So if I haven't already told you guys, I am helping my mom's service dog get his points in dog shows to make him a champion. He's a male (which are called "Dogs" in the show world - gals are called "Bitches") and he's a Borzoi.
He is my mom's medical service dog and helps her get up and down from sitting and will hold her weight when she needs it. He performs all kinds of tasks for her that too numerous to go into here. At any rate, he comes from good stock. So is we show him and he gets points and dances around in a figure eight a few times wile balancing a basket of live rattlesnakes on his head, he can eventually get his championship. Which would mean a whole lot of nothing outside of the Borzoi world. It's not like he turns blue or shits gold once he gets it. But it's sort of cool to have those bragging rights.
Well I have to handle him because if you haven't heard yet, my mom is disabled - hence the need for the dog. So in the past week or so I have been learning how to handle the dog in the show ring. There are A LOT of things to know - it's similar to horseback riding in that aspect;
a lot of things to know and think about. For example, when riding a horse you need to be aware of the pressure you send with your legs (dressage) and the angle of your arms and straightness of your back, as well as where your hands are and the little signals you give through the reins. It's all nuance but everything is important. With showing dogs you need to know what foot to lead with, where to hold your hand (remember to keep it steady and not bouncing!), how to stack the legs and hold the head without showing your fingers to the judge. Whew! I'm tired just thinking of it!
Well there are a lot of categories and I won't bore you here. But Brood Bitch is where the mom is taken into the ring with up to 4 of her "get" or her pups. The idea is that the mom with the most consistent litters (consistent as well as GOOD), the better the bitch! We were up against some great examples... but we took 4th! Which is great at a National Borzoi show. They even took pictures of us with the judge and our ribbon. :) As soon as I get pics from my mom, I'll add those here.
Anyway, I'm exhausted from the trip but it was incredibly fun. I can't wait to finish Quinn's championship! Plus, I'm rather good at this...
You betcha you're good!
The only possible problem you might run into is stealing interest from the dog onto you ;)
You make my already beautiful dog show magnificently.
Thanks, Mom
Posted by: Beverly McMullen | April 21, 2008 at 03:55 PM