After a few weeks of no shows, we had another one today. This was the same show that last year went very poorly, as the raspy speaker system spooked Ringo. He ended up with a 2 then, so I was definitely hoping to do better than that today. Of course, the last show (the boxer special last month) also resulted in a 2, though we have since heard that the judge there was so tough and so keen on handing out 2s that more blue ribbons had to be prepared. Still, he’s a little too round right now, since the heat has meant we can’t exercise him as much as we usually do, and his muscle tone is not as good as it was a month ago. With this in mind, I tried to keep my expectations realistic.
When we got there, we found ourselves in more or less the same spot as last year. That meant a partially shaded ring (and a shaded area to wait in), which made it much more comfortable for Ringo, who really can’t stand the heat and searches for shade all the time. With this setup, he was not exhausted by the heat but he was also not too charged up, perhaps because we arrived in very good time this year. Of course, I was still nervous, though most of it seemed to disappear once we were called into the ring.
The class consisted of Ringo and another dog. Ringo was up first, which always works very well for him. Even though the Slovenian judge (and the Norwegian aspiring judge that went along with him) took his time to check the teeth (since he was teaching the other fellow at the same time), Ringo got a chance to chill out after that because the judge then checked over the other dog before asking us both to do the first run. With no dog ahead of us, Ringo ran very well. No pulling, no lagging behind. On the solo run diagonally that we then did, he made one little jump to start. I stopped, gave him a piece of ham, and then started again. He ran without any other fussing at all. We then posed in front of the judge (well, after the Norwegian fellow had said hello to him and gotten an armful of Ringo, but he seemed to like it ;P), and I got to nervously listen to his comments. He had already said his teeth were very good when doing that part, and now I heard some positives and some negatives (the usual front angulation bit). I wasn’t sure what he’d end up with, but it sounded pretty decent, and much to my relief we got a 1 for quality.
The other dog in the class then got a 2, so we were called back in pretty quickly to be pronounced winners of the class. And to receive Ringo’s very first CK! I had so not expected that, and I got all giddy. I bounced out of the ring and for once managed to remember to give Ringo a toy to make sure he knew he’d done well. That’s the one part I really, really need to work on; he always gets hugged and praised, but he needs a more fun reward right off too, to make him a bit more charged up about shows.
The CK meant that he was called back in to compete in the best male class. Since he’s not in the working dog class, the CK (which stands for “certificate quality”) could not result in an actual CERT (certificate), but he still gets the chance to compete for best male. However, the judge was pretty quick to go with the winner of the junior class instead. A very nicely muscled, but also crop-eared and dock-tailed dog (meaning it has to be an import). Then came our next surprise. Ringo was awarded the CACIB, the international certificate, since those cannot be awarded to a dog in the junior class. That means he’s halfways to an international championship ... well, okay, one third of the way. He needs another CACIB (in another country, though) and working dog merits. But what an incentive to get to work on that!
Oh, and the critique has to be included, of course. And just look at the last bit, it almost beats the CK and the CACIB: “well presented”. Whee!
Good-sized dog. Quality coat. Excellent substance. Strong bones. Enough strong head. Good pigment. Enough strong topline. Need more front angulation. Deep chest. Need more front. Strong feet. Enough good moving and well presented dog.