then asked me to gait her around so she could see how well Dinah moved. She said, "I couldn't believe how she just floated on the other end of the leash. I had to see it for myself."
I'm not too heartbroken about not taking BOB yesterday. Like Westminster, the club scheduled group judging and BIS for nighttime on the second day of the show, so we would have had to have stuck around there for about 9-10 more hours before getting a few seconds' worth of time on TV and then leaving the show at some ungodly hour. Kathy and I both have day jobs; we were glad we could get out of there early.
Anyway, Dinah now has twice as many points as she did before we went in there, with only 13 to go. Kathy and I are talking about the shows on the weekend after Thanksgiving out in Springfield, MA (November 24-27), and I have a couple of days left to decide what we want to do. It's a 4-day cluster, but I really don't want to show on Friday after driving all over Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday -- and I can't imagine who would stick around to show on Monday. Not us folks with jobs, anyway.
1/BOW/BOS, second point
This weekend's show took place at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, CT, near New London. I had entered Dinah there with the express purpose of meeting up with a handler who came highly recommended by a friend of mine. Kathy showed a number of my friend Judy's Beardies and finished them. Judy's male wasn't quite ready to be a special yet, so Judy recommended that Kathy and I get together and get Dinah finished in the meantime.
(I am feeling a little funny about going over to the Dark Side of hiring a pro after all my fine owner-hander speeches, but the truth is, I haven't had the heart to show Dinah myself since the National Specialty. More on that when I finally get around to writing about that show.)
Anyway, back to the casino. We navigated the long beltway around the place until we came to the lighted signs directing us to the AKC Load-In area. Anyone wishing to bring show equipment into the casino had to go through a security check at the loading dock. The casino even had teams of people assigned to route people through, and they issued passes good for a certain number of minutes of unloading time.
I called Kathy from the load-in area to let her know we had arrived. Because she had everything she needed except Dinah, she suggested that I just park the car and bring Dinah on the shuttle. We left all of the equipment and the crate in the car, and rode on a shuttle bus from the parking lot to the casino with lots of other dogs and their handlers. Dinah thought that that was just the best part of the adventure. She usually travels in a crate, but she got to sit up on the seat with me and watch everything going on (and say hello to all the other people and dogs).
The bus brought us into the loading area. The grooming areas (such as they were -- good thing this was a small show split over 2 days) were to either side, and the center entrance brought you right into the arena. Judy (the Beardie buddy who introduced me to Kathy) showed there last year, and described it to me as a smaller, cleaner version of Westminster. It had the bright lights, the silent blue carpeting, the banks of arena seats... plus it was much nicer-smelling than Westminster. (I watch that show on TV every year instead of going for a reason -- the air in there is enough to gag a water buffalo!) The people at the check-in tables gave us all colored "hospital bracelets" to wear to signify that we had already checked in at the show, just in case we decided to go gambling in the casino between times in the ring.
Dinah and Kathy hit it off right away. Kathy's a Newfie breeder, and I grew up with Newfies, so we had a lot to chatter about in addition to Beardie stuff. She got Dinah combed and sprayed early, and then spent some time gaiting her and getting used to her. We made a big show of saying goodbye at one of the gates so Dinah could see me leave (but I sneaked behind the big forest of potted plants at the Best In Show display and watched from there. Sadly, no photos -- I'd forgotten the camera in the car, plus I was hiding in the potted jungle the whole time.).
This was Dinah's first entry in the 12-18-month class. She was the only entry, so of course she took First. She then went on to beat the class bitch (a beautiful brown) for WB and BOW. After that, she went BOS in Breed to the male special (who was out there with a very well-known handler, though he wasn't that impressive himself). Dinah got only one point, since there were only four dogs entered, but she did beautifully for Kathy.
I have to mention that the owner of the brown bitch did a very nice and sportsmanlike thing by coming to the show this weekend. Her bitch only needs a major to finish, so she could easily have stayed home and reduced the number of points to zero -- but she didn't. She didn't need the single point, but she came anyway. She had as good a chance to win Breed as any of the rest of us did.
Here's the best part: After I rejoined them outside the ring, Kathy raved about Dinah and then asked me to gait her around so she could see how well Dinah moved. She said, "I couldn't believe how she just floated on the other end of the leash. I had to see it for myself."
I'm not too heartbroken about not taking BOB yesterday. Like Westminster, the club scheduled group judging and BIS for nighttime on the second day of the show, so we would have had to have stuck around there for about 9-10 more hours before getting a few seconds' worth of time on TV and then leaving the show at some ungodly hour. Kathy and I both have day jobs; we were glad we could get out of there early.
Anyway, Dinah now has twice as many points as she did before we went in there, with only 13 to go. Kathy and I are talking about the shows on the weekend after Thanksgiving out in Springfield, MA (November 24-27), and I have a couple of days left to decide what we want to do. It's a 4-day cluster, but I really don't want to show on Friday after driving all over Massachusetts for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday -- and I can't imagine who would stick around to show on Monday. Not us folks with jobs, anyway.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Bless Her Pointed Little Head
I know I should be catching up on all of the adventures we had at the Specialties (plus our Puppy group 2), but those stories will have to wait a little while longer. Dinah got her first point today at the Penobscot Valley Kennel Club show, the very last weekend of shows before her first birthday on November 3. Not a bad way to bid farewell to the puppy class.
Except for the Specialties, the majority of shows we've attended this year have had two entries in Beardies: Traveler and Dinah. We've grown used to the drill: Dinah shows, gets Winners in Bitches. Traveler shows, gets Winners in Dogs. Put them together, and Trav gets Best of Breed. Dinah goes Best of Opposite, and sometimes Best Puppy.
As a result, we have loads upon loads of ribbons, but we've never managed to gain any points for any of our wins because we've never defeated another dog before. You need to amass 15 points before your dog can be called a Champion, and the number of ribbons you collect on the way is immaterial.
This weekend, we have one other entry in class Bitches. Her name is Bliss, and her breeder is an old friend of mine. Bliss's owner is a newbie handler like me, though Bliss is an adult and has 11 points toward her championship.
Although some people have stories of taking 6-month-old puppies in the ring and finishing them them in a single weekend, going BOB over hordes of Specials... I don't know anyone who has ever had this happen. In general, I've found judges rather reluctant to put up a puppy over the adults. Since I'm still paying my dues in show-land, I've accepted that as my lot and have just kept plugging on in the puppy class.
My friends whispered to me, "Bliss is nice, but Dinah's nicer." I didn't think too much of it, really, since Dinah is a puppy and Bliss is an adult, and I simply expected that the natural order of things would be the rule again this time.
As it turned out, the judge picked us! Dinah has been out of practice since the Specialty, and was sitting in the ring, acting goofy, and in general not paying much attention to the fact that she was in the show ring. I trotted around the ring, vowing to myself that I would get to those Monday night drop-in handling classes down in York. Imagine my surprise when he pointed to us!
I collected our ribbons and handed them to Traveler's mom so I could go back into the ring for Breed. She exclaimed, "Congratulations! Dinah has her first point!" I couldn't see my own reaction, but my jaw probably dropped open. "She has a what?!"
Of course, tomorrow is another day with another judge -- but no matter how we do, we still have our very first point.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Pictures Now, Stories Later
I'm just so happy that Blogger beta -- while still holding first place as the most crippled piece of blogware on this earth -- has finally fixed its picture loader that I'm going to quickly upload all the show photos now, and will follow up with the tales from the road later on.
First of all, here's Dinah's Best Puppy in Show photo from the Canadian Specialty (photo courtesy of Kathleen Schaffer of Pup Art):
Next, a shot of Dinah in the ring at the Northwest Bearded Collie Club Regional, where she placed 4th in her class (photo by DogHouse Arts):
And finally, a photo of us with our loot after Dinah earned her first herding title at the BCCA National (thanks to Ray Salmon).
There will be stories!
First of all, here's Dinah's Best Puppy in Show photo from the Canadian Specialty (photo courtesy of Kathleen Schaffer of Pup Art):
Next, a shot of Dinah in the ring at the Northwest Bearded Collie Club Regional, where she placed 4th in her class (photo by DogHouse Arts):
And finally, a photo of us with our loot after Dinah earned her first herding title at the BCCA National (thanks to Ray Salmon).
There will be stories!
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Dammit!!
I just spent hours writing a new blog post detailing our adventures at the BCCC Specialty and at the Mid-Coast KC shows, and either Firefox or Blogger choked on the lot. It's all gone, and I just haven't the intestinal fortitude to redo it just yet.
Anyway, here's the short version: Dinah won Best Puppy in Show (plus first in her class) at the BCCC Specialty, and a Puppy Group 2 plus 1st/BOW/BOS at the Mid-Coast show.
I will probably move this blog to .Mac so this sort of thing doesn't happen again. Thanks a heap, Blogger.
Anyway, here's the short version: Dinah won Best Puppy in Show (plus first in her class) at the BCCC Specialty, and a Puppy Group 2 plus 1st/BOW/BOS at the Mid-Coast show.
I will probably move this blog to .Mac so this sort of thing doesn't happen again. Thanks a heap, Blogger.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)