Monday, May 17, 2010

Best of Winners!

So I got home from China on Saturday night at about 8:30 pm - after a 14 hour flight to Chicago, then a 3 hour van ride home.  By the time I got home I'd already been up for 27 hours - with about 4.5 hours of sleep on the plane.

What would a normal person do?  Go to bed early, and sleep in late the next day?  This is probably what a normal person would do.

What did I do?

I went to bed at 11pm, and got up at 6am for a dog show.

It was our kennel club's annual all-breed dog show and obedience & rally trials.  As a club member, I'm required to work one day.  Saturday I was sight seeing in Beijing, then traveling home, so Sunday I had to work.

My job was to help fill in at the Rally and Obedience trials.  I ran errands for the stewards, served as honor steward for Rally, etc.

One of those "etc" involved being asked by a Rally exhibitor if I'd hold one of her dogs while she showed each of her dogs in the breed ring.  She had a bitch and a dog of the same breed, so needed someone to hold the dogs while she's in the ring.  Not a problem.

There I am, standing by the ring, trying to keep an Am Staff dog that I don't even know from sniffing every dog that walks by.  His owner flies out of the ring after showing her bitch and says, "they both need to go back in, can you show her?"

My reply, "but I'm wearing jeans, and I've never shown in conformation before."  Her reply, "it doesn't matter.  Here's your number."

And so it went.  My first conformation showing.  With a breed I've never met before.  With a bitch I've never met before.  If I do say so myself, my down and back was very straight (all of that practice walking in straight lines for obedience actually helped).  My stacking of the dog - well, let's just say that at least I got her to stand still.

The result?  Best of winners!  Just think how well she might have done with a decent handler...

10 comments:

  1. So, are you comatose today? I can't imagine going to a dog show the very morning after flying all the way back from China! Heck, I wouldn't do it if I was just flying back from California! I'm getting groggy just thinking about it!

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  2. Are you hooked on conformation now? I'll bet we could fix you up with a very nice Cardi to show:)

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  3. as they say - baptism by fire!! :) And how'd you like it?? ;-)

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  4. I have to admit, it was kind of fun. Of course, someone else did all the grooming, training, and conditioning...

    Maybe some day I'll get a conformation dog, and put titles on the front end, too ;)

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  5. Regarding jet lag - I almost fell asleep in my food at dinner last night. I'm back at work again tomorrow. Not looking forward to the afternoon...

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  6. I've actually done that w/a Cardi and gone BOB! It was hysterical. A friend and I did it to Understanding Housemate and the bitch she was handling went BOW and BOS! Understanding Housemate had never done more than taken a dog for a walk around the neighborhood :)

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  7. I did that two with a Springer of all things, who was suppose to lose! We went BOB!!!! so much for sending in the "filler dog" with an inexperience handler.

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  8. See - aren't you glad you sat through all that conformation in Gettysburg! You were soaking it all up so that you could step in and help her!

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  9. Good Job! Lets hope your hooked.

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