This past weekend (Feb 2, 3) was Ailsa's first experience in the conformation ring - that is the dog competition where the dog is judged against the standards of the breed - first against dogs of the same breed (for Best of Breed). If they win, the best of breed dogs compete against they others in their group (e.g. dogs bred for the same job - herding, sporting, working, etc.).
Finally, if they win Group they compete against the other group winners for Best in Show (the judge decides which of the Group winners best exemplifies the standard for their breed rather than "I like the toy breeds better than I like Terriers").
At this show Ailsa was entered as a 6-9 month old puppy so she ended up competing against other puppies up to 18 months old. There were 4 shows: 2 on Saturday and 2 on Sunday. She was 3rd in Group in Show 1 (Group 3) which was fun and she was shown 2 times: in Show 2 she was 1st in Group so she competed for Best Puppy in Show and she was Reserve Best Puppy ( a fancy way of saying she was second - no complaints, mind you - she got a big ribbon (see the picture below)). So in Show 2 she was in the ring 3 times under one judge and then 2 judges so for the day she had been examined by 3 judges and had to go through her paces 5 times. When we got home she was pooped and slept well.
On Sunday she had the opportunity to repeat the process. She was already to go in the morning - apparently she knew that the day involved treats and she rather enjoyed getting to play with some of the other dogs. The day went well - she was first in group in both shows 3 and 4 so we had to wait for the end 0f the day to compete in Best in Puppy competition. Wow - much to our surprise she too Best of Show Puppy in Show 3! About 20 minutes later it was time to go back into the ring for Show 4 and Miss Ailsa had had enough. In Show 3 there was a puppy who would not move and it was asked whether anyone had a toy or a treat so we gave over a small squeeky toy and it helped. Well noises from the toy appeared during the competition for Show 4 and it was more than Ailsa could stand - she wanted her toy back so she sqwiggled and squirmed and twisted and would not stand still. When it was time to move she jumped up and down and and galloped (e.g. she acted like a puppy!) So guess what - we did not repeat our win. The judges came over saying "but she was so good earlier - what happened?", "She fell apart", Well, I know what happened - she was pooped - it was a lot of work for a little girl. 5 examinations on Saturday and 6 on Sunday by all 4 judges in various combinations. Sure enough she was very quiet as I packed up - not even one spin in crate on the way home - stopped eating half way through her supper and when I sat on the chaise, she fell out:
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