Milestones

The longer you remain in the dog world (or in any community, really), the more likely it is that you'll observe not only your own personal milestones, but those of the community. We celebrate birthdays of people and puppies. We bid farewell to our old dogs and our friends' dogs, and to the people we meet in this sport of ours.

AKC judge Lester Mapes was one of those. He died on June 15 after surgery from injuries sustained in a car accident. He and his wife lived in Monson, MA, one of the towns that sustained the most damage from the tornadoes that struck the Springfield area in western Massachusetts. The tornado knocked out two walls of their house and removed the roof. Lester and Judy Mapes were in their car at the time, when their car was struck by another car. Firefighters had to use the Jaws of Life to extricate them before taking them to the hospital. Judy was injured but survived; however, Lester succumbed. This is just all too sad.

His obituary mentions his life in dogs and his equal passion for music and theater. I didn't know him well enough to know any of these things about him — just to note that his time here on earth was still too short.

Lester Mapes gave Dinah her very first AKC point as a puppy. I hadn't yet met Kathy and was still stumbling nervously around the ring with her myself. Despite taking Best Puppy in Show at the Canadian National Specialty, a Puppy Group 2 at another local show, and placing in the puppy class at two regional specialties, Dinah hadn't competed with enough other class bitches to have earned any points. Her perfect shutout score was finally broken, thanks to Lester Mapes, in the cavernous and funky downstairs area of Bangor Auditorium. I guess you never forget your first (point, that is).

Here's our photo from Best of Breed that day (that's Traveler in front of us). Rarely do our action photos include the judge, and it never occurred to me then to ask for a win photo. Try not to wince too much at this display of handling greatness (but at least the puppy's cute)...

Looking through Infodog, I see that other judges we've shown under have also passed. Norman Herbel gave Dinah the Puppy Group 2. Bill Bailey gave her a Reserve in a large and competitive lineup at Ladies'. Robert Moore gave her the 4-point major in Springfield that made her a champion of record, after a long march through zero-point shows and broken majors.

They might be gone from this plane, but they are remembered — and I hope that they've met up with their own old dogs in the afterlife.

An Even Grander Champion

The July issue of Dog Fancy includes a short article by Nicole Sipe on the AKC Grand Championship program. In it, she mentions that the program has been quite a success for AKC, and she includes a quote from me about the program. (Well, it's not exactly what I said, but the editor got all excited and summed up my answer more creatively than I did.) The gist of that article is that the Grand Championship has brought a number of retired champions back into the ring, and a number of dollars into AKC's coffers. Despite my skepticism about the organization's cries of poverty, I have to agree that any initiative of AKC's that generates support from its core constituency without simply tightening the thumbscrews must be a Good Thing Indeed.

Dog Fancy's publication deadlines happen quite a ways in advance of the actual issue in which an article will appear. Nicole first contacted me about the GCH back in February. Little did either of us realize that AKC would produce a scoop of its own before the July issue reached the newsstands.

Anyway, the GCH program has been such a success for AKC that they've expanded it to include additional levels of achievement. Whereas the original GCH called for 25 points to be earned with at least 3 majors and 4 awarding judges, the new expanded levels of Grand Championship are as follows:

• Bronze: 100 GCH points
• Silver: 200 GCH points
• Gold: 400 GCH points
• Platinum: 800 GCH points

Seems like you have to show an awful lot of times to get that far... but some dogs have reached the Gold level already and are headed for Platinum. At this writing, a Doberman Pinscher named GCH Ch Mi-Ti's Three Cheers leads the GCH points race with 543. There are 30 dogs in total who hold enough GCH points for the Gold level, so the Dobie is hardly alone.

Just for jollies, I asked a couple of my friends what they thought of the new levels. Most responses ranged between chortles and snorts. "It's just another money-grab." Some felt that the new levels were completely unnecessary, and pretty much everyone agreed that the new levels were reserved for the more wealthy owners out there. If you figure that the #1-ranked GCH now entered shows at $30 a throw and won a 5-point major every time, that's still a $3,258 investment in entry fees alone. Even if you squeeze every penny till it squeals on every other aspect of showing, there's really no way to cheap out on that part. Factor in gas, hotel rooms, handlers, and the gazillion other expenses associated with showing, and you can see how things add up to put the new levels out of reach of many of us mortals.

All the same, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Many other dog sports require 10 qualifying scores to earn some titles, and performance competitors are no strangers to the concept of "money titles." I've invested in a few myself, between Seamus and Dinah. Although these new levels really redefine the concept of "money titles," at least the money headed into AKC's coffers from the new program might forestall increases in the costs of everything else. If folks have it and want to spend it, then good on them. You might say that the big-time investors are helping to keep expenses down for the rest of us.

Dinah has 10 GCH points with 2 majors and is currently the 87th Bearded Collie in AKC's GCH rankings. With the number of shows we'll be entering this year, I don't expect those stats to soar any time soon. I can pretty much guaran-damn-tee you that we won't be shooting for Platinum level.

What do you think of the new GCH levels? Are you tempted to try for any of them? Have you achieved the "plain vanilla" GCH yet?

PSAs for Today: Handling Classes in Fryeburg and a Seminar in York

Telling Tails Training Center in Fryeburg, ME is offering conformation classes for all experience levels, led by Beth Collins. These classes will help everyone get ready for the Southern Maine Coastal Classic cluster in mid-May.

Classes will be held on the following dates:

• Tuesday, April 19 at 6:30-7:30 PM
• Tuesday, April 26 at 6:30-7:30 PM
• Monday, May 9 at 6:30 - 7:30 PM

Each class costs $25. You may take one, two, or all three. Sign up at Telling Tails' website or call 642-3693.

Handling Seminar in York in October

It's a Dog's World in York is planning to hold another conformation handling seminar with Sue and Bill Burrell on October 1 and 2. FMI: call 363-0099.

Public Service Announcement: Handling Classes in Bangor, ME

The Penobscot Valley Kennel Club will start its next session of show handling classes on Monday, May 5 at 6 PM on the Bangor Waterfront.


Cost to PVKC members is $5 per class; non-members pay $7. Of course, classes are held weather permitting, so stay home if it is raining or snowing.


PVKC is also considering a 'Puppy Prep' class for conformation showing. All puppies must be 16 weeks or older and have proof of vaccinations. They plan to cover technique, filling out forms, proper dress, and other show topics.


For more information, contact PVKC from their website at http://penobscotvalleykennelclub.itgo.com/index.html.

The New AKC Points Schedule is Out

...and here it is: http://www.akc.org/events/conformation/point_schedule.cfm .

What do you think? Have the points needed for majors increased, decreased, or stayed the same for your breed and geographic region?

It's been just long enough since I've had a class dog in the ring that I don't remember what the points schedules for Beardies have been like in the past few years. The points are quite a bit lower than they were when Dinah was in the classes (7 bitches for 3 points, then 6) -- but it has also been correspondingly more difficult to field the requisite number of entries.  For a while there, it was easier for owners of the bitches to get their majors from the crossover points, since the number of dogs needed is so much lower than the number of bitches. (When there are not enough points in bitches to constitute a major, but there are in dogs, then if Winner's Bitch also goes Best of Breed, Best of Winners, or Best of Opposite, she receives the same number of points for her win as the Winner's Dog receives. This means that the Winner's Bitch receives "crossover points," enough so that she, too, gets a major from that win.)

Springtime Rituals

I've always envied my friends in California. The weather generally stays nice enough there so they can go to shows and trials all year round. Here, entering any event in the winter is always conditional. You enter a dog event with full knowledge that if the weather that weekend is sufficiently bad, you'll end up eating the entry. That, along with hibernating from Thanksgiving until St. Paddy's Day or so, marks the "off season" for dog showing here in the Frickin' Arctic.

Since today is the Vernal Equinox, it's time to start thinking about the year ahead. It's time to dust off the equipment, take inventory of what needs repair/replacement/cleaning, invest in some fresh batteries, and organize it all so that an event's worth of necessities can be tossed into the car without too much scrambling. It's time to start reading the premium lists for the springtime events and to think about what to enter when.

Another way I mark the start of the dog-event year is to clear off the bulletin board in the sunroom. Back when I was still actively trialing with Seamus, I'd hang the ribbons and rosettes he'd earned from it in a given year onto the board. At the beginning of the next season, I'd remove them, pack them away, and hang the new year's booty. This has now become an unofficial ritual to mark the new dog-show season. (So what can you do with all the old ones? I had Dinah's BPISS rosette from the '06 BCCC National framed. There are also quite a few people who will take your collected ribbons and stitch them into a quilt, wall hanging, chair back, or what-have-you. This site shows a bunch of photos of finished examples. Maybe someday I'll do something similar with mine, but storing all the ribbons in Rubbermaid boxes in the downstairs closet is still much easier than trying to figure out where to hang a quilt.)

2010 was relatively slim for us in terms of spoils -- we only entered three conformation shows, five AKC rally trials, one UKC rally trial, and a bunch of APDT rally trials -- but we did bring home enough bling to cover the bulletin board. Each one marks some pretty nice memories: the weekend we finished Dinah's Canadian CH, BOS for the second year in a row at our Regional Specialty, her AKC RN and RA and APDT RL1 titles, Badger's 4th in Veterans at the BCCC National... Still, they make a pretty nice collage...

Now that the bulletin board is bare again, it's time to start thinking about the year ahead... and train, train, train! Dinah's litter sister Buffy is now competing in APDT Rally in the UK and is on the verge of earning her RL1 title, too.

As Seen in Dog Fancy

A few weeks ago, a very nice person named Nicole contacted me through the blog. It seems she was writing a small article about the AKC Grand Champion title and was looking for thoughts from the fancy about the new title and its appeal. The article will appear in the July issue of Dog Fancy, in case you're interested.

Public Service Announcement

The next session of Penny Cary's conformation handling classes starts in April at Finish Forward Dogs in Saco. Class spots are filling up fast, so contact Finish Forward soon if you want to get in on the fun.

Public Service Announcement: Handling Classes in York, ME

Sue Burrell's weekly drop-in handling classes are returning to It's a Dog's World in York, starting today (March 7). Class starts at 7:30 PM. last 1 hour, and cost $17.00 per session.

FMI: Call 207-363-0099 or email info@itsadogsworld.me.

Public Service Announcement: Handling Seminar in York, ME

It's a Dog's World in York, ME is hosting a conformation handling seminar with Sue and Bill Burrell on Sunday, March 6 from 9 AM till 5 PM. The cost of the seminar for participants is $50 ($25 for auditors), and includes handouts and snacks. (Bring a bag lunch.)

Sue and Bill are the regular conformation class instructors at IADW. They've taken a break for the winter, but will resume their weekly drop-in classes in the spring. (Dinah and I attended the drop-in class a few times for practice, but we took semi-private lessons closer to home.) In the meantime, you can spend 7 hours with them and get much more individualized attention than you would at the drop-in class.

To sign up or for more information: call 207-363-0099 or email info@itsadogsworld.me.

Here's more information from the flyer:

it's a dog's world's conformation instructor, Sue Burrell and her husband Bill Burrell, will divide students based on their knowledge and present a day long seminar on conformation handling. This seminar is geared towards:

• Dog owners who are thinking about or who will soon enter their dog into a show
• Owners who have already entered their dog into a show
• Dog owners who are campaigning their special
• Anyone looking to learn more about the dog show circuit

This seminar will be divided between the talents of both Sue and Bill as they discuss:

• Choosing your show puppy
• Raising your puppy for show
• Creating a presentable dog for the show
• Presenting your dog to the judge
• Basic and Advanced handling techniques

Seminar Details

When: Sunday, March 6, 2011

Time: 9:00am - 5:00pm - including a lunch break

Cost: Participants: $50.00 Auditors: $25

Includes: Full day seminar, handouts & snacks

it's a dog's world encourages attendees to bring a brown bag lunch as there will be opportunity to ask questions during the lunch break. There are ample sandwich shops located nearby.

Sue & Bill Burrell's Bio

Sue & Bill have been handling dogs professionally combined for more than 90 years. They have shown dogs in 25 different countries spanning 3 continents. They average 15 Championships on dogs each year. Their familiarity with all AKC breeds and most FCI breeds has allowed them to place in every AKC group and win multiple Best in Shows. Their success is supported by a proven selection and training program that produces the highest quality of dogs to be presented to the judges.

PSA: More Handling Classes in Saco

Petiquette Canine Education is holding handling classes on Wednesday evenings at 6:15 starting on 2/2. These classes take place at Paw-zn-Around in Saco. FMI or to sign up, contact Penny Cary of Petiquette at sasanoa@hughes.net.

Guess the Plan Worked!

The following press release comes straight from the AKC Communications Department. I find it interesting to note that the inclusion of mixed breeds in certain performance events was not specifically cited as a cause for the increase in entries. This doesn't mean that it wasn't -- only that there was no specific mention. The Grand Champion program in conformation appears to have lured people back to Best of Breed competition. This release is good news for agility and conformation events, anyway!

THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB’S OVERALL ENTRIES INCREASE IN 2010

-- Records More Than 3 Million Entries --

 

New York, NY — The American Kennel Club^® ( AKC^®) leapt over the 3 million entry mark in 2010, recording a total of more than 3,014,000 dog entries across all conformation, companion and performance events. The growth over the number of entries received in 2009 was sparked by the ever-growing interest in the sport of Agility, where entries increased by 9%.  The new “Grand Champion” title assisted shows by providing an increase of over 40,000 additional entries in Best of Breed.  This equates to more than $1.2 million in additional entry fees to Conformation clubs.

“We were very proud to see the uptick in entries,” said Dennis B. Sprung, AKC ’s President and CEO. “The increase is a promising step forward for our clubs in the face of a persistently challenging economy.  We will continue to research ways to enhance the fun and value of competing in each of our sports.”

In addition, Sprung said, “We salute the finest Agility competitors in the nation who continue to set records; the entire AKC community appreciates their skills.”

The 2010 entry total includes entries from all-breed and specialty conformation shows, obedience, field trials, hunt tests, coonhound events, herding tests and trials, lure coursing, agility, earthdog, tracking and rally.

###

The American Kennel Club, founded in 1884, is a not-for-profit organization which maintains the largest registry of purebred dogs in the world and oversees the sport of purebred dogs in the United States . The AKC is dedicated to upholding the integrity of its registry, promoting the sport of purebred dogs and breeding for type and function.  Along with its nearly 5,000 licensed and member clubs and its affiliated organizations, the AKC advocates for the purebred dog as a family companion, advances canine health and well-being, works to protect the rights of all dog owners and promotes responsible dog ownership. More than 20,000 competitions for AKC -registered purebred dogs are held under AKC rules and regulations each year including conformation, agility, obedience, rally, tracking, herding, lure coursing, coonhound events, hunt tests, field and earthdog tests. Affiliate AKC organizations include the AKC Humane Fund, AKC Canine Health Foundation, AKC Companion Animal Recovery and the AKC Museum of the Dog.  For more information, visit www.akc.org.

AKC, American Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club seal and design, and all associated marks and logos are trademarks, registered trademarks and service marks of The American Kennel Club, Inc.
To become a fan of the AKC on Facebook, go to http://www.facebook.com/americankennelclub. To follow the AKC on Twitter, go to http://www.twitter.com/akcdoglovers.

Public Service Announcement: Group Practice Match in Saco, March 5

The Pine Tree State Doberman Pinscher Club is holding an all-breed Group Practice on Saturday, March 5 at Finish Forward Dogs in Saco. (Snow date: March 6.) Breeds in the Miscellaneous Group are welcome; a Miscellaneous Class will be offered. Come practice for the spring shows!

If you haven't been to a Group Practice before, it goes something like this: You enter your dog's class (for example, Open) as usual, but all dogs (and bitches) within your group and class (e.g., 9-12 month Toys) will compete at once. Since the classes range from 3-6 month Puppy to Open of any age, you'll first see the 3-6 month ring with (for example) all the little Shepherds leading the pack, huge puppy feet flying, and the little 3-month-old Corgi puppies toddling sweetly in the rear. Next, the 6-9-month-old puppies in the Herding Group get to do the same thing... up through the Open class. Spectators are welcome, and all dogs could use practice moving to applause. Come cheer the next generation of group winners!

Entries are $10 apiece, and you sign up the day of the match. Show up between 9 AM and 9:45. Judging will start at 10:15.

Here are the rest of the rules:

• Classes offered are: 3-6 month, 6-9 months, 9-12 months, 12-18 months, and Open.
• Dogs with one major are welcome to enter.
• All dogs must be current on their vaccinations (as recommended by their vets) and free of internal/external parasites and communicable diseases.
• No heavy grooming, no chalking, and no taped ears.

Crating space is limited, as is table space. The match will take place indoors on Finish Forward's wonderful cushioned flooring.

Food will be available in the morning and the afternoon, and there will be prizes and a 50-50 raffle.

FMI: Email Penny at sasanoa@hughes.net.

Public Service Announcement: Handling Classes in the New Year (Southern Maine)

It's a new year, all right -- so new that I'm still writing 2010 on the checks I've been sending out for the latest training classes. Anyway, if you've made a New Year's resolution to sharpen up your handling skills, continue with your handling classes from the previous year, or begin to get the puppy ready for the spring showing season, here's your chance.

Penny Cary of Petiquette Canine Education and Finish Forward Dogs will be offering handling classes on Monday evenings starting on February 2. Class sessions are 6 weeks long and cost $120. Look here for a registration form. Classes take place at Finish Forward's facility in Saco. Penny's classes always fill up quickly, so sign up soon if you plan to join in the fun!

Casco Bay Dog Training Club offers classes in Bath at the Bath Recreation Department. Their class listing doesn't show handling classes for January or February just yet, but visit the page again and/or contact the club to find out when they plan to schedule classes.

It's a Dog's World in York has drop-in handling classes on Monday nights with Sue Burrell. Sue is taking a break this winter, but will start classes up again in March.

Carroll County Kennel Club offers conformation classes in North Conway and Shelburne, NH. Their January class schedule hasn't been announced yet.

If you know of other conformation handling classes or seminars going on between southern NH and Mid-Coast Maine, please let me know at saltysheepdog at gmail dot com and I'll gladly announce them.

First Shout-Outs of the Year

Congratulations (slightly belated) to our long-time Dog Show Newbie friends Barb Rimoshytus and Rio the Papillon! Rio earned his AKC championship at the Worcester County KC show on 12/4. His handler Courtney Pray finished him, and she sports a great grin in the win photo. If you're a friend of Barb's on Facebook, you can see him with Courtney and with judge Ruth Zimmerman. The win was a little bittersweet for Barb, who couldn't be at the show, and who wishes she could have been holding the lead that day... but the deed is done. Rio is now officially CH Brookfield's Slam Dunk, and he might also have some Rally title initials after his name. Rio and his Golden roomie Tazzy have both been doing rally this past year.

Another old friend picked up some alphabet soup at this year's Springfield Thanksgiving shows. Deb and Richard's Moxie was already a Canadian champion, but now you can call her Am/Can CH Cameron's Kiss Me Quick. Moxie's long march to the CH was even longer than ours. Even with the slightly reduced number of dogs it takes to make a major in our region nowadays, it still took forever to find majors, and for those majors to hold. I'll have to ask Debbie how many points Moxie finished with. Dinah has something like 24 or 25, and Rowdy Blue had close to 30 by the time he caught his big break.

Fiona needs only two more singles, and her brother Brae finished this past fall at the age of only 17 months -- that's a month younger than his sire Traveler was when he finished. CH Bramley's Green Mountain Boy CGC and handler Brian Kirk made a great pair. Brae took his last points with another handler whose name escapes me, but whom Brae's owners also like very much. Good work, kids!

Okay, I admit that I feel just slightly nostalgic for those days in the classes and all of the socializing that went along with them -- but the whole ordeal of hunting majors feels somewhat like having kids. You have to forget about the pain before you're prepared to have another. We have no room here for a puppy anyway, much less a litter. Maybe someday it would be nice to start again, but in the meantime, it will be fun to cheer for Cash/Casey, Bonnie, and all the new kids. Good luck this year!

A Brief History of Dog Shows

In the wake of recent big dog-show events such as the National Dog Show in Philadelphia and Eukanuba in Long Beach, this article appeared in Yahoo! News. Not sure how long this story will persist, so enjoy it as soon as you can...

A Brief History of Dog Shows

It's (Almost) All About Dinah

It's getting to be the time of year where we pack up the show stuff and prepare to hibernate for the winter. Dinah hasn't actually seen the inside of a show ring since the Canadian Specialty in August (though I still wish we could have gone to the Carolinas Regional). We do have two more APDT rally trials coming up on the first weekend of December, and then we'll really put 2010 to bed.

All the same, we brought home a decent small collection of memories this year...

• BOS at the New England Regional (for the second year in a row)
• BOS at the Supported Entry the next day
• 10 AKC Grand Champion points
• BOS at the Fredericton KC show to finish her Canadian CH
• Best in Show in the MB-F Virtual Dog Show
• AKC Rally Novice and Advanced titles
• APDT Rally Level 1 title with an Award of Excellence (AOE) and 1 leg toward Level 2
• 7 legs (so far) toward the APDT Rally Level 1 Championship (RL1X) title
• 1 leg in UKC Rally Level 1 (URO1)

Although I say we're hibernating for the winter, we're really just not going out to compete. When the weather permits, we spend our time at home on the weekends, practicing. Dinah's back in agility class with Jim Gregg, who's a master at deconstructing handling and helping you build a successful process. We've been going to Wednesday-evening rally classes since school started, and will resume when the next semester resumes in January.

Oddly enough, working in rally and agility seem to complement each other — all the more so since Jim is so good at spotting inconsistencies in handling that (especially in my case) seem to be handicapping our progress. Sometimes neglecting the simplest things can make a huge difference. Jim noticed that I wasn't taking the time to catch Dinah's eye in the ring because my ring nerves had me all flustered. Keeping that in mind, I tried to keep eye contact in both agility and in rally, and Dinah did much better. She's always stellar in practice; at trials, not so much.

I'll have to remember to keep Jim's advice in mind next time we go to a trial. I've had the worst time doing APDT Level 2, although we managed to complete the AKC RA. Dinah knocked the jump bar on our first Excellent run, but that has to do with bad agility handling (mine). She was looking at me, and not at the obstacle.

The year hasn't been completely about Dinah, though. Badger Blue managed to take a 4th in his Veterans class at the BCCC National.

Dinah's image has been places, too. Two photos of her — one as a puppy, one as an adult — appeared for the Bearded Collie at the AKC's Meet the Breeds event in NYC last month.

Next month, Dinah and Badger get to be supermodels for a day! They'll be modeling couch covers for the FetchDog catalog. We'll all head to the shoot at a house somewhere in West Falmouth, and a local dog trainer we know will help coax the two stars of the show up onto the furniture, to recline in appealing poses. Somewhere, some lucky copywriter will get to struggle with the temptation to talk about all the dog hair that won't get on the furniture, and we'll end up with some lovely professional photos of the Breakseas. I'm looking forward to it!

Seamus already knows how best to model a couch!

We have to spend every Thanksgiving on the road, so we won't be home to watch the National Dog Show on TV. Have a great Thanksgiving, all, and enjoy the show for us!

We Are Virtually Proud

InfoDog Virtual Dog Show
9/27 - 10/1/2010
Best In Show

Yes, you read that right. Dinah just received her first Best in Show as an adult, and her first in the States. (She was Best Puppy in Show at the Canadian National back in 2006 and had an AKC Puppy Group 2 as a puppy.) Okay, so maybe it isn't a real show, since it didn't involve grooming, gaiting, sweating, driving, or an expensive hotel stay. All the same, it's a Best in Show, and we'll take it.

If you're not familiar with the Infodog Virtual Dog Show, it's an online simulated all-breed show sponsored by show superintendents MB-F, Inc. It's free to enter; all you need are a few nice photographs. There is also a "fun" section where you can enter candid photos of your dog in various categories. Yes, you may enter both sections.

In the dog show section, you may enter with just one show-side photo of your dog, or you may upload front, back, and right side photos and even a video of your dog gaiting. (We have an assortment of very nice stills, but no video.) In a way, this forces you to select from among the piles of posed and candid shots you own to find the ones that would look good to a judge who cannot actually touch your dog or watch the gaiting around the ring. The breed, group, and Best in Show judges' bios are posted as the show opens for entries.

Judging proceeds the same way as it does for any other all-breed show: first the class dogs, then the class bitches, then Best of Breed. Infodog even has little "animations" of the dogs' photos going around the ring to "applause." When your dog wins, you receive an emailed certificate showing the photo, the win, and a rosette. Judges are allowed to post evaluations of the dog they've judged, and some do take advantage of that. I'll never forget the evaluation we received the first year we entered (2008): "This appears to be a quality dog with a correct coat, however there is so much that a judge cannot do in this sort of competition. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that this dog has or will win big." Well, we've done okay since then.

This year Dinah, being a special, started off in BOB. Okay, so there wasn't a lot of competition in breed this year, since there were only three Beardies -- but still, she won and advanced to Group.

Last year, she didn't place in Group, though she's had a Group 3 and a Group 4 in the past. There were some very nice competitors out there. This year, though, was different...

The same lovely blue merle Aussie and some other group competitors from the last were there again this year, though there weren't any Collies. It might be just a virtual Group First, but it was Dinah's first! I was too busy to read email this morning, so I missed the email with the Group 1 inside. Dinah went on to BIS without me.

At lunchtime, I received this in email:

It took me a minute to react (as it usually does) -- and then it hit me. Judging was over. There were no additional rounds to advance to. Dinah had not only won Best of Breed and defeated the other dogs in the Herding Group, but she had also defeated the other group winners! Sure, this is how every all-breed dog show works, and people whose dogs are multiple BIS winners are probably used to this... but all the same, it's our first BIS, however virtual. Maybe a real one is in the cards for someday... most likely, not.

Anyone can enter the Infodog Virtual Dog Show. Get your photos together and come join in the fun for the next round!

End of the Season, But Not

Now that Dinah's a special, we can pretty much pick and choose which shows we feel like entering instead of frantically scouring premium lists for every show on the Eastern Seaboard, in search of one more stinkin' major or a few more crummy points. Quite honestly, I don't miss that part -- but I do miss showing later into the year. Much as I complain about showing into late November or early December, I miss hanging out with my buddies on weekends at the Big E or on some other road trip. Mind you, I don't miss these trips enough to consider campaigning Dinah as far as the GRCH, but I still feel just the teeniest bit wistful when everyone else gets to pack up and go.

Since our last appearance in conformation, though, Dinah and I have been fairly busy training and showing in rally trials in a few different venues. She completed the APDT Level 1 title in July with an Award of Excellence, and her AKC Rally Novice at the very end of August. This makes her Am/Can CH Breaksea November Storm HIC CGC RL1 (AOE) RN.

Not that we plan to stop there. We're entered in another AKC trial and hope to make progress toward the Rally Advanced title (she has one leg already). We have more APDT trials to enter between now and the end of the year, plus we're attempting our very first UKC rally trial in October. My ambition is to work enough to cross over into regular obedience as well. Our rally instructor has a Novice class right after ours, and I might do the occasional drop-in just to see if we're even ready to start just yet. Holding still is not one of the Princess's favorite things to do.

Are we coming back to the conformation ring? You bet your Bean boots we are, but probably not until spring. It gives us something to look forward to during the dark and icy days of wintertime. Until then, you can see us in class with our compadres or playing in the local trials. If you're going to the conformation shows, good luck and have fun!

O Canada: the Road Trip Movie

Bearded Collie Club of Canada National Specialty
8/11 and 12, 2010
Badger: 4th, Veteran Males 7-9

Judge: David Hyde. Photo by Garth Gourlay.

In a way, Val and I needed to go to Fredericton to prove to ourselves that not all car trips turn into plots for horror movies. Our trip to Minnesota was so Edvard-Munch-The-Scream horrible that we still have PTSD flashbacks from it, and I never did finish my blog post about it from last year. (I might still do that someday, but it would probably end up within the chronology of this blog and pass, unnoticed, into the Collection of Things Best Not Mentioned. Either that, or someone like Rob Zombie will pick up the option for it and turn it into this generation’s version of The Exorcist Meets Sybil. Yes, it was that horrible. Worse, even.) Anyway, we were overdue for one of our own road trips -- so off to the Maritimes we went. We baked in the heat, we got wet in the rain, and we encountered giant spuds on the roadside... but we did have a pretty good time.

When Dinah picked up her last point in Fredericton, I said, “Pack your bags – we’re heading to Belleville!” We’d entered the National two days before, simply because entries closed before we could make it to the Maritimes. If we hadn’t had such a nice trip to Fredericton and back, we might not have gone at all. The very idea of long car rides still makes us both cringe.

So there we were: the two of us plus Kathy with Dinah, Fiona, and Badger -- all packed into a rented Ford Econoline van, eager to prove to ourselves that not all trips have to be Trips From H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. The construction on the way there, plus the traffic through Montreal, made the drive up a Trip From Heck, but we survived. If not for the fact that most of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Quebec appeared to be under construction, we might have made the trip in 9 hours instead of 10 1/2.

The Ramada in Belleville was lovely, with a nice big flat area perfect for showing -- and right by the water for scenic show pictures. We arrived late enough in the week so that we missed having time to explore the hiking trails, but that was unavoidable. Next time, for sure!

Here's a view from Val's and my 4th-floor balcony:

Badger and Fiona, the class dogs, showed on Wednesday, with the boys showing first. Badger was first up on the table:

He's essentially retired from showing, but he still loves to show off occasionally. I brought him along mostly so Kathy would have enough dogs to show, but he cleaned up nicely and looked great in the ring.

Badger ended up taking 4th place in Veteran Males 7-9, which was a pleasant surprise. There were 6 dogs entered and 5 showed up, so he wasn't last in the class. Not bad for a retired guy. He still gets his spot in BCCC history now.

All the weather forecasts the previous week had promised us lovely, 60-degree days and 40-degree nights with a chance of rain on Friday and maybe Thursday. None of us -- especially the hairy members of the entourage -- are huge fans of very hot weather, but Kathy probably dislikes it the worst of all of us. She's the one who has to dress up and run around in the bright sunshine -- while wearing a suit and pantyhose. Can't blame her there. Anyway, the weather forecast lied. By the time we made it to Ontario, it was just plain baking hot. We ended up having to soak chamois cloths to put over each dog before showtime. Luckily, we had electricity available so we could plug in our big fan, and we ran the batteries in the crate fans until they begged for mercy. Dinah relaxed on her waterbed, but Badger just didn't care for his. He stood it for the car rides, but asked to be placed in a crate without the bed -- and then dug up the fleece bed so he slept just on the plastic pan on the bottom. Silly old bluey.

Next, it was Fiona's turn to shine in the baking hot sun.

The Open Bitch class was massively competitive, and Fee acquitted herself very well. There wasn't a bad-looking girlie in the lot. I'd moved Dinah up since she finished in Fredericton; otherwise she'd have been in this class, too.

The judge had pulled out his first picks in the ring in Open Bitch, and then he looked back and looked Fiona over again. He pulled her out to join his other picks, then moved her up to third place. For a moment, we thought he would move her up more, but he seemed content with his choices as they were. Third place at a National is still nothing to sneeze at, and it gave people a good look at Fee.

Thus encouraged, we celebrated with a room-service picnic and high hopes for Best of Breed. If David had liked the B-Man, then he would love Dinah, right? Dinah had been Best Puppy at that specialty in 2006 and Winners Bitch in 2008. With a winning streak like that, she should come home with something very nice from out of the Specials class, right? Even if she didn't take Best of Breed or Best Opposite, even an Award of Merit would have been cause for a victory banquet at Big Daddy's BBQ, home of the all-you-can-eat lobster dinner.

Of course, the big game that everyone plays at dog shows is, "What does the judge like?". Some like good movers. Some like nice heads. Some don't show any pattern to their choices. Everyone scrutinizes the judge's picks and tries to determine the pattern (if any).

It rained in the early morning hours before the show, which to us was an encouraging sign. Dinah loves to show in wet weather; as Kathy says, "She's a mudder." It remained cloudy at showtime, which was a vast relief to everybody sporting sunburns from the previous days of showing.

There were so many entries in Best of Breed that the judge brought everyone in, then allowed the bitches to leave the ring so he could judge all the dog entries first. He would make his cuts, then dismiss the dogs and do the same for the bitches.

By the time dog judging was complete, the atmosphere had started heating up again. I was disappointed that Dinah wouldn't get to show in the rain. Sure, she gets horribly messy, but she plows through the muck and water with such joy that you'd think she actually loved to show. She doesn't really -- she likes it okay, but she doesn't love it. Still, add water and she's a happy camper.

Finally, the bitches were called in. Because Dinah had moved up from Open just the day before, she was placed last in line. She had plenty of time to get bored and fidgety back there, and she made Kathy work to keep her focused. All the same, she looked lovely.

She moved nicely, when it finally came her turn.

We were surprised and disappointed when she didn't even make the cut, but she simply wasn't David's cup of tea -- nor did she feel particularly motivated to make him change his mind about that. David appeared to prefer bigger, longer dogs. Dinah is long enough, but he liked them really long. Badger and Fiona are both longer than The Lovely One. She's also a little girl, and he didn't put up any little Beardies in any of the classes. Anyway, we sadly left the ring and started packing up. Dinah's winning streak at the National was no more. No AOM. No all-you-can-eat lobster.

The top honors eventually went to two deserving dogs: Arwen (whom Dinah has beaten every other time they've been in the same ring) took Best of Breed, and Darcy (Diva's littermate and a very nice boy) took Best of Opposite. All of the specials were nice -- not a bad one anywhere, or an undeserving one -- but it was still a bummer about Dinah's winning streak. Not even Kathy's lucky suit and my lucky earrings helped. (I'm not really a believer in lucky charms, but I do believe in how you act and feel when you have them. It does make a difference when you feel lucky.)

Our trip home took us over the same bridges that we crossed to head home from Gananoque, and we took a shortcut through the farm country in upstate New York that was charming, but not exactly short in terms of time. At least we weren't stuck in miles of orange barrels with kamikaze traffic trying to run us off the road. It took us a good 11 hours to get back, but we made it safely (if a bit punchy toward the end -- we giggled from central MA all the way back to Maine), unpacked in as orderly a fashion as we could manage, and got lucky Kathy on the road for home so she could attend a wedding the next day. She survived it, and we all survived the road trip. Even if we didn't bring home any really big honors, simply surviving the trip without it devolving into insanity was almost enough of a reward. Maybe we can travel again without flashbacks after all.

Public Service Announcement: Dr. Hutchison Seminar, October in Portsmouth, NH

Robert Hutchison, DVM, the noted specialist on canine reproduction and neonatology and arguably the leading expert on frozen semen, will be holding a one-day seminar on Saturday, October 2, at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH. It is being hosted by the York County Kennel Club of Maine, Inc. All interested canine breeders and veterinary professionals are invited to attend the seminar. It will start at 7:30am. Coffee service and a buffet lunch will be provided.

This may be the first time “Dr. Hutch” will be giving his popular presentation in the seacoast area of northern New England. A graduate of Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, he is affiliated with the Animal Clinic Northview of North Ridgeville, OH. He is also director of the Center for Canine and Feline Reproduction and Infertility and a past president of Lorain County Veterinary Medical Association. He is the author of countless articles and journals on canine reproduction that have appeared in professional publications and he holds canine reproduction seminars all over the world.

At the seminar, he will deliver basic information on canine reproduction, focusing on maximizing conception, prenatal care, successful whelping, postnatal care and the care of whelps. He will take questions from the audience. In addition, there will be a networking period.

The cost will be $99 per person (no canines, please). Payment should by made by personal check or money order in US dollars payable to YCKC—Seminar. Fill out the form below and mail it with your payment to Mr Carroll Goodwin III, YCKC Treasurer, PO Box 336, Alfred, ME 04002. UPON RECEIPT OF APPLICATION YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL CONFIRMATION. Payment must accompany your reservation.

Registration deadline is September 25, 2010.

For more information and a registration form, please visit http://yorkcountykennelclub.homestead.com/news.html or contact Eileen Kelly at olbaileylabs@aol.com 207-247-3734 or 631-862-9118.

*For overnight accommodations, the Portsmouth Sheraton Hotel has reserved a small block of rooms. For availability visit http://www.sheratonportsmouth.com/. There are also several other hotels in the Portsmouth area. However, all attendees are responsible for making their own reservations.

O Canada! Part Cinq

Fredericton Kennel Club, 7/24
WB/BOS, 1 point
7/25 RWB

Announcing... Am/Can CH Breaksea November Storm, HIC CGC RL1!

Yes, it finally happened. We finally got that last stinkin' CKC point to finish Dinah in Canada. Now we can show our faces around the BCCC National without having to enter her as a class bitch for the third time.

A lot of Dinah's family members have CH titles from multiple countries -- her sister Buffy (Breaksea November Mist), for example, has been burning up all the countries of continental Europe and picking up championships in each one. Badger's brother Moby (Breaksea Norwegian Wood) has at least all of Scandinavia covered. Dylan (Breaksea Gone West) was the first Am/Can Ch in the family, and Dinah is the second one, as well as the first bitch to earn both.

There aren't huge numbers of Beardies showing around the Maritimes, so sometimes you just have to bring all your breed's entries with you if you hope to earn CKC points without depending on Group 3s -- so that's just what we did. Val and I were overdue for a road trip, anyway. We decided to pack up Trav, Fiona, and Dinah and meet Ashley at the Fredericton shows to try our luck there. Our friend Penny, a local handler who has had a lot of success showing in eastern Canada over the years, offered to handle Dinah to her last point.

The only thing that we can never predict about a show is the mood that the Princess will be in on any given show day. When she's in a good mood and wants to show well, she's hard to beat. When she's Not In The Mood, no amount of cajoling, bribery, or Great Bait can get her to focus on the task at hand. Kathy and I have Talked to the Paw more times than we care to admit.

Val and I made good time on the drive (aside from the summer construction delays), crossed at St. Stephen with absolutely no traffic ahead of us (a first!) and headed for Fredericton. The road between St. Stephen and Fredericton is pretty much a swathe through the woods, and is the kind of drive where you rejoice when another vehicle comes toward you in the opposite lane because it gives you something else to look at. "Wow," Val said. "When a Canadian says that this show is in the middle of nowhere, you'd better believe it!"

One of the joys of driving with a GPS is that it very rarely gets you truly lost. You might not always take the most efficient route to get someplace, but you'll generally get there. We ignored the GPS's entreaties to cross at Houlton rather than at Calais, and for miles afterward, it kept trying to get us to drive back to Houlton to cross.

Our biggest navigational challenge happened in Fredericton, where the Princess Margaret Bridge, which we were supposed to use to cross the St. John River, turned out to be closed for construction. The GPS, in deep denial of that fact, kept trying at every turn to route us that way, until we both told it to shut up and turned it off. We procured directions at a gas station, crossed the river, and headed to the campground to set up.

The drive along the river was lovely, punctuated every so often by a local landmark, such as a giant potato wearing a top hat or a huge carved wooden figure of Sherlock Holmes.

We arrived at the show site, found Penny and the Doberdogs, and set up at ringside just behind them. After the EZ-Up was staked and the chairs and flooring unloaded, we set off to find out hotel, ignoring the GPS's entreaties to take the closed bridge. It finally complied and showed us a route that involved streets that we actually could take to get there.

Once esconced in the hotel, we ordered take-out, exercised the dogs, and readied ourselves for an early wake-up call. Trav was so happy to be out of the car that he practically threw himself at me with his usual "Arrrrr, arrrrr." (Trav and I have deep conversations. He likes to do his pirate impression for me. We talk about his favorite letter of the alphabet and other subjects of great philosophical import.)

When the alarm went off far too early on Saturday morning, we all bundled back into the rental van and headed across the bridge that wasn't closed to the show site on the other side. The GPS was not amused. We passed the Giant Spud again, and pulled into the show site.

Val, aware of my "skills" as a show groomer, neatened up the Princess's feet and got her finish grooming done, then worked on Fiona. Ashley arrived and started prepping Trav.

CKC shows run somewhat like UKC shows do -- all breeds in a group using the same ring, and breeds showing more or less in alphabetical order. Groups sometimes follow the individual breeds, and sometimes take place after all breed judging is over in all the rings. If you're used to AKC shows, where the show secretaries have to juggle rings, breeds, judges, and groups and try to fit them together into a puzzle, then you'll come to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of the CKC/UKC scheme. It does take a short time to get used to the fact that all shows run pretty much the same way -- but then you have one less thing to have to keep in mind.

Penny had four breeds to show, and three of them conflicted that day. We worked out a game plan whereby she would show the Aussie, bring her out, take Dinah in, hand Dinah back to me, and sprint into the Doberman ring next door to show her own dog. If the Aussie took her breed and Dinah took hers, I would be showing Dinah in Group. We all gathered under the roof in the waiting area and assumed our stations. I felt a little bit like a running back waiting for the kickoff.

Penny took third with Jules the Aussie, then offered Dinah various kinds of bait from $15-a-pound roast beef to chunks of liver. I offered up Dinah's old favorite Great Bait and added it to the show menu. The ring steward called for Bearded Collies, and they were off, with Val and Fee behind them.

Dinah seemed in a pretty good mood, and she decided to work for Penny instead of making her Talk to the Paw. I was still worried that she'd decide that the day was getting too hot to show, and take a summer vacation right in the middle of judging. She didn't show with great enthusiasm, but she held it together well enough to take the Open class and get that last point. Fee took Reserve. Dinah ended up going Best Opposite to Trav, who took the breed. (Sadly, Trav didn't get much love in the group -- though the judge looked at him for a VERY long time before calling four other dogs out.)

Outside the ring, we did as much hugging and dancing as we could do without disrupting the rest of the show's proceedings. Penny had had to send her Dobe into the ring with her husband because of the ring conflict, but she suspected that the breed judging wouldn't have gone her way anyway.

One of Penny's friends took this nice photo of The Lovely One in the ring. Thanks, Mark!

When Dinah finished her AKC CH, I'd packed a bottle of champagne just in case we needed it. Because Val doesn't drink and my days of drinking whole bottles of the stuff myself are long behind me (Day, actually. I did that once in college and definitely regretted it the next morning), the only bubbly I could rustle up for Dinah's CKC championship was a can of Red Bull. Anything chilled and bubbly served the purpose. I was just so relieved to have finished Dinah that I would have toasted her success with lukewarm soapy water.

The afternoon grew hot, so we packed up the pups and headed back to Fredericton proper, ignoring protests from the GPS. We stopped at the Giant Spud for a photo shoot, and the dogs drew adoring fans...

After a little celebration dinner (which couldn't include the guest of honor), we passed the rest of the evening sending emails and messages to everyone eager for news, watched the Food Network (porn channel for Weight Watchers), and hung out with the pups. Trav and I had several conversations on the subject of Arrrrr.

The next morning, we drove through a monsoon to the show site. The EZ-Up kept everything relatively dry, but it was so new that I hadn't even sealed the seams yet. We had a few drips here and there, but they didn't compare with the drenching we sustained getting between the car and the tent, trying to keep the dogs relatively dry.

Because Dinah had won the day before and finished, Val and I agreed that I wouldn't move her up. Instead, Dinah would stay in the classes, and I would show her. That way, we shared the points with Fee.

Just before we were supposed to go into the ring, we peeled off our soaked raingear. I looked like a contestant in a wet T-shirt contest, so I had to put my coat back on. The judge, who sported a strange headgear midway between an Arab headdress and a fisherman's sou'wester, removed his hat just as the wind started to pick up, and ended up wearing the same hairstyle that Michael Keaton wore in "Beetlejuice."

Fee took the point and went Best Opposite to her dad, who showed beautifully and looked wonderful -- and who still left the group ring empty-handed. Fee now has 4 CKC points -- only 6 more to go.

We stopped to visit Ann, showered and changed, and got to cuddle a litter of 4-week-old Trav/Sadie puppies, full siblings of Fiona's. I made sure to share a little "Arrrr" with the pick boy, who looks just like a miniature Trav. I told the little brown girl that brownies are special, and swapped conversations and puppy breath with everyone else.

Eventually, we brought the new champion home, and I had the pleasure of requesting a move-up to Specials Only for the BCCC Specialty. I hope we get to go, but even if we don't, this little special is still pretty special.

-- Post From My iSomething

Location:Sheffield, New Brunswick, Canada