You learn a lot of interesting things when you Steward at a dog show.
No Pedigree Required:
The thing that excited me the most is finding out that it doesn’t need to be a pure-bred dog in order to compete and title in Obedience, Rally, Agility or Utility.
I always thought in order to enter a dog into any of the dog shows, the dog needed to be a pure-bred, with papers. I found out yesterday that is not the case.
During the scoring process at the AKC show yesterday, I had to check the Judge’s book with the Judge’s score sheet to make sure the team and dog were correct. That’s when I noticed it, one of the teams had listed the dog’s breed as “All American.”
“What the hell is an All American?” I asked.
Yes my darlings, yesterday I found out that a mixed breed like Sampson or a little rescued Chocolate Lab like Delilah that came with no papers can be registered with the AKC and can earn titles, and compete paw to paw with the purebreds. A mixed breed or a dog without papers is classified as an “All American” or “Canine Companion.”
These All American or Canine Companions need to be registered with the AKC, and then you can enter them in a trial.
I’m thinking this is probably more about the All-Mighty dollar and less about people squawking that their dogs can’t compete but I don’t know for sure. What I do know is I have two dogs that I need to register so I can title them in Obedience and Rally, and possibly one in Agility. 😉
You cannot use a food treat in the ring:
One competitor gave her dog a little treat just inside the ring. The Judge had to tell her she was excused. She could still do the course, she just couldn’t qualify. A qualifying score is 70 or better out of 100.
No tags on collars:
I don’t know the reason for this, but there cannot be anything hanging off from the collar. We had a quick shuffling of dogs as one woman frantically tried to remove the tag from her dog’s collar. *Note to self, bring a pair of pliers with you to the dog show.
Bring paper towels:
Yup, dogs around other dogs sometimes get excited or nervous and accidents happen. Oops!
Stewards get any food they want….for free:
While there were all kinds of foods for competitors to buy, if you had a Steward badge on they just handed you food or drink. We even had a lovely lunch consisting of roasted chicken, macaroni salad (which this gluten-free gal could not eat) and tossed salad.
Pay attention to what your dog is doing:
One woman (the same one who treated her dog in the ring) wasn’t paying attention to her dog after she left the ring. She was so focused on getting to her friends and telling them what happened that she didn’t notice her dog had stopped walking and lay down. Yeah, she basically dragged the dog from the ring.
Some dog people are nasty:
One lady came up to me near the end of the last trial and asked for her competitor number; I said “I’m not allowed to give those out” as I was scoring at the time and the scorer must really pay attention to what is going on in the ring.
She snotted back at me “I’ve been stewarding at another ring, let’s not go there.”
My inner bitch said, “Go F*** yourself,” but my mouth said, “This is my first time doing this and I don’t have an experienced Steward on site.”
My inner bitch was tickled when she didn’t place.
Seeing I was pretty busy most of the day, I didn’t have an opportunity to take a lot of pictures, but I did sneak my camera out of my back pocket a couple of times. Here are some random pictures from the trials.
There were crates everywhere!
Judge Lynda Moore giving instructions before the walk-thru.
When her number was announced as first place, there was a moment of silence and then a surprised, "That's me!"
Jake the Pointer, what a beautiful dog.
I called this "Viszla Row."
What do you think? Have you ever heard of Rally, Utility, Agility or Obedience trials? Titles? Is it something you would want to try with your dog(s)?
Sounds like an interesting day. Both AKC and UKC have events that mixed breed dogs can participate in. There are other organizations that have other events too. Lots of things that you can do with your dog.
When we just started in hunt tests, one woman said to my husband, (in a very nasty tone)…”Don’t even look at my dog before he runs”. Huh? It was a Junior test, not the freaking Master National. People get tense and wiggy at these things. That is why I give you huge kudos for working it. 🙂
Oh and a Grandma brag…one of Thunder’s pups just earned his Rally Excellent title a couple of weeks ago. 🙂
YAY! How fun! I am working to get Aladdin, Mutt of all mutts (think I can put that as his breed?) in agility. He just loves to run, and chase! But when I looked into, the no treat rule kind of stunted us. He is very (VERY) food motivated and that’s what has gotten him through it so far. We’re pulling back on the treats though and trying to work with super excitement! It’s always so exciting though! I would love to even steward it and see it first hand before I throw my boy into those piranhas! 😛 And I’m glad that snotty… women… didn’t place! ^_^
That’s so cool you did that–and its so great to hear a description of such an event from someone who I know is not a snooty title dog person.
I don’t think me and my dogs are the sort of peeps who would thrive in that sort of environment 🙂 While there’s definite value in bringing dogs to high levels of training and sensitivity to instruction, we like to hang out with the just-rescued pups who can barely put one paw in front of the next without lunging or jumping or barking or peeing on something 🙂
Would be a great learning experience to get a dog to the higher levels of training someday though–maybe someday I’ll have one who’s emotionally balanced enough to attempt it! Or more to the point, maybe someday I’ll be emotionally balanced enough to make the time for it 🙂
That’s what is so great about dog sports – there are no breed rules whatsoever. At least, not in any of the organizations I am aware of. On Shiva’s agility association card, she is listed as “All Canadian.” 🙂
Unfortunately there are no treats allowed in agility either – and no collars. All dogs must run completely naked. It makes it quite the challenge catching them when they do a victory lap in the parking lot!
Dog people are just like everyone else, I’m afraid. Most are awesome, but some… I tend to just leave them alone.
I am still so glad you enjoyed yourself so much you are planning on participating! Yay!
I’ve never been more than a spectator, but your experience sounds interesting. I think I may get more involved, but my dogs would not enjoy it. They are very set in their ways.
Free food? Wow! Great tips Jodi. A real insight.
Sounds like you had a good time. Yea you meet all kinds of people in the dog world, don’t let it bother you too much and sounds like you handled it with great tact.
Sounds like a good time. I am excited for you (as well as Sampson and Delilah) that you can register them and participate in shows. I am looking forward to hearing about your adventures in the ring. 🙂
I don’t see dog shows in Our Best Friend’s future. He’s too distractable and anxious. I’ll stick to the dog park. 🙂