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4K views 25 replies 7 participants last post by  krandall 
#1 ·
Nino will be showing for the first time in 3 months next Saturday. I was going to wait until our January shows and group specialty, but decided to show him to a judge who has put him up (1st, Winners, BOS, BOBOH, and Best Puppy) again. Just 1 day, but there is a major available. Fingers crossed. I look forward to being back in the ring.
 
#3 ·
Yay, Nino! Good luck!!! I have to figure out when to put Panda back too. We're just working so hard on both obedience and agility at the moment (plus Kodi's trials) that I've felt like there hasn't been time. Then kennel cough just SWEPT through this area like the plague this fall, making me a little nervous about taking either of them to our big Thanksgiving Cluster. Won't be until well after the first of the year for us, I think.
 
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#4 ·
We had a big blizzard here overnight, and the plows were not out early enough for us to feel safe driving 1.5 hours to the show, so we had a no-go today. First time there will be an A next to his name. The major had already broken, so there was no guilt in not going.

We will be showing at a 3 day cluster January 6-8. A group specialty day 1, then 2 all breed shows. It is always a very fun show to go to, and there should be majors all 3 days. It will be his first time showing outside of the puppy classes. He starts Beginners agility the day after, poor kid. He's going to be completely pooped.
 
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#5 ·
Tomorrow, we are back in the show ring after 4 months away. Poor Nino has a 3-day cluster immediately followed by his first class of post-foundations agility on Monday. I'm going to have one sleepy pup on my hands.

His other two breeders (co-owners of Nino's dam) will be here from the Chicago suburbs, seeing him for the first time since 2 weeks old. It will be my first time meeting them. I look forward to it :)
 
#9 ·
First in our class, that was it today. Nothing in the winner's ring. I try to refrain from bemoaning judges, but I could not for the life of my tell what this judge liked. She put up dogs with tons of coat and dogs with scraggly coats. Big dogs, littler dogs, long dogs...the only consistency was that, if a handler could be put up, they were. I'm okay with handlers being put up (it's all part of the game), but not when there is no consistency in the judges choices. Nino got to meet Uncle Pancake today. Both perfectly well-behaved dogs, but they were pulling HARD to get to see each other. Never met before...it's almost like they knew they were family :)

On to bigger and better things tomorrow!
 
#11 ·
Nothing better today. Been very unimpressed with the judging so far this weekend. I was watching the judge do his thing before we had to start getting ready, and I just knew things wouldn't be good.

Feel free to not read the rant. I'm feeling a lot of emotions about certain things lol.

No consistency in his picks in the breeds I watched before, and the same with Havs. Another first in class, but nothing in the winners ring. The dog that took Winners Dog yesterday was one I could lose gracefully to. The one that won today? Not as much. Long and low with a level top line. Then a girl of a very similar breeding (sired by brothers, or something like that) took Winners Bitch. Also very long and low.

The funky looking dogs winning isn't what bothered me the most. I was asked to take a special into the BOB ring because her owners were in the ring with WD and WB (from the bred by classes). She has a similar build to the winners but is a much nicer dog when comparing to the standard, winning under judges who like the long Euro look. She was wild and excited to be in the ring with a stranger, but when she needed to perform, she did. The judge didn't give a Select Bitch, withholding the award from her. People were shocked. This girl has multiple group placements, beating a top 10 Hav on more than one occasion for breed. I, of course, felt awful. There was really no controlling her wildness (stranger handling, Mom directly behind her...I don't blame the dog), but to withhold was just unnecessary. She settled down enough for him to get a thorough exam in, and she moved beautifully on her down and back. It was being discussed a bit afterwards very hush hush, and one exhibitor who does very well with their dogs likened it to The Twilight Zone.

I also watched this judge do juniors today, and was very upset by the way he handled it. He lost his patience very quickly, gave almost no direction, and was very snippy with the kids. His group picks were completely out of left field, making little to know sense to me. Many around me during breed and juniors were discussing reaching out to AKC, the kennel club hosting, or whomever else it may concern regarding this judge. It was absolutely ridiculous and made yesterday look like a wonderful dream.

I'm not going to lie, after two days in a row of watching incredibly consistent Golden picks in an entry of over 90, I felt a bit jealous. I do wish there were more Havanese breed specialists, but it seems most judges just tick Havanese off on approved breeds to get a full toy group judging license situation. Judges tend to pick the dog with the most coat and/or the craziest top line because those are buzz words in the breed standard. Nevermind the fact that a green eyed dog was put up today...

Anyways, rant over. I have heard good things about tomorrow's judge (like that she puts dogs with less coat up if they have good structure and movement...which is where Nino is). Fingers crossed, but I don't expect too much.
 
#12 ·
What I had heard about today's judge proved true. Nino won his class and was given a very good look in the Winners ring. We ended up going reserve, and the judge told us the boys were very evenly matched structure and movement wise, so she had to put the dog with better coat and more substance. Nino is scrawny with a coat that is coming in very slowly, so I totally agree with her choice. It has been awhile since we have done anything better than a class placement, so I was beyond happy. No points, but a good day with my best boy who showed like a champ and was recognized for his strengths.
 
#17 ·
From what I've seen of conformation showing, it's almost a luck of the draw. I've been in the ring 3 days in a row, with EXACTLY the same dogs, and seen COMPLETELY different results each day, even though all the dogs behaved well. (or in a couple of instances, where the winning dog behaved abominably, but had a well-known "name" on the end of the lead)

I'm going to continue to do it, because I WOULD like Panda to finish, and I am still honing my skills in this type of competition. Panda has the same coat problem as Nino, and it isn't surprising, because her dad (who was 15th all-breed for 2016) did;t sow much until he was over 2 because of a slow coat, and her mom had a slow coat too. Both have GORGEOUS adult coats, but it just came in slower. I can wait. :) It's interesting, though, that she seems to have MORE coat than Nino, but it doesn't seem as long as his. She looks "puffier". Personally, I'm a big fan of the silky, drapey coats like Nino's... I just want to run my hands through them! Panda's is super soft too... it just doesn't have much length.
 
#13 ·
Glad you were beyond happy to day. Sorry you weren't happier prior. I don't know anything about the show world, so I can't comment further. Just know that Shama is looking forward to her next play date with Nino. Yesterday, at Petco's puppy play time, she got to spar with a seven-month-old Havanese/Pomeranian mix (havapom - just googled it). Fun, but not as fun as Nino (or Maggie or Penny!)
 
#14 ·
Another positive from this weekend...I finally found the slicker I had been using but lost in September at a vendor today. I had been using the Oscar Frank Universal Slicker in the mean time and really did not like it at all, so this is a much welcome change.
 
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#16 ·
I have posted pictures before, but I will also post again as I think I got the bigger size this time (though I can't tell...this "large" is much less bulky than the Universal "regular"). Expect photos at some point tomorrow :)
 
#24 ·
Just did a quick check on the Gallery...6 of the 14 Pillowtalk dogs in Nino's 5 gen are also in Panda's, and they both have Buster as a relative. Too funny :)
 
#26 ·
Half the Havs in the country have Buster in them somewhere. ;) The problem with "Popular sire syndrome". (not that there was anything wrong with Buster, it just leads to genetic bottle necks)
 
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