Working Girl

As promised I have some photos from Leeloo's first show in over 2 years. She looks pretty darn good for a gal whose had two litters since she finished and her youngest litter is only 7 months old. Her under carriage is showing a little loose skin but it's nothing that can't be over looked and I'm told when you have kids things never go back to the way they were. She is fit, trim, and ready for action. My parents were there with a couple of Pulis - my mom finished an Elite Championship on her boy Parker this past weekend (that's his fourth Championship title (CKC, AKC, CFC and Elite CFC) and made a good start on Esme's sister Fanny. If Leeloo looks cold it's because she is ... it was so cold in there.

Photo credit Karen Metcalfe

The nice thing about this show was that it's a lot more of a relaxed attitude with the exhibitors. Because you are relying solely on the judge to award your dog an Excellent, and you don't necessarily have to beat another dog to gain your title, I think it takes some of the competitive pressure off. There are also very few professional handlers so you feel like you are in with a chance since none of the judges know specifically who the 'faces' are (although it wouldn't take them long to guess) and they are looking at the 'correct' end of the lead. I got to chatting with the person who had the Beagle at this show and she very kindly took several photos of Leeloo for me. When I look at the photos and then back at some of the judge's comments I have to wonder what they are seeing that I am not. Her movement is lovely as evidenced by this delightful photo taken during the morning show. Then again, I am obviously biased.

Photo credit Karen Metcalfe

In the Best in Show ring there were 10 dogs instead of the usual 7 so we had a bit of a wait. I didn't expect anything to happen with Leeloo since the BIS judge was the guy who gave her a Very Good the day before. It was likely he did not expect to see her in the Best in Show ring! She was well behaved, as she usually is as long as I keep stuffing her face with food. Not that she starves, while I left her in the truck by herself for about a half hour, she managed to eat my molasses cookie, a block of cheese and half a box of Triscuits. She had also been fed a French fry from another exhibitor, a couple of plain Tim Bits that I bought her and all the bait I'd already fed her that morning. Still hungry. Go figure.

Photo credit Karen Metcalfe

It was incredibly cold in the building because at the last minute the show had been moved to make way for some dairy cow show and sale in the building we usually exhibit in. Apparently the grounds had been sold and the location had been double booked. I think they gave the show a deal on the building and good thing too, my feet were blocks of ice - thank doG for Tim Horton's down the road.

If you get a chance to attend a CFC show I encourage you to take it. I realize that a lot of people don't take any other shows except AKC or a CKC title seriously, but it's a great way to get actual feedback from experienced judges. There are also dogs entered that you just don't see in CKC shows because they are not accepted - where else would these dogs show? The little Danish-Swedish Farm Dog that attended is the only one of it's breed in North America. Don't see that every day. The judges they bring in for these shows are not slouches or the dredges of the dog world, they are well respected across the globe and have travelled thousands of miles in their lifetimes looking at and evaluating dogs. Maybe Leeloo wasn't the type or style a couple of them wanted to see but then again a couple of them loved her. Leeloo got out for a day and although she doesn't love showing and never will, it's good for her to stretch her legs a bit after being a mom - we will enter in the Spring and hopefully she can get her CFC Championship - after that we will work on a few other things. There is life after puppies ...