Best In Show!

It's been awhile since I posted. Jolene and I have showed a few more times in AKC and had little luck. Although we did get 1 point on Sept 21. at the Butler Fairgrounds. But, not much luck anywhere else.
Lisa Edwards talked me into going to a UKC show in Oh. I like UKC because you can do 2 shows per day. That's 4 shows in one weekend! Lisa wanted to do the three-day show over Thanksgiving day weekend. I couldn't make the Friday show, but decided to try Sat and Sun.

The first show on Sat was thrilling because Jo went Best in Show! Here is a rundown of what she earned that weekend:
show: Sat. Nov. 29, 2008 - show 1
judge: Mrs. Sally
What Jo earned:
Best in Champions
Best of Breed
Group I
Best In Show

show: Sat. Nov. 29, 2008 - show 2
judge: Mr.
What Jo earned:
Best in Champions
Best of Breed
Group III

show: Sun. Nov. 30, 2008 - show 1
judge: Mr.
What Jo earned:
Best in Champions
Best of Breed
Group IV

We decided to leave after the first show because of bad weather moving in - we knew it might be a risk going there. Needless to say, I'm on top of the world. We are looking at the list of AKC shows now to see what I might be able to fit into my otherwise busy schedule. Wish us luck!

Jolene's 2nd show weekend 4/12-4/13

We headed out to Harrisburg this weekend to see what we could do there. We entered the 12-18 month class. Saturday's judge was Alane Gomez. She was very nice to Jolene and I in the ring, but I could tell that she knew I was a Novice handler. Jo stood for her exam well, stacked well, and moved nicely around the ring. We were the onlyones in our class, so we did get to move up to Winner's Bitch. However, the judge never looked at us.

Sunday was different. The judge was Chuck Winslow. We again entered the 12-18 month class and this time we had competition - two other younger dogs. The judge asked about Jolene's age. I think because of her small size, he might have wondered if she was in the correct class. But, he seemed to like her as a smaller boned bitch and commented on her nice face. Needless to say, I think we had a friend here. We did win our class and was able to move up to Winner's Bitch. He picked a fairly smaller bitch (liver colored) as Winner's Bitch (I found out later this was a Michelle Markoff dog) and a smaller black and white bitch from the line-up as Reserve ( found out this was a Nancy Reiter dog). I do think that the handlers made the difference at this level - both were experienced, but one handled their dog better than the other. boy! did THAT hit me smack in the face. I "GET" conformation now! The dog needs to be a NICE dog, BUT they way the handler makes the dog stack/look is THE secret to getting the judges' attention.

Here was a judge that seemed to like smaller girls - how exciting! I chose to stay to watch who won for Best of Breed. The judge really agonized over the bitch he picked for Winner's Bitch and the smaller black and white bitch for Best of Breed. Cool!! Needless to say, he did not play the politics, and chose the smaller black and white bitch as Best of Breed. I think we need to keep this guy in mind for future shows. Once Jolene gains some weight and starts to fill out/mature - I think we could have a winner!

Next, we will be entered in Dal Nationals in KY on April 27-29. I entered Jolene in Sweeps and Regular classes. I truly do not expect much. She and I have only been in the ring 4 times. But, I'm doing it because I happen to think that I have an AWESOME, AWESOME girl on my hands. I HOPE there is some conformation judge out there that POSSIBLY agrees with me!

Jolene's first show 3/29-3/30

Show: Western PA Kennel Club
Date: March 29-30, 2008:
Judge: Sat = Mrs. Paula Hartinger, Sun = John T. Connolly

Well, I am now "officially" inducted into the conformation dog shows. Jolene and I had our first conformation show over the weekend. I entered her into the 12-18 mo. class, although she was the only bitch entered - we DID win our class both days! Too funny! However, I was very pleased with her attitude in the ring. She did not shy away from the judge, she did not balk at being stacked, and she accepted the ring as no big deal. The way she handled herself helped calm me down and I was not as nervous as I usually am before a show. Normally, I can't sleep the night before!

She did very well with the all the people and children wanting to pet her. She also did very well with the other dogs around her. Of course, once she saw another Dalmatian - she wanted to play, play, and play!! The only thing that spooked her a little was the big, bad , loudspeaker. Jolene was pretty convinced the lady standing beside her was doing the loudspeaker – thank goodness that lady had a sense of humor and just laughed at Jolene! Needless to day, she was very fun to have in the ring.

Here's a picture a friend of mine took while we were in the ring (thanks Rich Schnur!). On to Harrisburg April 12!