Posts tagged ‘Phoenix’
Result!!
Welsh Kennel Club - the examination.
Today we journeyed through the Black Mountains to arrive at the prestigious Welsh Kennel Club Championship show at Builth Wells. A great showground, and a good entry of HWV’s. Judging took place in a series of vast open-sided marquees, very light, cool and airy – perfect show conditions in fact.
Welsh Kennel Club - teeth examination.
Phoenix was in fine form today, and gave what was probably her all-round best show performance to date – consistently excellent stands and fairly fluid gaiting. Despite initially mistaking Phoenix for a male(!) Judge Margaret Holmes was swift and decisive and we were delighted to be awarded 1st Puppy Dog or Bitch, and Best Puppy in Breed…after two 3rd placings and one 2nd this was our first 1st place at a Championship Show, a real breakthrough!
The judges critique read:
“Nine month old bitch with good body length and balance. Head still needs to break but her eye and earset are good, furnishings and coat are good. She has straight forelegs. Topline, croup and rear angulation all please. Reasonably positive movement for age and stage of development. An attractive package. Best Puppy.”
Welsh Kennel Club - Standing as Best Puppy.
The Shows Must Go On.
Over the past 13 days we’ve been to 5 separate, and extremely differing shows with Phoenix. We’ve had some disappointments, some extraordinary success and have learned a huge amount about how best to show and make the most of our time in the ring.
What follows in this megapost are some impressions of each show in ascending order of how-well-we-showed, peppered with photos of differing quality:
Minehead Open Show
Way back on July 29th we all woke to torrential rain plus the news that all the local rivers were set to break their banks in general end-of-the-world-is-nigh type conditions. What better day, then, to head out to the Dunster Country Fair and associated Minehead Canine Society Show?
Upon arrival we found foot deep mud, a team of tractors towing vehicles into and out of the showground and wet-weather show tents that were flooded, hugely overcrowded and rapidly turning into quagmires of mud. Tim and Phoenix gamely trudged through said mud to do some practicing, but as time wore on Phoenix became increasingly frustrated and bored by the conditions and the lack of space.
When we finally hit the ring – virtually at the very end of the show – we gave a rather lacklustre performance and Phoenix made it clear that she’d really rather be somewhere else right about now. We managed to get a best Puppy Not Seperately Classified and then went on to get 4th best Gundog Puppy. The judge told us later that Phoenix had “rather thrown it away” in that Gundog Puppy Group, but under those conditions we were just happy when the whole thing was over and we could slide-and-spin back out of the mud and off into the still-torrential rain.
Bournemouth Champ Show
Bournemouth - first stack.
In total contrast Aug 8th was one of the few hot sunny days of the summer. Remembering back to her very first show back in the baking heat of May we realised that Phoenix would not show well if she was hot, so we kept her in the cool shade of an unused marquee and also kept damping her down with cold water. The previous breed over-ran by several hours and by the time we did get to the ring, despite our efforts at cooling, Phoenix was very sleepy and floppy. She stood nicely, but her gaiting was perfunctory and pretty unenthusiastic…not much Phoenix *sparkle* on view in the ring today and we were awarded 3rd Best Junior Bitch.
Bournemouth - the examination.
We’ve spent lots of time trying to calm Phoenix down at shows so that she can focus once in the ring, but it’s clear that she now “gets” the whole show hullabaloo and the future priority instead must be on allowing her to show off, rather than rein in, her personality.
Bournemouth - final stack.
National Gundog Championship
August 1st saw us head off to a drizzly Three Counties Showground, and an impeccably organised show. Sadly the superb outdoor rings were rendered out of bounds by the weather, and the dogs were instead judged in the giant hanger-cum-warehouses at the venue.
Puppy Bitch Class at Nat Gundog...we're in the middle!
Conditions for humans were hot and noisy, but Phoenix seemed very chipper, and, since everything ran to time, there was minimal waiting time and we hit the ring with Phoenix pretty fresh. She stood as asked and gaited OK, though dertainly not at her optimum full pace. We were in HWV Puppy Bitch class and managed to score a 2nd place, beaten only by an older and more mature dog on her final outing as a puppy.
The judges critique read:
“substantial puppy, yet to grow into herself. Good coat developing, balanced head, correct eye shape, very nice neck, strong boned forelegs, strong pasterns, good length & shape of ribs, correct loin, well muscled croup & 1 thigh, she will be able to hold herself together on the move when she matures.”
This was an extremely enjoyable and sociable show where we met many HWV friends, old and new. Much fun was had!
North Devon Open Show
The closest showground venue to our home also turned out to be the undoubted highlight of our short show career so far! In ideal, bright, breezy and fairly cool conditions we were awarded 1st Junior AVNSC Gundog – an achievement since Phoenix is only 8 months old and the class was for dogs up to 18 months – as well as best AVSNC Gundog Puppy.
Being Awarded 1st Junior at North Devon Show.
Then, almost immediately, we were up against all the other Gundog best-of-breed puppies and, to our complete delight, managed to win 1st Gundog puppy as well – our first 1st, following the two Gundog Puppy Group 2’s at Liskeard & Dorset. The judge was Dr. Monica Boggia-Black – one of the most senior dog judges in the country, and a multiple Crufts judge. She came up to Tim and said of Phoenix: “you’ve got a real star there!” – cue big smiles!
Being Awarded 1st Gundog Puppy at North Devon Show.
We didn’t have time to catch our breath though, and were immediately whisked off to the Best Puppy In Show ring where Tim & Phoenix, representing the Gundog Group, were up against the top puppy from each of the Terrier, Hound, Pastoral, Working, Utility & Toy groups.
Gundog Puppy Group 1, 2 & 3 at North Devon Show
Lined up for Best Puppy in Show.
The ring was hugely expanded and, for the first time since Liskeard, Phoenix gaited really beautifully, at full fast pace with her huge stride in full evidence. Judging was very quick and decisive and we were utterly thrilled to be awarded 2nd Best Puppy in Show, an incredible achievement at only the 7th ever show for either Tim or Phoenix. We also believe that, at just 8 months, Phoenix may well be the youngest HWV ever to have been awarded such a high placing at an all-group Open show in the UK.
The judges critique read:
Very pleasing head and eye, good shoulder placement and nice front and feet. Excellent mover. Best Gundog Puppy. Res BIS Puppy.
We’re so immensely proud of our little gal and all she’s managed to achieve in just 6 1/2 months since she came to live with us in Devon … and it’s now official – she truly is a real star!!
Sister Act.
Just a few days shy of their 9 month birthday, Phoenix met up with Thirza, her litter sister, along with Thirza’s human companions Sue and Henry. This was the first time that the two pups had met since they were 7 1/2 weeks old, as Thirza and family were away when the litter reunion took place back in May. As might be expected from the getting together of two exuberant 9 month-old’s, the meeting was conducted with a calm, quiet and dignified formality….as the pictures below will hopefully illustrate.
Show number 4…
So, out we all ventured once more, this time to the Dorset County Canine Society Open Show set in the sweeping parkland grounds of the Kingston Maurward College. Unlike virtually all other shows our class was right at the start of the day so we arrived bright and early to set up our virtual stall and settle Phoenix into the show surroundings.
Our class today was Any Variety Not Separately Classified Gundog Puppy. There were six of us in the class: A Curly-Coated Retriever, plus American Cocker, Clumber, Sussex & Irish Water Spaniels. Phoenix stood absolutely beautifully and moved as well as could be expected in the rather undersized ring….we were really pleased with how she showed today – definitely the best so far, very focused and controlled but with all the spirit and life that makes her movement so strong – hopefully indicative that she’s well and truly into her show groove.
Stacked at Dorset County show.
Judge Jill Holgate awarded us 1st Place in the class, and then, after the other classes had been judged, we came back into the ring and were awarded Best AVNSC Gundog Puppy.
Teeth exam.
Standing beautifully for The Examination.
At this point we had planned to head off to check out the Jurassic Coast beaches of Dorset, but now instead began the wait for all the other breed classes to be judged, a process that eventually took nearly 7 more hours…. at which point it started to pour with rain, so we all decamped into the wet-weather marquee where we lined up alongside all the other Best Puppies in Breed to compete for Best Gundog Puppy in Show.
This time we had a much larger area in which to move and do our stuff, and this allowed Phoenix to really stretch out properly and go at full pace – which, with her & Tim’s equally big strides is best described as fast.
A really spectacular and beautifully handled Pointer bitch won 1st place (and subsequently went on to win Best Puppy in Show) and then, after a hushed pause, Phoenix was awarded second (Gundog Puppy Group 2) which was another fantastic result against some really top dogs!
Phoenix & the Pointer stood perfectly, poised and symmetrical nose to nose whilst the judge wrote her critiques. The excitement then got a little too much for all concerned and the subsequent lap of honour is best described as “ragged”! but a great day was had, some new friends made and as a practice run for the upcoming Championship shows it could hardly have gone better.
The Judge’s critique report on Phoenix said:
“Good wire coat, deep rich colour. Lean head with a noble expression. Straight in front and good quarters for her age. Hocks well let down. Tight Feet. Was pleased to give her Puppy Group 2 where she settled better on the move.“
Full Wire Jacket (…Almost)
Phoenix is now 8 months old and her wire coat has suddenly started to develop really nicely – something that we realised we haven’t really managed to capture or document properly – so today we took advantage of a brief break in the endless July rain to head out to Crow Point armed with a camera…
As soon as we hit the beach we met up with two local Vizsla girls and their human companion, so we all had a good chin-wag about all things Vizsla whilst the three girls had an extended sandy romp. Then it was on to the main business of the day: sloshing through sea puddles, lots of digging and hunting for driftwood, watching seabirds in the distance and all the while wondering why the salt water tastes so odd.
Bright sun, strong breeze, sandy nose.
Sandy-wet-wiry muzzle.
Taking a break from digging and stalking gulls.
On the trail of something super interesting.
Show number 3….
An amazing day was had today as we all headed off to the Liskeard & District Premier Open Show in deepest Cornwall. Thinking that we’d be on late in the show, and certainly after lunch, we arrived at 12:00 noon, only to find that our class was up in about 20 mins., which didn’t give too much time for “settling in”.
The show was held in an aircraft-hanger-like giant agricultural building, and the atmosphere (and volume level) was best described as cacophonous and claustrophobic, somewhat resembling a Moroccan bazaar minus the carpet-sellers (although they may have been tucked away in a corner for all we knew) with absolutely no space to move around. Despite this Phoenix was completely unphased and instead displayed her usual mixture of excitement and curiosity at all the sights, sounds and smells.
There were no classes for HWV’s at the show so we were up in AVNSC (Any Variety Not Seperately Classified: Gundog). When our class came she trotted beautifully into the ring and stood like a dream….which turned out to be the first and last time she would be performing this feat as trained…each subsequent “stand” was accompanied by a variety of dancing, backing-up and lurching sideways, leading the judge to ask her: “are you going to make life difficult for your Daddy today?” (the answer to which was a big fat yes!)
Despite this we managed to win Best AVNSC Puppy and received a fine rosette and a photo session with the marvellous Sam from Farlap Canine Photography.
Standing for Best AVNSC Puppy.
Then came a 3 hour-or-so wait for all the other Gundog breeds to finish judging, by which point the building was almost empty of people, dogs and hubbub, with only the best of breed winners remaining. Eventually all the winning gundog puppies were called back for the judging of the Gundog Puppy Group, and Phoenix (who was almost asleep by this time) & Tim entered the now much enlarged arena to line up amongst the Spaniels, Retrievers, Pointers, Setters etc.
Being judged for Best Gundog Puppy - that's Phoenix in the centre with the judge examining her.
We had thought that being roused from a state of unconsciousness might take the edge of excitability off our l’il gal, but instead she performed just as she had in the previous round, moving with huge enthusiasm and drive, head up and tail up with a big grin on her face – which was great – but then trying to buck and twist out of her stands – which was less than great…
The best Gundog Puppy in show was awarded to the Golden Retriever, but then, and to our complete delight and some astonishment, we were awarded second place (AKA: Gundog Puppy Group 2) accompanied by an even bigger rosette, at which point Phoenix’ and Tim’s excitement levels must have gone into overdrive since she (and probably he too) started bouncing about 4 feet in the air!!!
A lap of honour of the ring for the top 4 puppies followed, and then we were out to absorb what had just occurred. Several other exhibitors came up to congratulate us and say was a lovely dog they thought she was. One Irish Setter exhibitor said that she thought Phoenix was the best dog in the whole show…which was very nice.
So, a fantastic result, and the gaiting problems of the last show now seem to be a thing of the past, but instead we have her new unwillingness to stand to work on. The next “warm-up” show in is two weeks, and then, come August, we’re into her proper show campaign, so we’ve got a few more weeks to strike a balance between Phoenix’ joyous spirit (that judges happily seem to like!) and the element of control that we need….
First thing tomorrow morning it’s back to pup boot camp!
With Honours…
Graduate.
Graduate.
It was the end of an era today as we attended our last ever Puppy Gurus session: the advanced doggy test. Phoenix is just entering the “difficult” Teen-Wolf years and has decided that Puppy Gurus is the place to test the boundaries and play up, albeit only a little bit. After a slightly dodgy start (where we couldn’t get her to sit, wait or actually pay any attention at all) she clicked into training mode and we managed to pass the exam with relative ease. She was particularly excellent with the tricky-to-perfect Long-Distance-Instant-Down as well as the Walking-To-Heel-Past-Seated-Trainers-Who-Are-Distractingly-Eating-Pizza (a Puppy Guru’s speciality move it seems) and managed all of the other tasks too, so all’s well that ends well.
Showtime!
Result: Reserve Best of Breed.
Today was Phoenix’s long-awaited show debut at the Taunton and District Canine Association Open Show at the Royal Bath and West Showground. It was blisteringly hot and we had to wait the best part of five hours for our class to come around. By this time we were all severely wilting in the heat. Despite this, Phoenix showed admirably and did all that was asked of her without fuss or complaint. We were lucky enough to come away with a reserve best of breed rosette. For some reason (blame the heat and its effect on our brains) we forgot take any pictures…
Belatarr Hungarian Wirehaired Vizsla. 