The VKC https://m.facebook.com/Virginiakennelclub has handling classes on Wednesday nights in Goochland, and it is worth the drive! Last night we had Tom Dowell teaching the class, and lots of attendees. (The smaller dogs attend in a separate class at 6:30, with the big dogs at 7:15.) It was great to have a new perspective and a man going over the dogs, just to make sure they are accustomed to both male and female judges.
Here are some videos of Clyde and See See. They are 20 months old today. Liz, a club member, is handling one if them (we switched back and forth). She often teaches the class and has handled many breeds professionally.
Thank you Allison, for shooting the videos!
Me with Clyde Liz with Clyde and me with See See Liz and See See
Winston is now Ch. Sir Winston Churchill Out of Sight BCAT CD! The CD replaces the BN because it is a higher obedience title. It stands for Companion Dog.
Winston on the futon, not caring if he has an AKC CD titleWinston’s AKC CD certificate
Winston got his required 3 qualifying scores in three consecutive shows in two days. I am proud! He is so smart and easy to train.
I got the professional win pics back from the Doswell shows where See See got her first points!
See See at 18 months getting Best of Winners for her first point!The following day, we beat out a champion female for another point!
I was so happy I went to the Fair and rode a camel!
Totally worth the 10 bucks. However, my back was killing me. My pelvis does not tilt that way!
Then of course I had to go to the children’s petting zoo. There were lots of domestic farm animals of unusual breeds. I was pleasantly surprised to note that, like the camel I rode, they all appeared to be clean, healthy, and content. Way to go, Chesterfield County Fair!
My dogs don’t wolf down their food. They also don’t fight over it, or their toys. So, I’m able to feed Winston, Clyde and See See together. This stimulates them all to eat a little better. Sometimes I have to watch it with Winston as he will eat a little too much.
Not many intact adult male German Shepherds will eat calmly together alongside an intact female. Obviously, I don’t do this when See See is in heat!
This video starts out with Clyde on the left, See See in the middle and Winston on the right.
In addition to See See’s first point on Wednesday, she got an additional point on Thursday, and even went best of opposite sex over another female who was already a champion!
I am so happy, and See See does not care about the win, she just wants to be loved, which is not a problem!
See See was entered Friday, and won her class, but did not win points. Saturday, Johnny was entered in Beginner Novice obedience. This was his first entry ever in obedience, and he is nearly 9 years old.
Johnny doing the heel on leash with figure eight. Not so good, really. Notice how many times there was tension in the leash. Points off for that.Johnny did the sit for exam perfectly.The sit stay as I walked around the ring was perfect too.The recall was not perfect! I had to use a second command because he went past me to explore something that smelled good. Points off, and allowed only in Beginner Novice.
Johnny got a qualifying score of 190 out of 200, which I thought was generous. That is the first leg towards the Beginner Novice title.
Here’s Johnny after the obedience competition. I didn’t do the precise grooming as in the pic below. I wish that car tire didn’t make his back look humped up! Otherwise a good pic. He has a very solid top line if you look closely.Here is the pro pic of Johnny a couple of weeks ago when he got Select. Grooming makes a huge difference!
We didn’t enter Sunday, and no more conformation shows until November. At least not close enough for me. I will be working on the next level of obedience with Winston, and taking Clyde and See See to dog class.
I only showed See See today. I’m trying to focus on her because she does so much better with individual attention, and I’m not having to switch back and forth between her and Clyde. She is also entered on Thursday and Friday.
Thank you Kyle, for the videos!
See See being judged individually in classSee See’s sire, Cash, being judged for Best of Breed
In the next video you first see the two winners go around together. Ahead of me is the winning male. (The female always follows the male.) As we go around together the judge is selecting Best of Winners. All the other dogs in the ring are already Champions and they are competing for Best of Breed. The first four in line are males, and the fifth dog is a female. Cash gets Best of Breed, and See See gets Best of Winners, the champion female gets Best of Opposite Sex, and another male gets Select.
Cash winning Best of Breed, and See See getting Best of WinnersVera, Cash’s owner, took this wonderful pic of See See after the show
In AKC obedience, CD stands for Companion Dog. It means the dog has gotten a qualifying score three times in Novice exercises. Click here to go to the AKC website for precise information. It’s on page 43 of the rulebook:
Winston was entered in the Tidelands Poodle Club obedience trials on Saturday and Sunday. There was one show on Saturday and two on Sunday. It was a long, hot weekend, but Winston held up great. I was so proud of him for getting his title in one weekend, and in our first attempt. It has been so hot, we hadn’t been working much on heel off leash. I was worried about that part, and sure enough, that was not his best exercise. But overall he still did quite well and scored in the 180s with each try, out of a possible 200 points.
Here, Winston is doing the figure eight heeling pattern and the stand for exam.This video shows the sit stay and down stay.In addition to the first place blue ribbons and the green qualifying ribbons, Winston got the multicolored rosette, plus a small prize each day. Thank you Tidelands Poodle Club and AKC judges Cheryl Pratt and Renee Hoover!
It was a three day weekend at Doswell. On Friday, I showed See See and she did ok, but did not win. On Thursday, I showed Johnny and Clyde. Johnny got Select, and Clyde did not win. Sunday, under Judge Sulee Greendale-Paveza, I showed Clyde and See See. Clyde and See See both got major reserves! Even though that is not a win, I was very proud! My friend Kaitlyn showed Clyde for me, and Clyde did great with her! Thank you Kait, and thank you Michael and Ashley for the videos!
See See being judged individually in the Bred-by Exhibitor classHere is See See getting her major reserveKait is in the white jacket handling Clyde and getting second in classClyde getting the nod for the reserve with Kait handling
These next two pics were taken with the help of Ashley Minter. She did a great job of getting down on the dog’s level and getting great shots just outside the show building.
Clyde at 18 monthsSee See at 18 months
I will post the video and pic of Johnny getting Major Select when I get the professional pic back from the photographer.
Johnny will be 9 years old in October. I haven’t shown him since he finished his Championship about 2 years ago. I took him to dog class yesterday to make sure he still knows what to do for the show this weekend. The instructor for the class, Liz, made sure he was bulletproof. She did an extremely thorough exam, and even pulled on his tail a little! You never know what a judge might do. Expect the unexpected.
Thank you Michael, for shooting the video and pics!
Nice profile shot of Johnny, stacked.Johnny practicing sit-stay. He is entered in obedience in two weeks.
Clyde and See See are 18 months old today. Here are a few videos of them in the back yard. In the first three, See See goes after Clyde. In the last video, Clyde lets her have it. Winston does not care!
Shepherd Sight 