A Day at the Dog show - part 2

The ring steward began calling the individual classes into the ring.  The first was the 6 - 9 puppy bitches, then the 9 - 12 month puppy bitches, and soon after he was calling in the “Bred by Exhibitor” class.  While you can enter whichever class you choose, there are certain requirements for some of the classes.  The age is a requirement for the 6 - 9 month puppy classes.  In the “Bred By” classes, the handler has to also be the breeder of the dog or bitch they are showing.  Our Addi was entered in the “Bred by” class, and she came in 1st.

The next class was the American bred class, which means all the bitches entered were bred here in the United States, and not in Canada or elsewhere.  After that, the steward called in the Open class, which is open to all ages.  I held onto Addi, while my daughter took Peyton’s lead.  Our Peyton was entered in the Open class, and my daughter was also her handler.  And Peyton wasn’t going to let Addi get all the attention, she also won first place in her class  This meant that both Addi and Peyton, along with the other 1st place winners, would be competing for Winners Bitch!

Since Addison won the Bred by class, my daughter had to stay on as her handler, so she asked her friend to bring Peyton into the ring.  The judge examined each collie, carefully considered all their virtues, and walked over to his table.  He wrote down a number, picked up the ribbon…and awarded it to Peyton!  This was so exciting, we were so beyond happy.  Peyton won Winners Bitch earning more points towards her championship, and because there were so many class bitches entered at this show, it was a major! A class dog or bitch has to win a total of 15 points to become a champion, but of the 15 points, they need two majors.  A major is a win of 3, 4 or 5 points.  The more dogs entered, the more points awarded for the win.

But it wasn’t over yet…after judging all the class dogs and bitches, and choosing his Winners Dog and Winners Bitch, the judge had one more task.  It was time to judge the smooth collie Best of Breed/Variety class.  The smooth champions are called into the ring, along with Winners Dog and Winners Bitch. This is extremely competitive, as everyone wants their collie to be chosen as the best!  Typically the judge chooses a finished champion as his or her Best of Breed, as they have all earned the champion title, and usually have a lot of experience.  But that day Peyton was perfect, you couldn’t take your eyes off her, and the judge chose her as his Best of Breed! 

What happens next?  Well, the Best of Breed winner gets to go on to compete in the herding group, against the other herding dogs that also won Best of Breed.  Then whichever herding dog is awarded a Herding Group 1st,  goes on to compete for “Best in Show” against the group winners of the Working group, Toy Group, Hound group, etc.  Sadly, the collies aren’t usually awarded a herding group 1, and they rarely win the coveted Best in Show.  But when they do, it’s a celebration for us all.  We didn’t win anything in the herding group that day, but nothing could diminish our pride in what Peyton had accomplished.…it was an exciting day at the dog show, one that we will always remember!  

***I wrote this post, to explain the judging at a dog show.  There is so much more happening than what you see on television.  We are usually up and on the road by 5:00 AM, if not earlier.  The outdoor shows are usually either hot or raining.  The indoor shows are usually crowded and very noisy with 600 - 800 dogs in one building.  And we wouldn’t change a thing.  The fun of competing with your dogs, catching up with friends, and the excitement when you do win, is something that’s hard to capture in words.   I hope this will not only explain the judging process, but maybe inspire you to attend a show.

A day at the dog show - part 1

 It was already a hot, humid day, and we searched for a parking spot with some shade.   Pulling onto a section of grass that offered a sliver of shade, I parked and scanned the field.  Even though it was very early, all the exhibitors were busy walking and grooming their dogs.  Many had set up their grooming tables next to their vehicles, while others set up under the crowded grooming tent, hoping for some protection from the blazing Summer sun.

Hopping out of the car, my daughter and I quickly began setting up our grooming area.  As we had been traveling to shows for 20 years, we set up our area without comment, it was just routine for us now.  The first thing we set up was our canopy tent, to try to keep the collies as cool as possible, their comfort always came first.  Next the x-pen, water buckets and grooming table were set up.  Checking the time, we immediately started grooming one of the collies, even though it wasn’t yet 7:00 AM, on a dog show day there is little time to waste.

When one collie was ready, my daughter put the next one up on the grooming table while I headed over to ring 5, to pick up our exhibitor numbers.  It was an all breed dog show so there were 10 rings set up, where all the different dog breeds would be examined by the assigned judges throughout the day.  Finding our correct ring, I approached the ring steward, and politely requested our numbers.  He scanned his catalog, and found the numbers assigned to our collies and handed them to me with a murmured “good luck today.”   Grabbing two rubber bands, I thanked him and headed back to the car.

I took over grooming our second collie, while my daughter grabbed her suit and ran to the bathrooms to change.  Even though it was an outdoor show, and already 80 degrees, the handlers still tried to dress as professionally as possible.  As I was finishing up grooming, my daughter returned.  “Peyton is #10 and in the Open class, and Addison is #12 and in the bred by exhibitor class,” I told my daughter as she secured the numbers to her arm with the elastic bands.  She placed Addi’s number 12 on top, as the bred by exhibitor class is always judged before the open class.  “How many breeds before collies?” She asked.  Looking at the judging schedule, I told her there were 5 Aussies, 2 Canaan Dogs, and 7 German Shepherds being judged in ring 5 before the smooth collies.  “We should head over in about 30 minutes.”

In nervous anticipation, we brushed the collies once again, making sure they looked their very best.  The time passed quickly, and grabbing the treats, we headed over to ring 5 with our girls.  Passing  ring 2, I watched the Dalmatians run in a circle, one after the other.  Arriving at ring 5, we could see the judge was just making his final decisions, and awarding Best of Breed to one of the German Shepherds and her ecstatic handler.  The smooth collies were to be judged next.  

At dog shows, each dog breed has multiple classes the owner can choose to enter.  The males are judged first, followed by the females.  The first class of smooth collies was called into the ring, “ puppy dogs 6 - 9 months into the ring in catalog order, “ the steward announced.  A bouncy, sable and white smooth boy was brought into the ring, followed by a more hesitant tri color.  Both handlers quickly set up their puppies, getting them standing correctly, waving treats at them to keep them attentive and focused.  “Take them around,” the judge directed the handlers.  Moving together, single file, both handlers moved the puppies at a quick pace in a circle around the ring, this was done to show their movement.  Stopping before the judge they quickly stacked their collies, to show off their outlines.  The judge approached the first collie, and gazing into the collies eyes, he gave a soft whistle to see the puppies expression.  He then asked the handler to show the bite, so he could determine if the collie had the correct scissor bite which is required for the breed.  The judge then ran his hands softly over the collie, checking for proper body structure.  Stepping back he visually examined the collie once again, before asking the handler to take him down and back.  The handler, adjusting the lead, began running with the collie to the corner of the ring, and then back to the judge.  I had to smile, as the young dog thought this was a fun game, and jumped up on the handler to express his joy.  The handler was patient with the puppy and the judge sent them around the ring, and examined the tri color puppy next.  He repeated all the previous steps, and then looking back and forth between the two, decided to award 1st place to the tri color.

The next classes were called, and the handlers led their collies into the ring, each hoping for that 1st place ribbon.  After all the class dogs were judged, each 1st place winner was called back into the ring, it was time for the judge to pick Winners Dog.  There were four smooth collies standing in the ring, and all four males were very fine examples of the breed.  The judge went through all the steps again, examining each collie, one at a time, and then having them move around the ring.  He returned to the table, wrote down a number, and picked up two ribbons.  Then smiling, he walked up to a pretty blue merle, “ you are my Winners dog today,” he said as he handed the purple ribbon to the collie’s handler.  He then turned to the tri color puppy, “you are my reserve winner today,” and handed the puppy’s handler a ribbon too.  Everyone clapped, and congratulated the blue merle’s owner.  

It was now time for the smooth bitches to be judged…

Dreams do come True

 When you begin to compete at dog shows, you either become obsessed, or you decide that it’s just not for you.  There are very few who fall into the middle, those who enjoy it, but are not committed to the sport.  When my family members first started showing collies, I didn’t understand their ardent dedication to these competitions.  This was partly due to a lack of understanding on how dog shows worked.  All the different classes can be a bit a confusing.  I have always been a dog lover, and loved to watch the Westminster dog show each Winter when it was on TV.  But on TV they only show the judging of the groups and the Best in show judging, not everything that happens beforehand.  (I think I may write a post, to explain all the classes, and how the dogs earn points and titles, for those who are interested in learning more.)

So not having much understanding or interest in dog shows, I didn’t undeestand why my family was excited about the competitions.  Then one day my 9 year old daughter went to a handling class with my sister, to learn about junior handling, and decided she wanted to try competing at dog shows as a junior handler.  We started going to shows, and had so much fun, that we ended up developing a serious interest.  Eventually, as we became more involved in the competitions, my sister gave us our first collie puppy….and we were hooked.

When you start showing dogs, you can’t help but imagine what accomplishments and titles you might achieve with your dog. As you watch the big winners at the shows, you may catch yourself dreaming of your own dog earning that kind of recognition one day.  I’ve had a few of those daydreams myself, and this past weekend one of those dreams came true!

On Saturday, my daughter showed our Addison in the bred by exhibitor class at a dog show.  Our Addi won her class, and then competed against the other class winners for Winners Bitch, and won Winners as well!  As there were so many smooth class bitches entered, this win counted as a major.  A dog or a bitch needs a total of 15 points to become a champion, but of those 15 points, they need to win two majors.  (That’s a win of 3, 4 or 5 points.) Addi had already won 7 points from previous dog shows, and this was her first major, so we were so excited!  This gave her 3 more points, so she now had a total of 10 points. 

Once the smooth judging was over, my daughter showed our rough collie, Rosie.  This was her first real show, so we weren’t sure how she would do.  And we were so happy when she won her class!  Then when all the class winners went back in, our Rosie won!  It wasn’t a major, but it was her first 2 points.  I had dreamed of going to a show and our collies winning both smooth winners bitch and rough winners bitch, but I never expected it would actually happen!  It was a very proud moment for my daughter and I.

Addison

Then Sunday came, I got up at 5:00 AM, to get ready and drive to the dog show.  (Dog shows always start very early!) We arrived at the show and started grooming Addi, as smooth collies are always one of the first dog breeds judged for some reason.  My daughter took her into the bred by class, and Addi was perfect.  She was completely focused on my daughter and she looked beautiful.  They won the class!  Then when it was time, they went back in to compete against the other first place winners, and Addi won winners again!  This was her 2nd major, so we were beyond happy.  After winners were judged the finished champions, along with the winners dog and the winners bitch, get called into the ring.  The judge examines all the entries individually, and decides which dog or bitch is the best example of the breed, or “Best of Breed.” Usually Best of Breed is awarded to one of the finished champions, but that’s not what happened.  The judge kept looking at our Addi, and she ended up giving Addison Best of Winners, Best owner handled and Best of Breed!  This gave Addi 4 points, so she now has 14 points and both majors.  She only needs one more point to finish her championship!

Rosie

My daughter showed Rosie again in the afternoon, and Rose won reserve winners bitch.  (Which is kind of like winning first runner up). The judge kept looking between Rosie and another bitch, we could see she was having a hard time deciding, so it was very close.  While it would have been amazing to win rough winners bitch too, we were still appreciative of the attention and consideration our little girl received.  A dog show weekend is always fun, but this was a weekend we won’t ever forget.

Peyton did a thing…

We have some very happy and exciting news to share!  This past weekend our pretty Peyton did some winning!  On Saturday she won Winner’s, which gave her enough points to finish her Championship!  But it didn’t end there.  The collies who win Winner’s Dog and Winner’s Bitch get to go back into the ring to compete against the finished champions, which are called Specials.  And the judge loved Peyton so much he gave her Best of Breed over the Specials!  

By beating the finished champions, Peyton actually earned a 4 point major!  A dog needs need 15 points to become a champion, and of those 15 points they have to win two majors.  A major is a win of 3, 4, or 5 points.  And the points are calculated by how many other dogs they beat at the show.  Peyton already had her two majors, and a total of 14 points, but this exciting win gave her a third major.  I’m so proud of our girl!  

 

And this was actually the second title she earned last week.  On Sunday she earned her BCAT and on Saturday, her Championship!  And what made this new title even more special?  Peyton is our very first Winterberry Champion!  All our previous collies were cobred with my sister, so even though they were our collies, we registered them under her kennel name.  When my sister retired from dog shows and collies, my daughter and I created our own kennel name, Winterberry Collies.  So this is a very special title, and means so much to us.

Autumn’s Arrival

This weekend we were at an outdoor dog show, and the weather was beautiful.  It was a perfect Fall weekend, with temps in the 70s, a slight breeze and lots of sunshine.  The leaves are just beginning to change color, and pumpkins are beginning to appear everywhere.  This show was held at the fairgrounds of the prettiest little New England town.  And at the dog show our Peyton did some winning, which made us very proud.

Peyton is second in line

On Saturday, Peyton won Winners, Best of Winners and Best of Opposite Sex, which gave her two more points.  It was a special win for us, as the judge is a collie speciality judge and a well known collie breeder.  And Peyton won Best Opposite over two finished champions, which was very exciting!

Today Peyton won Winners again, which gave her another point towards her championship.  She just needs one more point and she will be a champion!

Today is the official first day of Fall, so I did get out and take some new Autumn pictures, but I’m going to save them for tomorrow.  Peyton deserves to be the star of this post.

Dog show weekend

Another busy, but fun, weekend for the collies!  We are trying to attend as many shows and events as possible right now, as we usually take the Winter months off and hibernate.  In New England the Winters are long, cold, dark and icy, so we limit our driving to local areas only.  Now that the Summer is ending and Autumn is approaching, we have a dog show, trial or event scheduled for nearly every weekend.  This weekend was a dog show weekend, where the collies are judged on their conformation, to earn points towards their championships.  I took Peyton into the ring, while my daughter showed ZuZu.  My daughter is the much better handler, as she grew up competing in junior handling, I’m usually just the back up.  I’m okay with that, as she has been showing collies since she 9 years old, so she has over twenty years of experience!  But today I took Peyton in, and she won her second major!  So proud of our girl, the judge pulled us aside afterward to tell us how much she loved Peyton, and her beautiful expression.  With today’s points, Peyton is very close to finishing her championship, which is very exciting for us.

After the show we took the girls to a FastCAT practice, as Peyton was a little unsure last time, and because ZuZu has never tried it.  We have Peyton, ZuZu and Addison entered next weekend in a two day FastCAT trial.  We wanted to help prepare Peyton and ZuZu for the trial, so they can get their best times.  It should be so much fun, and ZuZu did amazing today, she was so fast!  We got a video of her first practice run, I can’t wait to see how she does next weekend.  She watched Peyton and Addi do their practice runs first, and figured it out right just by watching them.  If you missed our explanation on how FastCAT works, please click here.   

Is there anything these collies aren’t good at?  I haven’t found anything they aren’t willing to try…except dock diving, they are not huge fans of getting wet, so that is one thing I think we will skip. Trying all these new sports has been so enjoyable, I just love their versatility!

Dog show updates!

 Two new collie puppies joined our family last year, and currently live with my daughter.  Rosie, a sable and white rough puppy, and ZuZu, a smooth tri color puppy.  They both turned a year old this past December, and we finally started entering them in dog shows.  We delayed entering them for a couple reasons, the first being that they were too young.  Then when they were old enough, the scary dog virus was making the rounds, so we decided to wait until the dog shows were being held outside, as the virus was respiratory in nature.  The third reason, is that my daughter does most of the handling at dog shows, I’m just the back up, and she was busy giving me my first granddaughter!  My 3rd grandbaby was born in February, and her name is Merryn, and she is absolutely beautiful!  So now that she has arrived, we are back to entering dog shows, and have some exciting news to share.

Last month, in April, we entered four collie specialties, being held on the same weekend.  It was Rosie and ZuZu’s first shows, and they did such a great job.  My daughter gets all the credit, as she did an amazing job training them for the show ring.  Out of the four shows, ZuZu won Reserve Winner’s Bitch twice, and Winner’s Bitch once, giving her the first points towards her championship!  Rosie looked beautiful, and showed like a dream, but was somehow overlooked during the shows.  I’m still very proud of her, and so was her breeder, who was also at the show.  

We are entering quite a number of shows in the upcoming months.  Please wish us luck!

Exciting news!

It was a beautiful Spring weekend, and we had perfect weather for an outdoor collie specialty show on Saturday.  This show is one of our favorites, as it is held on a horse farm!  The view in every direction was just stunning.  The weather was perfect, with the temperature about 66 degrees, it was a lovely day. 

But want to know the best part of the day?  Our youngest collie, Scarlett, won Winner's Bitch and Best of Winners, which finished her championship!  I'm so proud of Scarlett and my daughter! Scarlett isn't the first champion in our family, my sister has bred many others over the years.  And my daughter and I have two champions that we raised, Abby and Holly. But Scarlett is the first champion that my daughter and I bred, so she is extra special to us.

And I'm also proud of my daughter for another reason, she is the 4th generation in our family to raise, and show, collies. It's so wonderful to see her carry on this tradition!

Scarlett

Kori was entered in the show too, and she won Reserve Winner's Bitch.  It was very exciting to have both our girls win Winner's Bitch and Reserve Winner's Bitch!

Kori in the front, Scarlett in the back.

Kori and Scarlett

Kori

Kori

When we took the collies for a short walk, we noticed that in one of the pastures a young horse was watching us. 

We walked over to the edge of his pasture, and he immediately trotted over to say hello and get a look at the collies.

He was so curious about them, and Kori was equally curious about him.  They both leaned down to get a good sniff!

He must have liked her, because when my daughter took Kori for a walk, the horse followed along, on his side of the fence!  It was very cute, and he was such a sweet, gentle giant!  After my daughter and Kori walked out of sight, he came running back over to me, and then started running around his paddock.  He really seemed to be enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. (and maybe showing off a little too)

It was such an exciting day, and I am so proud of my daughter and our collies!

We're back!

We had to take a little blogging break, we were on vacation.  We were at the Collie Club of America National specialty show last week.  What a wonderful way to spend the week!  We caught up with friends, competed at the show, and spent the week surrounded by 900+ collies! 

The Girls!

Holly, Abby and Scarlett

Holly competed in the veterans class, and she was so excited to be back in the ring!

 

 

Abby competed in the Best of Variety group, with all the other finished champions.  She looked so beautiful, and it was so great to see her back in the show ring after taking a 3 year break. (to raise her family)

They were offering a free CGC test for all the collies at the National, so both Abby and Holly gave it a try.  And they both passed, so they now have the CGC title after their names!

Scarlett was shown in the smooth bred by exhibitor class, and she looked so great with my daughter.  The judge thought so too, she gave Scarlett 1st place in the Bred By class!  This was quite an honor, and we are so proud of both Scarlett and my daughter!  We recevied a lot of compliments on Scarlett both before her class and after.

 

 

 

The National ended on Saturday, and yesterday we spent the day relaxing.  Last night we took the dogs for a walk on the beach, and the colors in the sky were gorgeous!  It was the perfect ending to my vacation!

Kori, pretty girl!



Ryder

Not so Wordless Wednesday - dog show edition

This past weekend we attended a collie specialty show.  I know I promised to do a post where I describe a day at a dog show, and I will be doing that soon.  I just want to wait to do the post until we are going to an all breed dog show or until we are entered at an outdoor collie specialty show, so that we can get some really interesting pictures.  So many of the indoor collie specialty shows are held at hotels, and the lighting makes it difficult to get good pictures.

This weekend, the show was held in Maine, at a nice hotel.  This show is actually one of our favorite shows, as the location is awesome - you have to love a hotel with feather beds and warm chocolate chip cookies!  But what makes the show special is that the Collie Club of Maine has some of the nicest club members you will ever meet.  They really make an effort to make their show a wonderful experience for the exhibitors.  They have a huge raffle, where everyone walks away with a prize.  (We won a new dog bed, which Abby has claimed as her property.)  And then they do a free champagne toast with hors d’oeuvres.  And this show always falls on my birthday weekend, so I was able to spend my birthday surrounded by collies and the people who love them.

Scarlett waiting for her ring time.

Friday, after Ryder and Kori had their baths and nails done, we loaded up the van.  I always have to laugh, because 99% of the stuff we pack is for the dogs, but that is typical of all dog show people.  We have crates, so the dogs have a safe place to rest while waiting for their time in the show ring.  We pack bedding, so they are comfy while in their crates.  We have water buckets, and gallons of water.  We have their dog food, and their food bowls.  We pack up treats for use in the show ring, which is called “bait.”  We pack the grooming table, and the grooming bag/tack box.  We even pack their favorite toys, so they can play in the hotel room at night. 

Ryder gives this hotel 4 sleepy paws up!

The drive took us about six and a half hours, but we finally arrived at the hotel.  We unloaded all the dog stuff, and set up our grooming area.  Then we walked the dogs, unloaded our stuff, and headed up to our room.  The collies were so happy to play and then stretch out on the beds.  They really enjoyed staying in a hotel!  At one point I was walking Ryder though the lobby, and a couple of men, who were staying at the hotel with their kids, asked if they could take a picture with Ryder!  And if there is one thing my collie boy enjoys, it’s being admired and photographed!

It was Ryder’s first experience at a dog show, and since he doesn’t have a whole lot of coat right now, we didn’t expect that he would win.  We just wanted to introduce him to the show ring, and the sights and sounds of a dog show.  He loved every minute of it, and we received many compliments on our boy.  People were constantly telling us what a great temperament Ryder has, and one woman asked if we were going to breed him.  She is looking for a collie with his personality to be her next therapy dog.  And when Ryder went in the ring, he had fun.  He learned that dog shows are a great place, where a collie can get lots of attention, many treats, and everyone wants to pet him.  Every time Ryder stepped in the ring, his tail would start wagging, and it didn’t stop until he left the ring.  He made both the judges and the people watching the show smile.  So we consider the weekend to be a huge success.

Ryder, doing his Lassie impression for the show photographer.

Scarlett did great too, she is very showy and loves to compete at shows.  And she was so funny back at the room, as she and Kori would jump from bed to bed, like small children.   

Kori, sleeping after a busy day.

Abby and Scarlett stayed with my family while we were at the show.  And my two older girls showed just how bonded they actually are, they never left each other’s side at night.  They slept together on the couch, curled up as close as possible to each other.  They are related to all my sister’s collies, and enjoy playing with them.  But when it’s time for bed and they are separated from me, Abby and Holly prefer to snuggle together, which I find terribly sweet.