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We had a very nice weekend in Iowa where Brutus needed 2 points to finish but won another 3 point major under Judge Ms Terri Lyddon yesterday. It couldn't of happened without the friends we have made along the way. I really enjoyed learning how to groom and handling Brutus in the ring. It just shows that you can accomplish about anything if you try.

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Yay! Well done Brutus!


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Congrats Brutus!

Lovely !!! Job well done!

Congrats to Brutus and to you as well Chuck.

You earned that 2nd major against some tough competition, so that should make you even prouder. Nice plan to get Brutus finished and it worked out well for you. So glad for you.

Now what? Any plans for GCH points? I know for us, we took Rory down for a bit, but I think he's getting bored. He's coming back out in the spring. Only problem now is I think Toby is going to eat up all available pts. He should finish quickly and then I have my own dogs competing against each other.

Once again though, congrats to Team Brutus. He might just be my 2nd favorite show dog in the country.

Fantastic news! I am so happy for you and Brutus!!!!!!

There are many people on Team Brutus and it couldn't of happened without everyone's help. Not the best picture but then I'm not a professional handler. Don't really care about GCH points so he's pretty much done. Not a sad day because we stop showing him for about 18 months before bringing him back in the ring to finish him. Will work on getting him his Canine Good Citizen Certificate next after a break.



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Nothing wrong with that pic...Brutus looks great. I question your tie choice however, no just kidding.

Congrats to you both. As someone once said to me 'he earned it'. Getting out there and having your Chow undergo all those inspections takes a lot of commitment on your part and a lot of patience on his. I don't think many people understand the travel involved (although my dogs love the car rides now). It's not a cheap venture. Between entry fees, hotel costs, training classes (it takes a lot of practice to get a chow to allow a strange person to hover/bend over them and to inspect their mouths, coat, bone structure, and private areas), and time spent socializing (dogs must meet hundreds of strangers and frequently have to walk to a crowded ring area amongst dogs of many different size and personality without getting distracted), its a lot of work.

I don't know the % of registered dogs that earn their CH Designation, but its not that high. Adding a CGC to that would be fantastic for Brutus, and he would be a great ambassador for the breed.

Rory's Dad wrote:Nothing wrong with that pic...Brutus looks great. I question your tie choice however, no just kidding.

Congrats to you both. As someone once said to me 'he earned it'. Getting out there and having your Chow undergo all those inspections takes a lot of commitment on your part and a lot of patience on his. I don't think many people understand the travel involved (although my dogs love the car rides now). It's not a cheap venture. Between entry fees, hotel costs, training classes (it takes a lot of practice to get a chow to allow a strange person to hover/bend over them and to inspect their mouths, coat, bone structure, and private areas), and time spent socializing (dogs must meet hundreds of strangers and frequently have to walk to a crowded ring area amongst dogs of many different size and personality without getting distracted), its a lot of work.

I don't know the % of registered dogs that earn their CH Designation, but its not that high. Adding a CGC to that would be fantastic for Brutus, and he would be a great ambassador for the breed.

You made me do a little research about what are the odd on getting a chow their CH. I looked at the AKC website and they didn't have last years but did have 2013 and only 103 earned their CH. 2012 had 97, 2011 had 94, 2010 had 113, 2009 had 118 and 2008 had 133. From 2002 thru 2007 the average was about 127 so it seems to going down. In 2008 1359 chows were registered so about 10% get their CH, that more than I thought. It didn't have chow specific but also stated about 20% of dogs that earned their Ch became GCH. Then I found out in 2008 only 31 chows earned their CGC which I found just as interesting.

Just some fun facts,
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Congratulations to Team Brutus!

Laura

Chuck, I can always count on you to run with the little tidbits that I put out there.

I think the 10% of registered Chows seems about right. I don't think that Chows are a 'casual owner' dog anymore. There has been a movement towards achieving a specific look for the dog, and I think that most Chow owners are 'repeat' owners. They tend to be more aware of the show world and breeders are encouraging that route (some to glorify their program, others to promote the breed). On the plus side, I also think that the negative press Chows have received over the years tends to discourage the inexperienced owner. This is putting more Chows into the hands of people that are actually more suited to having them and training them properly.

AKC registered Chows actually peaked back in the 1980's and saw a steady decline up until about the mid 2000's (call it 2007 or so). Overall in the past couple years, they were in the mid 60's range as far as popularity was concerned. That being said, you know the difficulties in getting an actual Major to hold. Look at the most popular breeds and I bet the % is way lower, because they have so many registrations that are pet dogs. Nothing wrong with that, but they also tend to get majors at every outing. Not sure whether that is more favorable or not...they still have to be the best of the bunch.

Myself, I am still undecided on how hard to pursue the GCH. Some say it's easy as you only have to go "Select" to earn the points. Guess we will see. I would guess that most just don't bother to pursue it as the CH is used as an indication that the dog is suitable for breed stock.

CGC is another beast entirely. It actually doesn't favor Chows in the least. The 'recall' requirement alone would be a difficult barrier for most Chows.

I agree with everything you wrote Rory's Dad. The only thing I would add is chows can be finished by their owner but many others breeds need a professional handler. Chows many be hard to get enough together for a major but Golden Retrievers need about 17 males for one and that would seem almost impossible to win.

Thanks for all the nice comments from everyone. I can tell that showing it very addicting after you win but makes you think about quitting after a couple of losses. Then make that times 10 for the first time person who is showing. The hardest and the best decision I made was to stop showing Brutus for 18 months so he could mature. It did work out nicely but could of backfired if he got hurt or something.

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We are taking a break... partially because my work schedule is crazy busy and partially to let Chance mature a bit. I am very proud of you! Those of you here who show are a huge encouragement to us newbies in the ring.

We just got back from Nationals and had a great time. We went last year without Brutus but entered him in Best Of Breed this year. Didn't do anything but learned a lot more about grooming and was fun to be in the ring. It is always exciting to see who wins and to talk to chow people from all around the world. This years there were almost 100 chows entered and that's always the best part, seeing all those chows.

Here are some of the pictures with Brutus and I in the ring. Brutus won't be back in the ring for awhile but we had a great time the last 9 months and will always remember it.








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Brutus looks great in the pics. Congrats to both of you. From everything I heard he stood well against the Top Chows in the world. You should be very proud. Well trained dog with a 'decent' handler (LOL that was my add and not based on any comments or hearsay from Nationals), so glad to hear you enjoyed it and really wish we could have been there.

Starting to put together our own calendar for the spring shows. So far, western NY is the farthest we will be heading, but would love to add something where Brutus and Rory could be on the same bill.

Great job with Brutus watching you! Love to see a dog free stack like Brutus, he looked great.


Laura

Congrats! It's always refreshing to see owner handled dogs do well In several years when we get our next Chow (I have a young Standard Poodle who is currently keeping me on my toes as we work towards obedience titles) I'm hoping to show him

Thanks, hope to see you at a show in the future.

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