OK, I think I finally have this IABCA title business figured out. We were in our first International All Breed Canine Association Dog Show last weekend. In this venue, Journey is still a puppy/youth. That designation (in International shows) is "Jugend" for Journey's age group 9-14 months. He will not show against adult dogs until he is over 18 months. That works well for my boys, as they do not seem to mature as young as some dogs do.
Pirate shows as an adult in the Open class, as this was his first IABCA show and he is 4 years old. I entered them both in all four shows: 1 & 2 on Saturday and 3 & 4 on Sunday. One thing about this venue that is different is that the dogs are judged against the Standard and not against other dogs. The top possible score for an adult dog is V-1. That score is the top rating for adult class and is designated as "Very Excellent". There is also a V-2, V-3, and V-4. It is possible for more than one dog to be awarded a V-1. The top possible score for a puppy is SG-1. That score is awarded if the puppy is "Very Good", (Highest rating a puppy can receive.) If there is more than one V-1 dog or SG-1 puppy, then they are classed as a, b, c, etc. The dog classified with the 'a' after the V-1 or SG-1 is first place winner and will be the dog or puppy to represent its breed - Best of Breed, and it will go on to the Group event. Adults and puppies will never show against each other, so there is a Best of Breed puppy award and a Best of Breed adult award. There will also be a Group award for puppies and for adults, and following that, a Best in Show Puppy and a Best in Show adult. In Group, which in our case is "Herding", the dogs are shown against each other, but still they are judged as to how well each dog fits the standard for his breed.
I spent Friday washing dogs. I only had to wash Pirate and Journey, but after doing that, Quest looked a little dingy and Saturday was his birthday. I just had to give him a bath also. We left (a little late) on Saturday morning after about four hours of sleep. I unloaded the x-pen and one large crate, together with lots of blankets. With the crate door open, I attached one end of the x-pen on each side of the crate. I covered the crate with a blanket and it served as an annex of the x-pen. Next I went back to the RV to get the dogs. I miscalculated my strength and my dogs behavior. I tried to bring all three into the show building at one time. I was very sorry and very grateful to a nice woman with Boxers, who helped us through the many dogs and people to reach our spot in the building. I can normally handle all three of my dogs at one time, but I was not considering the level of excitement they had going on. Quest was the only one listening to me for more than 15 second intervals and he has not yet mastered Spirit's silent lip curl and evil eye. Spirit always helped me manage the rowdy kids.
Our friends, the Great Dane people were already there and it was fun to see how the babies, Pandi, Dakota and Thor had grown since the last show, (UKC) in St. Helens, Oregon. There were at least six Danes showing, but then it always seems like more with Danes. They are such wonderful dogs and so easy to love. They have no idea how big they are and they work at being lap dogs.
Puppies show before the adults, so Journey was up first. Nicole was showing him for me and he was great. SG-1 Best of Breed. The ring was at the far side of the building and in my disorganization, I missed the call for the Group event. Cannot remember feeling any guiltier except when I took my daughter to a spelling B she had placed in, to represent her school and we got there too late. Terrible "mom guilt!".
Another difference about this show is that the Judges do a written report on each dog, which they hand to you as you leave the ring. They even discuss it with you and answer questions if you ask them something. Journey got shining reports and made me very proud. Another difference is that instead of rosettes the winners receive medals on multi-colored ribbons - like the Olympic medals, but not as heavy regular medals for Best of Breed, and Group medals are gold for Group 1, silver for Group 2 and bronze for Group 3.
Well, to make a long story short - Journey got SG-1 in all four shows. He went into Group (except the one we missed) and of the three Group events he got two Group 1, and one Group 2. The Group 1's put him in the Best in Show Ring twice. He also went in the Rare Breed Best in Show ring. He was a good boy. Nicole did such a nice job showing him, as always.
In between shows we had time to watch the Dane puppies play.
Nicole's puppy, Pandi, in her UKC show.
Dakota & Thor
I was showing Pirate, so I did not get pictures of him. I was not sure if I could do it with my back trouble, but was surprised that it went fine Pirate got the highest score for all four shows. Four V-1 Best of Breed. He has never shown well for other people and even though I don't do a very good job of showing, he still manages to move well. He got wonderful comments from the Judges: "strong mover", "very true- nice side movement", "easy, clean coming and going", "very good presence", "excellent ring presence", "good substantial dog", "handsome service dog, very mellow, good bone". He did not get one bad comment. I was so proud of him. Below is an older picture of Pirate. I will post his new one when we get it from the photographer.
Pirate
Pirate got one Group 2 and two Group 3 medals. He also went in the ring for Best of Rare Breed. So he won his International Championship and only needs two more wins to get his National Championship. Adults need six V-1s to get their duel championship. Puppies, (Journey) only need four SG-1's to get their duel championships. We had such a wonderful weekend. We did not get home until 8:30 PM on Saturday.
On Sunday I took Pirate over to get his picture taken by the professional photographer. I placed the ribbons with his 7 medals around his neck and he walked majestically over to pose for his picture. I will post the pictures when I get them. Journey also got 7 medals and I placed them around his neck to wear to get his picture. He took a few steps with all the medals clanging and he just stopped. He didn't like it, so I held the medals until he got posed for the photographer. I can hardly wait to see their pictures.
By the time I packed up our stuff and loaded the dogs in the RV I was so tired. The drive home is about 40 minutes. I pulled into the gate entry and while we were waiting for the remote to open the entry gate I could see bunnies headed for cover, across the hillside. Then I saw a gorgeous deer in the headlights, just standing in the middle of the agility field, and watching us. Is it any wonder we love coming home! What a wonderful weekend we had though.
UKC Champion, National JA Championat & International JA Championat Surefire Far & Away Highland Myst, HIC, MDR1 N/N
UKC Grand Champion & IntCH Starr Shiver Me Timbers, HIC, MDR1 N/N, DM clear
