When we were at the Central Wisconsin Kennel Club UKC conformation show held September 9-10, 2017 in Amherst, WI Tom and Irene signed their two girls Sophia and Willow up to be junior handlers for each show which happened to be two shows each day.

When we go to competitions you can bet some props will be pulled out and some fun being had.

Saturday’s fun:

Captain Poopie Pants.

The poop hat was brought out for some laughs. The girls are such good sports and go along with anything that they encounter (adults being crazy).

Willow and Glory.

This club’s order of showing was different than other clubs we have been at, usually the junior handlers compete first followed by puppies and then the regular group classes. Puppies were first then it was the junior handlers. There wasn’t a ring steward or line up list so it was a bit confusing to know when you were suppose to be in the ring. The judge called the numbers out for the ones that were suppose to be showing in the ring. Willow who was showing Glory was in Novice Junior Handler (8-13 yrs) so she entered the ring first along with a gal that was showing a Aussie. After they showed it was now Sophia’s turn with Guilty in Novice Senior Junior Handler (13-18 yrs) class. The judge called one girl into the ring and started watching her handle her dog while Sophia stood by the entrance to the ring awaiting her turn. We were wondering why Sophia wasn’t called into the ring but there was no ring steward to ask. After the judge was done judging the other girl and when she came back to the table Tom asked her when Sophia was going into the ring. The judge looked in her book and said she wasn’t entered, when in fact she was entered. After searching it was found out that her name and number was listed in small print above a line which was hard to see. Since the judge already judged the class she couldn’t judge Sophia. The look on Sophia’s face was heartbreaking to her parents and to Sophia herself. This was her first dog show and she was super excited to do something new. Usually when we are at dog shows the adults show and the kids hang out and be our pit crew so this time it was their time to have some fun and have us be the pit crew. The judge was very apologetic and felt bad that the error occurred but  it was out of her hands. It was now up to us to make sure she wasn’t missed for the second show.

Sophia and Guilty.

The second show was a new judge and again no ring steward. The one gal got called into the ring with her St. Bernard then it was time for Sophia to get called in and we waited and waited and nothing happened so Tom spoke up and the judge finally saw her name and called her in. She got to take Guilty around the ring and she did a great job!

The girls and their ribbons.

Sophia received a  second place in the second show. Willow received a first, second and a reserve winner in one of the shows. They were happy, I was so proud to see the girls handling my girls in the ring. They did an excellent job with only one day of practice with my dogs.

Just hanging.

Sunday’s fun:

The baby head made an appearance.

For Sunday’s show the baby head made an appearance, there were some American Flags, hats and craw-fish hats that came along too. The best hat was the Mexican cheese hat that Irene got at a gas station along the way.

Group photo.

Don’t we look like a fun group of people to be around? One thing that happened at this show which I couldn’t believe happened was that when Willow was wearing her crab hat she got told by an adult that she shouldn’t be wearing that as it could scare the dogs! Willow was crush as she had no idea nor did we that she would get told that. She was about having fun and her fun got shot down. The dogs at the dog shows should be taught proper socialization but I guess there are some show dogs that the owners don’t ever let them leave their crates in fear that their fur will get damaged or messed up so those dogs aren’t used to the surrounding things. That’s those peoples problem not ours and it shouldn’t infringe on our fun.This world would be a better place if people would just relax and have fun.

Willow and Glory.

Sophia and Riggs.

The second day of showing wasn’t any more organized then the first day. There was a list telling the order of the show but there was still no ring steward and a different junior handler got missed this day. Willow showed Glory again they are in-sync with each other now and Sophia showed Riggs. Riggs was a handful and had a bee in his bonnet this day, thinking it was because the hurry up and wait on getting into the ring and he was just plain bored and of course a young dog so he wanted to do something instead of just wait.

When you are a junior handler the judge asks you questions about the breed of dog you are showing so Willow and Sophia had to be up on the traits of the Chesapeake. They also were asked where different body parts were on the dogs. The girls were also asked this weekend to show other breeds in the regular classes. They showed Toy Fox Terriers and American Bulldog. They got different handling of dog techniques this weekend.

The judge asked Willow where the Chesapeake originated, she answered America, the judge said “your wrong it originated in Canada”. Will gave her a strange look and said “I don’t think so” and then the judge said “oh yea your right, I’m getting my dogs confused”. It was a laugh for the day!

Sophia received a first and second for showing Riggs while Willow received a first and a reserve again for showing Glory.

Despite the disorganized show and ring disappointment it turned out to be a great weekend. You have to look past the small stuff and focus on the big picture, we all learned something during this show and hanging out with friends was the best part.

Just wear a Mexican cheese hat and keep calm.