Whats up with the National dog show?

[Michael's Maggie May]

Watch the show last Friday for 2 hours and non-sporting dogs came on last of course. They passed right over a beautiful red Chow and didn't even show her being walked around the ring. One small glimpse and that was it.What a shame.

[cherriemater]

JUST WHAT I WAS THINKING!!! I even made my husband wait to watch football until the N-S group and then ... nothin'! You can watch them all online. Here's the chow chow: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/22825103/ ... 4#49908334

[Michael's Maggie May]

O thanks for the video, What a beautiful animal.

[Rory's Dad]

Yes, that was a bit disheartening, but not unusual. NS breeds have become the 'every body else' of the dog show world. Odd that they claim they dont have a specific purpose, but we all know Chows have historically had a very specific purpose. No they dont hunt vermin out of rabbit holes, and they dont specifically pull sleds, but have been reported to have done all those things in the past. I think multi-purpose better describes them.

In any case, the National broadcast skipped a ton of breeds from the Group Judging. I dont feel the picked on the Chows or the NS breeds in particular. They kept running a ticker stating that they wouldn't be showing all the breed winners and that they were available at the web site.

That being said, my gripe is with the qualifying rules (and for Eukanuba and Westminster too). Agreed that the Chow breed winner was a good looking dog. But, to get an invite they have to be top 5 nationally, or achieved CH designation during the year, or have been a BOS winner. Chows NEVER win BOS, so throw that one out. To get top 5 or to get CH, they have to earn show points. My dog, Rory, has 4 breed wins. Problem is not a ton of points because Chows arent very popular in my area. That translates to 4 CH points. Never going to get the CH designation because he would need 15 pts with at least 2 Major wins. That means two 3 pt shows, so he would need to best 4 other male Chows in his age group. Sadly, we don't get that many entries and we travel up to 6 hours for some shows. Many shows get entered and in the end, there are not enough entries to support points, so we abandon the effort and forfeit the entry fees ($30/day/show).

Havent seen 612 in a while, but i know they experience the same issues and is 1/2 way across the US from us. Please dont read this as sour grapes, just frustrating. I know we have a CH quality dog, but its just very difficult (and expensive) to get there. Rory enjoys the Show atmosphere. He is so well behaved around 1000+ dogs and all the people. It's sounds funny, but he definitely hams it up and puts out a great Chow vibe. He gets excited for the road trips.

So in the end, i guess i agree to some degree. The Nationals broadcast did a great job describing different breeds. They advised viewers to consider the temperments and needs of each breed. Several times they used the 'needs an alpha owner' phrase. But not with the Chow.

Now i have to go research where that dog was from and his show history. Thinking we need to take a trip to his territory...

[612guy]

I was surprised mostly with only 3 chows entered. We have shown Brutus this year and have a learned a ton along with had a blast. Brutus was only 7 months old when we started and now 1 1/2. He has grown up a lot but will get even better as he fills in and his coat comes in all the way. I love keeping his grooming up and is always looking beautiful. We do plan to go to Nationals this year with Brutus because he will be 2 and we always wanted to go even before we started showing him. Maybe Rory will be there, I would love to see them.

612

[cherriemater]

Rory's Dad: My head hurts just trying to absorb all that .. eesh! Very well done, you! I am pretty sure Rory would wipe the floor with the one that showed. I wasn't too impressed, although I was told he has a nice head. Maybe I'm just used to how Max holds his own carriage but I didn't like how short his neck was (of course, with thousands of people there it must be hard to pay attention ... just sayin' is all). Rory is an extremely fine boy, indeed!!

[Rory's Dad]

Thank you for the complements. Rory is egotistical and appreciates hearing it.

Yes, the rules are a handful. I think i know them and still have to recheck scoring and pts all the time. We actually got a letter from the AKC a few weeks back. They asked us to return any awards (other than ribbons) because Rory didnt present himself for the entire show. I checked with our handler. He finished 2nd in class and wasnt eligible to continue to Breed. Seems the show stewards dont even know the rules.

Nice to hear from you 612. I agree, we hope to meet in a friendly competition at some point. The boys are very similar in appearance and it should be fun.

Cherrie, is actually seems easier for the Chows over other breeds. They ignore everything anyway, so the crowds and other dogs dont seem to phase them...