(not) Wordless Wednesday

One reason I was really excited to see this dog show was 7 B&T Coonhounds had entered. Four showed up.

Meet Walker. I asked the handler (who was also the owner) if I could meet him and she was said “Oh, of course, here, feed him some liver!” He liked the liver a lot, but once it was gone he went back to being a bit aloof (normal for the breed with strangers).

Procrastination

Who else is a victim of procrastination? Sometimes, when I feel there is a huge job I must do, I put it off and put it off. I was so excited about the dog show I went to see, but the idea of writing and about all the groups felt like such a big job, I didn’t want to get started.

Then, while driving today I had the idea to just write about one group at a time. This is actually good for two reasons. One, I can break down my thoughts into smaller posts and not be so boring. Two, there are almost 300 pictures. This would overwhelm even the most hard core dog lover. Like your Uncle’s vacation slide show you had to sit through as a child.

Overall the show was fascinating. There were no seats-I wish I had known to bring my own! The day I went had 1600 dogs entered. It took place in 13 rings in 3 different buildings. You could also walk right through all the prep/crating/grooming areas. I got to stand right next to the rings. When I first walked in I thought I had went in the wrong way-I had no idea I’d be allowed to get that close. The little dogs have these carts that have 4 built in cages all in one. I had never seen anything it. In fact, somewhere there is a show dog warehouse full of all sorts of things people ‘need’ at these shows. And phew! The poodle area was hard to breath. They use more hairspray than we did back in the 90’s!

The RV setups were just outside. I know some of the folks do dog showing as a profession but some of the set ups were over the top!

Up first is the Herding group. I didn’t get to see any of these individual breed matches, just the group competition. So my thoughts? I still don’t understand why we want German Shepherds with ankles that almost touch the ground. It looks like they’ve been hit by a car to me. I really liked the smooth Collie. I tend to think I prefer short coats-brushing just isn’t much for me. The Puli was awesome! You just don’t see those often. I saw the handler getting the dog ready. It had the chords all separate, pulled into clips going through them one by one. That is way too much work. My dogs hair can not take longer than my own to fix. (click the picture below to see the album)

Orlando Cluster Show-Herding Group

Not the best place to wait Daisy….

I am sure you are just on the edge of your seat waiting to hear all about the dog show! Well, please be patient! I am organizing almost 300 pictures into albums. That way, if you love the Terriers and not the Sporting dogs, you can see exactly what you want to. Then I want to put everything down about the day, so I might as well put it in a post that will bore you to tears. Well, I hope not; I’ll try to keep it concise.

 

In the meantime, can someone please let Daisy know this isn’t the best place to wait on the story?

Almost the Weekend!

I’m counting Friday (tomorrow) as weekend time. Why you ask? Well, I’m going to my first conformation show! It is a huge 3 day event, the Orlando Cluster Show. It is within decent driving distance. There is also a rally event afterwords that I will be staying to watch.

So some of the breeds I will not be missing (I’ve printed and highlighted the judging program): Black and Tan Coonhounds, Bluetick Coonhounds, Italian Spinoni, and the Gordon Setters. The Gordons are my secret crush. I might even want one someday. There is a whole list of others I’d like to see, but this show has 1600 dogs in 3 buildings, 13 rings, in 6 hours. Then the Best of Show happens. That will be a whole bunch of running around. I can’t wait!

Yippee!! Weekend is coming!!