The time had come today for the first show of the summer season. Not of the year, though, since we had the two indoor shows in January. But that was a good while ago, so of course I was nervous that Ringo would act up. Unfortunately, he did not disappoint. ;P
He was quite wild when we got to the show site, and my hands and arms were sore before the show had even started. Then he ended up all quiet for a while, and I thought he was either feeling sick or a little upset that I had gotten upset with him for almost pulling my arms out of their sockets. But, no. As soon as we got into the ring, he perked up. Which I guess is what you want, if only it had stopped at that.
But it didn’t. He went crazy about the judge. Crazy in the “oh my god I love you and I want to jump all over you” way. And the first thing the judge said was that he didn’t want any boxer kisses all over his face. Uh oh. I think Ringo was determined to make the judge love him, but unfortunately it was not to be. He did his best, never standing still for a moment in his efforts to reach the judge (though, he did run very well today, not a jump on me), and the critique was ... luke warm. However, the judge was unimpressed even before he saw him misbehave, though of course that didn’t help. He did say, though, that there was nothing wrong with the temper…as in, very boxer-like. As part of new rules to have the judges be stricter on both physical extremes and any mental issues, temper has to assessed and made a note of each time.
The rest of the critique said: Somewhat low (not sure about the translation here, actually), should have a more refined head. Enough neck, could have less loose skin on the neck. Lacking forechest, enough angulation. Good legs and feet, moves well all around.
We did get a 1, but ended up placed 2nd (out of two dogs). The other dog did not get a CK either, and I heard him complain about a lack of forechest on that dog too. I must admit that I don’t quite get this critique. Its pretty far off from everything else we’ve gotten, and I can’t imagine Ringo has suddenly become all squat and too-heavy since January. Ah well, that’s dog shows for you. Lots of opinions. :) Hoping for a better result at the breed show on May 31st, though competition in the open class will be fierce.
Speaking of which ... I can’t say we’re any closer to getting him into working class this year either. Without taking an actual class, or having some kind of instruction, I don’t think I’ll be able to train with the right focus. And taking a class is problematic. We need a suitable time, it needs to be reasonably close and I need to get over my concern that Ringo will get all difficult whenever there’s any waiting around involved. Also, the increased leash aggression is a concern, though he was pretty good today. A few dogs elicited a response, and funnily enough they were all dogs that other dogs in the vicinity also reacted to. I’d love to know what it is that they sense.