GEORGIA ON MY MIND

We tend to focus on the Best In Show ring here at DOG SHOW POOP, but the truth of the matter is most spectators and exhibitors go to a show to see a specific breed. These days, the cost of gas and shrinking disposable income have conspired to reduce the number of entries at shows. It’s always a disappointment to drive several miles to a show only to find that you favorite breed isn’t even present. So when a very large entry materializes in a major metropolitan area, we are in dog show paradise.

Beginning September 18, the “Georgia Classic” Cluster kicks off on Thursday at the Atlanta Expo with a trio of specialty/limited breed shows. The Atlanta Terrier Club and the Greater Atlanta Toy Dog Association will host their respective groups while Prestige Specialty Clubs of Atlanta includes eleven more sporting, hound, working, and herding breeds. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday the Douglasville, Atlanta, and Newnan Kennel Clubs host all breed shows. Visit Jack Onofrio Dog Shows at http://www.onofrio.com/shwpubs.html for details. Expect the all breed counts to exceed 2500 dogs at these shows, which will place these shows among the largest this year. And just to be PC, there are 59 Bulldogs entered on Saturday. Go Dawgs!


Because of the size of these shows, expect to see some of those top ten dogs that normally compete only on the west and east coasts to take advantage of Atlanta’s status as the country’s number one airline hub. For you folks in the south, if you are only going to attend one dog show this year, this one promises to be a peach!

DAVID BEATS GOLIATH AGAIN...AND AGAIN AND AGAIN

We have most of the weekend’s results in and there are some surprises. Chief among these was the David and Goliath face off between the number one dog, the Giant Schnauzer, CH Galilee's Pure Of Spirit, and the number six dog, the Affenpinscher, CH Tamarin Tug. The tiny Taser shocked (this is the gift that keeps on giving) the crowd and his larger opponents taking BIS on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday in Eugene, OR. Lyn Topinka from the Yahoo Group Show Dogs reports that Spirit did return to form on Saturday, going best over his pint size competition. I’m sure there were some exhibitors left dazed and confused after these four shows.

Further south, the number ten dog, the Scottish Deerhound, CH Jaraluv Ouija galloped to two Bests in Petaluma, CA. The number seven dog, the Scottish Terrier, CH Roundtown Mercedes Of Maryscot could only manage one Group two on Sunday at the Redwood Empire KC’s double header. The number three dog, the Standard Poodle, CH Randenn Tristar Affirmation, must be feeling light headed after taking two BIS at Saturday and Sunday shows in the mile high altitude of the Denver suburb of Greeley, CO. The number eight dog, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, CH Coventry Vanity Fair, stayed closer to the ground, with just a Group two on Sunday at the same two shows hosted by Evergreen Colorado KC.

The rest of the top ten spent most of the weekend in New Jersey. On Thursday, there were limited breed shows for sporting and hound breeds, and our number two and nine dogs each picked up a Group one in exchange for the trouble of starting the weekend early. As we reported yesterday, the Pointer, CH Seasydes Hollyberry went BIS on Friday over the Brussels Griffon, the Sealyhm Terrier, and the Harrier. Ditto Saturday, as Holly garnered yet another best while the other three watched.

Ch. Dabney's Phenomenon

Sunday, the Pointer headed for North Conway, NH, but had to settle for a Group win as the 2007 number one Doberman Pinscher, Ch. Dabney's Phenomenon, muscled his way to the top of the Carroll County KC pack. The Harrier, CH Downhome Family Tradition and the Brussels Griffon, CH Cilleine Masquerade opted to cross the Hudson to attend the toney Westchester County KC event on the grounds of Lyndhurst Castle in Tarrytown, NY. Westchester was no kinder to the two than had been New Jersey as a Kerry Blue Terrier, Ch Perrisblu Paris from neighboring Sherman, CT, went BIS, while the Harrier, Coda, and the BG, Lincoln, had to settle for a Group one and two, respectively.

Ch Perrisblu Paris

When I lived in New York in the 1970s, I showed my dogs every year at the Westchester show on the grounds of the former home of the 19th century railroad baron, Jay Gould. Long the suburban retreat of the wealthiest of New Yorkers, Westchester County can be intimidating. I’m sure they are more welcoming now than they were in my day. To paraphrase Auntie Mame, I won’t say it’s restricted, but get a blood test before you visit.

Lyndhurst Castle

NEW JERSEY CANINE GLAMOR

This is the time of the week when show results start dribbling in and the first reports are pretty spectacular. New Jersey often takes a backseat to its more glamorous neighbor to the east, but while the giants of fashion were strutting their stuff at Bryant Park in Manhattan, several of dogdom’s stars were facing off in North Branch today. Four of the top nation’s ten dogs made it into the final seven at the Somerset Hills KC show; the Harrier, the Sealyham Terrier, the Brussels Griffon, and the Pointer. They were joined by our choice for heavyweight contender of the year, the German Shepherd Dog, CH Woodsides Pacino.

The Brussels Griffon had an especially tough group, besting both the up and coming Toy Poodle, CH Smash JP Moonwalk, and the country’s number one Pekingese, CH Pequest Matchpoint, to get into the BIS ring. At the end of the day, it was CH Cookieland Seasyde Hollyberry, the Pointer, who prevailed. It was the second BIS in two days for Holly, who went BIS the day before at the Tuxedo Park KC show.

We’ll have to wait a couple of days to see how the rest of the top ten did.