WHERE THE POINTS ARE

Not all the top ranked dogs are in Virginia. The field in Canfield Ohio is nearly as stellar and arguably smarter. You see, there are twice as many points in Ohio as there are in Virginia.

CH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind

Scrambling for those points today were the German Wirehaired Pointer, CH Star K’s Mile High Valentine, the Scottish Deerhound, CH Foxcliffe Hickory Wind, the Samoyed, CH Pebble Run’s Hammy Davis Jr, the Irish Terrier, CH Fleet St Fenway, the Affenpinscher, CH Tamarin Tug, yesterday’s BIS winner, the Bulldog, CH Kepley’s Showbiz Razzle Dazzle, and the Bouvier, CH Quiche’s Demitrius.

Dr Robert D Smith chose the the three year old Deerhound as the Beaver County Kennel Club’s 2009 BIS. We first took note of this girl when she won BIS at Trenton earlier this year. Our congratulations to breeders/owners Cecilia L Dove & Dr R Scott Dove and handler Angela Lloyd

SALEM SLUGFEST

The slug fest that is Salem VA continued today with day two of the Roanoke Kennel Club.

CH Roundtown Mercedes Of Maryscot

Charles Trotter was on deck for Best In Show and once again he was confronted with the daunting task of choosing a winner from the country’s top winners, the German Wirehaired Pointer, CH Ripsnorter’s Mt View Lookout, the Irish Wolfhound, CH Dun Myrica Speaker Of Eagle, the Doberman Pinscher, CH Allure Blazing Star Of Alisaton, the Scottish Terrier, CH Roundtown Mercedes Of Maryscot, the Toy Poodle, CH Smash Jp Moon Walk, the Standard Poodle, CH Dawin Spitfire, and the Puli, CH Cordmaker Field Of Dreams.

The top prize went to the nation’s top dog, the Scottie, Sadie. You do remember we told you not to bet your lunch money? Sadie and handler Gabriel Rangel seem to have the ability to turn on the after burners every time anyone starts gaining on them. The dynamic duo has a 27,000 point lead on the field at this time.

There is still one more day for you lucky fanciers in Virginia to go see this stellar cast. You will probably have to wait to the National Championship to see this much canine quality in one place again.

GREENFIELD MASS RESULTS

Our show reports are starting to come in. First we hear from the Northeast Region for the first time this weekend.

CH Torquay Midnight Confession

Up in Greenfield Mass, the Pioneer Valley Kennel Club asked Dr Anthony DiNardo to choose Best In Show. His final seven were the Field Spaniel, CH Nautica's Sirens Song, the 15” Beagle, CH Torquay Midnight Confession, the Giant Schnauzer, CH Skansen's C'Sofia of Grandeur, the Norfolk Terrier , CH Kilwinning The Graduate, the Shih Tzu, CH Ultra's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the French Bulldog , CH Shore Lookin' Good, and the Belgian Tervuren, CH Mishahook's Lulu at Chateau Blanc.

BIS went to the Beagle, Lola, the country’s top winning 15 Beagle. That’s number three this year for Lola and breeder/owner/handler Marcelo Chagas.

BIG EASY BIS

With all the fireworks in Virginia and Ohio it’s easy to forget that there are dog shows elsewhere. But there are and there are quality AKC dogs competing.

CH Renaissance Girls Gone Wild

One reader sent in this report. Dr Ron Spritzer chose the Vizsla, CH Renaissance Girls Gone Wild, as his Best In Show at today’s Louisiana Kennel Club show in the New Orleans suburb of Kenner. It’s Flirt’s third career all breed BIS and her second in the last five weeks. As they say in the Big Easy, Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

VIRGINIA DAY THREE

It’s day three of the Clash of the Titans. No we’re not talking about Harry Hamlin in Greek mythology drag. We’re talking about the Roanoke Kennel Club show in Salem VA.

CH Fieldfines Back In Action JH

Dr Donald Sturz Jr saw the same dogs from the nation’s top ten that his two predecessors had seen, the Scottish Terrier, CH Roundtown Mercedes Of Maryscot, Wednesday & Thursday BIS winner, the Doberman Pinscher, CH Allure Blazing Star Alisaton, the Puli, CH Cordmaker Field Of Dreams, and the Toy Poodle, CH Smash Jp Moon Walk. This powerhouse quartet was joined by the German Shorthaired Pointer, CH Fieldfines Back In Action JH, top 20 dog, the Irish Wolfhound, CH Dun Myrica Speaker Of Eagle, and the Standard Poodle, CH Dawin Spitfire.

And the good Doctor agreed with his predecessors; the Doberman, CJ, was his Best In Show. That’s three for three, folks. But before you bet your lunch money on the next two shows, remember it’s an AKC dog show and this is the most talented field we’ve seen this summer. Are you loving it? We’re loving it.

RAZZLE DAZZLE 'EM

It’s day two in Canfield OH and it was the Columbiana County Kennel Club’s turn to host and Sandra Goose Allen’s turn to pick a BIS winner.

CH Kepley’s Showbiz Razzle Dazzle

Her hopefuls were the Irish Water Spaniel, CH D’Lock’s St. James Gate CH JH, the Scottish Deeround, CH FoxCliffe hickory Wind, the Rottweiler, CH Ecko Ridge‘s American Justice V Vonwilhelms, the Smooth Fox Terrier, CH J’Cobe Kemosabe Vigilante Justice, the Maltese, CH Rhapsody’s Too Many Remarks, the Bulldog, CH Kepley’s Showbiz Razzle Dazzle, and the Shetland Sheepdog, CH Suntera City Life.

BIS went to the country’s number one Bulldog and number two Non-Sporting Dog. The rest of the Non-Sporting top five are all Standard Poodles. It’s not easy for a Bulldog to compete with all that glamour. Guess it just takes a little Showbiz Razzle Dazzle.

ANOTHER NEW RECORD

We got so involved with grooming our 17 month old Cairn, that we forgot to tell you about yesterday’s Jaxon Kennel Club show in Marshall MI.

CH Cornerstone Soliloquy

The Jaxon folks are teaming with Berrien & Sturgis clubs to bring you four shows this weekend. They started yesterday with Thomas Yates making the Best In Show announcement. His contenders were the German Shorthaired Pointer, CH Bleugras Shaggbark She’So Fine!, the Ibizan Hound, CH Serandida Shadow On The Moon, the Alaskan Malamute, CH North Face Sno Klassic Glory Days, the Staff Bull Terrier, CH Cornerstone Soliloquy, the Long Coat Chihuahua, CH Dartan Flash Dancer, the Boston Terrier, CH Raising The Bar At Dab’s, and the Old English Sheepdog, CH Lambluv’s Daydream Believer.

BIS went to the Staff Bully, Piper, her third in the last week. As reported here Piper has already broken the all time record for all breed BIS by a Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Guess she intends to keep that record a while.

IT'S CJ & CARISSA AGAIN

The country’s top three dogs continue to battle it out in Salem VA. It was day two of the James River Kennel Club and the the judge who literally wrote the book on showing, Frank Sabella, had the BIS call.

CH Allure Blazing Star Alisaton
& Handler Carissa DeMilta Shimpeno

In addition to our three leaders, the Scottish Terrier, CH Roundtown Mercedes Of Maryscot, the Doberman Pinscher, CH Allure Blazing Star Alisaton, & the Puli CH Cordmaker Field Of Dreams, he had the pleasure of examining the English Springer Spaniel, CH Cerise Jesse James, the Afghan Hound, Genesis Silverado, the Toy Poodle, CH Smash Jp Moon Walk, and the Standard Poodle, CH Dawin Spitfire.

The penultimate showman chose the penultimate Doberman, CJ, piloted by one of our most accomplished young handlers, Carissa DeMilta Shimpeno. CJ and Carissa have made it clear that they are not going to be satisfied with a number two ranking, and are committed to narrowing the gap between them and number one. Folks, this cluster is a Dog Show Happy Meal.

WINNING THE HARD WAY

They kicked off a four day gig today in Canfield OH. The Fort Steuben Kennel Association opened the weekend with a 2200 dog entry, not bad for a Thursday.

CH Sportingfield‘s Bahama Sands

(Photo Courtesy of Robin Barry)

Polly Smith had the opening BIS duty and a superlative seven that included the Golden Retriever, CH Toasty’s Treasure Island, the Whippet, CH Sportingfield‘s Bahama Sands, the Alaskan Malmute, CH Sno Klassic Play The Game, the Irish Terrier, CH Fleet St Fenway Fan, the Affenpinscher, CH Tamarin Tug, the Standard Poodle , CH Hillwood Dassin De-Lovely, and the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, CH Riverside Wicked Wonderful.

BIS went to the Whippet, who fought the whole way to the top prize. Not only were her six fellow finalists the elite of the dog world, she had to get out of tough Hound Group, and past a Breed entry of 108 Whippets. Congratulations on a very well deserved win.

WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Having worked for a decade with the Department of Justice, we have a long association with law enforcement. One of the things that always amazed us is how five different people can witness the same event and have five different interpretations of it.

Judge Counts the Teeth of
CH Allure Blazing Star Alisaton

We were reminded of that when we posted the above photo of the Doberman Pinscher, CH Allure Blazing Star Alisaton. To us it was an interesting photo of the judge counting CJ's teeth, as required by the Dobie standard. However, at least one reader thought it made CJ appear to be a vicious dog. In retrospect, we should have made it clear in the photo caption (we have learned that many do not read our posts closely) what the photo was intended to convey.

Although we are a niche blog, we do try to serve a wide range of dog fanciers. Our intent is to educate the general population about AKC dog shows, inform regular exhibitors, and generally celebrate the pure bred dog. It is a bit of a balancing act to keep the blog interesting to all levels in the sport. So we will apologize in advance if we are clumsy in that pursuit.

That being said, we do think it is interesting that the Doberman standard requires 42 correctly placed teeth, 22 in the lower, 20 in the upper jaw.