The 2013 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

[612guy]

The Westminster Kennel Club
137th Annual All Breed Dog Show
Monday and Tuesday, February 11-12, 2013
New York, NY

There are 9 Chows entered this year, 5 males and 4 female. There are some awesome Chows this year. It's probably not good for any of the Chows do very well because then people who don't care about the breed will start to breed them. But I will be cheering for all of them, their owners and breeders. If I got any of the pictures wrong I'm truely sorry.

First year entered 1883
Best in Shows 0
Grp 1st 9 last 1992
Grp 2nd 16 last 2005
Grp 3rd 11
Grp 4th 7
Most consecutive Group placements 11
Chow Chow (1932-1942)

2011 Best of Breed was LIONTAMER'S DIAL 1-800-HOT-STUFF


2012 Best of Breed was PAZZAZZ'S GENGHIS KHAN



2013 INVITATION LISTS

GCH CH Dreamland's Wanna Be A Billionaire (Male)


GCH CH Imagine Loves Second Chance (Male)


GCH CH Jidi The Great One At Rebelrun


GCH CH Padow's Twilight Embrey In A New Moon At Asans( Male)


GCH CH Redclouds Chowlamar Big Daddy (Male)



Other Top Ranked Chows That Might Be There

GCH CH Moonshine's Stolen Moments (Male)


GCH CH Angelotti 's Monkey Business (Female)


GCH CH United's Never Say Never (Female)
No Picture

Probably a dog from Breeder Karen Tracy since the last two Best of Breed she Owned/Breed

[applebear]

This is a very cool thread, loved it...thank you! I'm with you, though I am in the chows cheering section...I don't want to see them become the next 'fad' dog. Lord knows they have enough of a bad wrap as it is by the ones that don't know what they are doing now.

[Rory's Dad]

LOL 612, you know how i feel about this...

Another Hot Stuff dog and Genghis, who i believe is of the same lineage. Great dogs, but they are not going to do anything to create any sort of fad for Chows.

99% likely they will never even break out of groups...

On the other hand, it might be nice for people who already love and understand the breed to get interested in showing...most recent edition of Canine Showcase predicts that the AKC will end last year with a multi-million $ deficit. The response WILL BE to raise entry fees by approximately 80%. That's right, your $29/day entry fee likely will go to $49 by years end. Just like raising taxes, it wont solve the deficit. More and more marginal or hobby show folk will decide it's not worth it.

For Chow owners and owners of similar less popular breeds it will get worse. Rory entered (and i paid fees for) 24 events since April, 2012. He took BOB or Winner/OP in 9 of those shows. Yet, he only has 4 CH points due to lack of competition. He had one show where his mood got him into trouble and on 9 occasions we forfeited the entry fee because no other Chows were entered. It was cheaper for us not to travel and incur additional expenses rather than show Rory with no points to be earned.

To finish Rory, we need to find 2 Major shows. That will mean at least 3 pts to be won at each. We live in NE, and in the past year, only 2 shows have turned into majors. The 1st was a 3 1/2 hour drive away, and was not predicted as a major. The other was over 10 hours away.

You know i welcome the competition, but i dont see it happening regardless of how things go at Westminster. And there is a good argument to be made that it shouldnt. People should not be getting Chows because they saw them at the dog show. That would be a disaster, because they have no idea what it takes to raise responsible, well natured Chows.

LOL...i think i can be done with my rant now...sorry for venting my own frustrations.

[wokman]

Sounds like competitive dog shows will be a thing of the past except for the Martha's of the world.
Enjoy showing off your Chow Chow at the local charitable/raise awareness Pet event in your Community. Show people Chows are not the unfriendly dogs of urban myth. That is if you do not have a crabby Chow like my Miss Zoey

[612guy]

Rory's Dad,
Yes, Hot Stuff is Genghis's father. Your rant about dog shows made me laugh out loud when I read it. I think you painted the picture showing dogs is no fun. I was told from the start that finding other chows to compete against was going to be the hardest part. Also, better get use to losing more than winning. But part of the reason I started showing Brutus was to see other Chows. I had no idea that Brutus was going to be in the ring last year with 2 of the dogs above going for best of breed. The bonding with Brutus preparing for the shows is great but the rush I get handling him is indescribable when there are points on the line. I don't know if Brutus will ever become champion but if he is it will be kinda sad because preparing/showing is fun and that will be the end.

I'm still hoping for the best this year.


Last 2 Chows that won Non-Sporting Group

Ch Lov-Chows Risen Star Year 1992


Ch Wah-Hu Redcloud Sugar Daddy Year 1984 The chow with the most best in shows of over 30. Distant grandpa of Brutus's. My favorite chow.



612

[Rory's Dad]

Well, it's pretty common knowledge that i can get a good rant going at the drop of a hat. Take that right back to dogs and there owners having similar qualities.

I dont really mind losing, or more appropriately, if Rory is bested by a better dog, great. I too love to see a good quality dog, and when i see him, i am a fair sport about it. We think Rory is pretty darn good, but have no misconception that he is a top 5 dog. We do think he is good enough to merit a CH designation though.

My rant is more about the politics of our local owners, who attempt to sway the point process by either entering and not showing, thus making marginal show dog owners quit figuring its not worth losing money every event with no points to be had, or in similar fashion entering every dog they own to make it appear a major when they have no intention of presenting any of them. Sounds odd, but it is pretty common here.

Things should be on the upswing though. I will have 2 dogs showing come June. The breeder for both Rory and our new girl (tentatively named Amber) is also going to show a male and female once here litter schedule slows. Recent coup with the NECCC seems to be moving towards some open thinking in sharing where folks intend to show. Talk is for a lot more sponsored shows with the new club, and that should attract some people back to the ring. Speaking with one of the 'rebels', he is importing a quality chow from Thailand and intends to do the full circuit.

We have 1 show each year within our area code. All other shows require a minimum 2 hour drive. For 4 day shows, its just too much driving, so we need to book hotels. Since we don't know until 2 weeks prior to shows how many Chows are even entered, we cant book the lowest rates, since they are non-refundable. And even then, we get out there and find out about no-shows.

I would say we have fun at the shows. Watching Rory react well and put on his 'game face' is great. We know we have done a good job training a responsible, well adjusted and socialized Chow. That is our pride. We had nothing to do with how cute or well structured he is. But, it is not an enterprise for those who don't want to put lots of money into the prospect. It is really difficult with Chows in our area. Our handler originally estimated it would cost about $1500 (her fees only) to get Rory finished. We are well beyond that when figuring entry fees, handling costs, travel, etc. And oh, the breed win photos, which we just have to have...lol.

[612guy]

More fun fact about Westminster

2,721 DOGS MAKE THE LARGEST ENTRY IN 15 YEARS FOR THE 137th WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB DOG SHOW
The increase includes dogs that are not champions ("class dogs") being eligible to enter for the first time since 1991. Dogs are required to have won at least one major of three points or more to be eligible, but do not have to be AKC champions. At Westminster, class dogs will be able to win points towards their AKC championship title with an award of Winners Dog or Winners Bitch. To bad no chows though, maybe next year.

The Westminster dog show is America's second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby

Entries by state:
Alaska 1, Alabama 18, Arkansas 10, Arizona 21, California 228, Colorado 33, Connecticut 130, Delaware 10, Florida 114, Georgia 48, Hawaii 16, Idaho 6, Illinois 64, Indiana 36, Iowa 12, Kansas 8, Kentucky 31, Louisiana 19, Maine 9, Maryland 76, Massachusetts 119, Michigan 83, Minnesota 17, Mississippi 6, Missouri 26, Montana 3, Nebraska 13, Nevada 8, New Hampshire 40, New Jersey 219, New Mexico 11, New York 287, North Carolina 52, North Dakota 1, Ohio 106, Oklahoma 22, Oregon 19, Pennsylvania 210, Rhode Island 22, South Carolina 50, South Dakota 4, Tennessee 27, Texas 119, Utah 1, Vermont 10, Virginia 87, Washington 58, West Virginia 9, Wisconsin 41, Wyoming 2.
Others: District of Columbia 5, Canada 104, Brazil 4, Croatia 2, Germany 2, United Kingdom 2, France 1, Japan 1, Mexico 1.


The Westminster Kennel Club is proud to announce this year's performers of the national anthem at its 137th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, to be held on February 11-12, 2013 in New York City. Taking the stage at Madison Square Garden, famed Irish Tenor Ronan Tynan will perform on Monday evening and the Harlem Gospel Choir will perform on Tuesday evening. The performances and subsequent competition will be televised live during the broadcast on CNBC (Monday) and USA Network (Tuesday) beginning at 8pm ET each evening

612

[Grab]

My dogs' breeder has a dog invited, not sure if they're attending though since they're quite a ways away. He has shown there before, though. I don't have cable, but will be watching the breed rings online.

[612guy]

Grab, your dogs look very nice. I believe to be invited to Westminster they have to earn the top 5 GCh points of that year. To do that the owners have to spend many 10 of thousands of dollars campaigning around the country to achieve it. Some owners want their dogs to be 1 of the top 5 or 10 chows of any given year. That takes a lot of time too that most people just can't do let alone the money. The top chows last year have won and lost against each other depending on which judge was at the different shows. That is because some judges like movement ahead of other breed standards. That will have some factor who is going this year because the breeders/owners know which judges like their dogs more. It should be a great show this year because it will probably a mixer of chows that where shown a lot and others that weren't. I can't believe anyone would spend that much money to get my dog to be a top 5 dog and then not going to Westminster. Royal Chows that live by Rory's Dad doesn't show that much but won Best Of Opposite last year I believe. All of the invited chow owners also handle their dogs which is pretty cool and can't believe that will change because it's Westminster.

612

[Rory's Dad]

Can't recall where they placed last year, but Royal did in fact have a dog. Sharon was actually shown in the vid clips, so i figure they were at least top 4. I know them fairly well, we just ran into Tony at a show in Springfield. They will only show dogs they own/breed or co-own. They are bringing in a chow from Thailand that finished the Thai equivalent of a CH in 6 months. They are pretty high on her.

They have retired "The Kidd" for the next year. His call name is Billy and he's a pretty nice Chow. I believe he had a female at Westminster last year and can't recall her name.

Tony and Sharon are starting a new Chow Chow Club here in NE. There have been some philosophical differences amongst some of us Chow owners and the current AKC local club. The new model will place an emphasis on responsible ownership as well as good breeding practices and on showing. The officers are pretty varied...Tony from Royal and L.J. Kip Kopatch are two i know by name. I believe they also have a vet interest, and a woman who has owned Chows for many years but does not breed or show for more of a pet owner perspective. The breeder who i got Rory and Amber from was asked, but had to decline due to time restraints.

Looks like and interesting year ahead...

[Grab]

I think he was invited for both GCh points as well as winning the specialty. I wasn't sure if they were attending because of the snow issue. He's on the west coast, and I know sometimes airlines won't ship animals when weather is unsavory.

[612guy]

That would suck if he's not there. I like his dog Embrey very much and they had a very good year. I love his suite in the picture I posted above. I looking forward to seeing who will be there tomorrow but are not happy now but still hopefully.