Julie's Whippet, Dot

As some of you noticed from last week's posts, Julie Poole's Whippet girl, Dot, was in Brooksville, FL to try to finish her Championship (just needs 1 point). I've been covering the Brooksville shows for the past 2 weeks so I was looking forward to not only photographing Dot, but actually meeting Julie face-to-face.

Julie had told me that she hides when Dot shows so I knew we wouldn't actually see her until after Dot had been in the ring. Linda and I (and Rowdy) sat ringside and watched the boys show and then the girls until, finally, Open Bitch went into the ring. I recognized Dot and her handler from some of the images that Julie has posted so I had no difficulty getting into position for some shots. These are kinda in chronological order: it was a large Open class so the judge lined the girls up along one side to take an intial look at them. Here is Dot being set up by her handler before the initial go-around.



The judge then examines each dog individually and watches them coming & going and then going around. Here's a shot of Dot on the go-around. BTW, this shows you why Dot only needs 1 point to finish -- this is perfect movement.



BTW, that light pink spot on Dot's left rear leg is not a marking. It's actually the light shining through a very thin patch of skin that Whippets have in their rear legs.

While in the ring, Dot stopped by to visit with a friend who was watching from outside the ring: a 7-month old Papillon. I thought this was a lovely interaction.



And then, finally, the judge lines them up and makes her choices for 1st through 4th. Here's how Dot looked on that final review. She finished 2nd in her class on Saturday. Not what we had hoped but very good given the level of competition.



I don't know how Dot did today because we were shooting Toy Poodles and I couldn't get over to the Whippet ring but I'm hoping to hear from Julie that she won.

Oh, and for those who are curious just what Julie Poole is like: she's exactly what you would expect from her posts on the forum. Julie is a charming, attractive young woman who you immediately feel that you've known your entire life. She's bubbly, outgoing, a little scatter-brained (forgot her cell phone when in hiding so I couldn't reach her) and simply a joy to spend time with. Rowdy gives her two paws up (doesn't have thumbs) and now that we've met, I'll be able to read her posts in her own melodious Southern drawl.

It's nice to know that the relationships we form on this forum translate into the "real world" of actually being with each other. Linda, Rowdy and I enjoyed the opportunity and hope to have it again in the near future.

Jim

Thank you Jim!!!!!!!!! My only regret is I didn't get to spend more time with you and Linda! Both Jim and his wife are wonderful. I could have chatted for much longer, but, I was hailed to do photos. Since I did fly down there for that one day, I had to run.

Unfortunately, I am not a little scatterbrained, I am a LOT scatterbrained! I am really good at keeping my phone with me, unless I need it!!

I am so glad to have met Jim and Linda, it was very cool to actually talk with someone face to face. I can't thank you enough for the photos!!!! They are wonderful

So, what happened today?

Jim

Dot did NOTHING today. Though, if it isn't for points anymore, it just doesn't matter

I think it is funny people find me to have a southern accent. I just can't wrap my mind around it

That picture with the papillion is about the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!

I found out McGuire's sister won out of the open class and she finished, so, that is a good thing!! If it isn't gonna be me, it might as well be one I like or a friends!(or both)

Julie,
the Florida Circuit is a very large, very competitive series of shows. Handlers come in from all over the country to get their Specials off to a good start. The top dogs in every Group were showing in Brooksville.

So, for Dot to have done as well as she did in a very competitive Open Class, is outstanding. You should be proud.

Oh, and it's not just that there are a lot of good dogs -- there is also just a smidgeon of politics involved with these shows . In case you didn't notice.

Jim

I would never believe there were politics in dog shows! Say it isn't so!

Julie, I do have a bridge I would like to sell you!

And some waterfront property here in Florida that you'll really love (glub, blub)!

Jim

I saw some of that beautiful waterfront property from the plane. Too bad you can't walk on it

If it stays this cold, you'll be able to soon . Temps were in the high 20s last night and are going down into the low 20s tonight. Brrr.

Jim

"Temps were in the high 20s last night and are going down into the low 20s tonight. Brrr. "

Wow. Sounds like up North. Last night, it was so cold, we debated getting our sleeping bags out.

James

Wow! That is cold for FL. It was cold while I was there, but, not nearly as cold as home was!! We actually had a snow day yesterday! The kids got to sled down the yard and have a snowball fight. Granted it is all gone today, but, it was pretty.

On another note, I am glad you guys had the opportunity to meet up. It is great to see. Yeah Dot!

James

PS If it is acceptable, I would love to hear more about the politics of the shows. I have never done a show - or even been to a show.

James,
there's more ground to cover in answering that question than there is room on this forum but, in a nutshell, AKC shows are made up of judges, handlers and dogs. The judges are people who have usually been handlers or big-time breeders before they become judges and therefore have some loyalty to handlers and other breeders. That's just human nature.

Add to that the fact that beyond showing dogs in the classes to get them to finish their championships, the major handlers have "Specials" that they show in Best Of Breed competition for national ranking. A Special is a dog that has already completed its championship. These dogs get advertised heavily and the judges who put up these dogs get publicized in all the dog publications.

So, now we come to a series of shows called The Florida Circuit: 15 shows over 18 days all in the Greater Orlando area. These are pretty much the only shows taking place during the first 3 weeks of the new year so all the big-time handlers plan to come to Florida with their class dogs and their new Specials to get the New Year off with a bang. In this type of environment, there are enough shows and enough handlers so everyone can get a piece of the action either in the classes or in the Specials ring. But the biggest names always get the most wins. It's what we in the dog show world call "an amazing coincidence"!

With all that going on, it's difficult for less well-known handlers to get a decent piece of the action. Except in certain breeds where owner/handlers are more common than professional handlers such as many of the Toy breeds, Whippets and some others. Now, you may ask, does it ever come down to actually judging the dogs? Yes . . .to some extent. Some judges actually do judge the dogs and it doesn't matter who is handling them. But keep in mind that judges get selected for show panels based on the number of entries they get and the most popular professional handlers can come to a show with up to 25 dogs in various breeds. So the judges know where to apply the butter on their bread.

When you get into Best Of Breed competition and then on into Group Competition and Best In Show, the better known the handler/dog team is, the better chance they have of coming away with the big prize: Best In Show. For example, in the first series of shows in Deland, one of the top dogs in the country -- a Sealyham Terrier -- took a Group 1 all 4 days but didn't get a BIS. A Rough-coated Collie took 2. The handler of the Sealyham was none too happy.

Once the shows moved to Brooksville and a different panel of judges came in, the Sealyham won 3 Bests In Show and the Collie didn't win another. Irony? Perhaps but I suspect it was retribution for the handler.

The politics of dog shows is simple: you feed the folks who help you succeed. Just like politics everywhere else. To succeed in this game, you need good dogs and you need to know how to win with them. We learned that with our first show dog, Annie Fay and were able to finish her despite the fact that she wasn't the type of girl that was finishing in those days. We found the right handler and we showed her to the right judges.

I've never Specialed a dog at the National level -- Rowdy did his share of winning in Best Of Breed and at the Group level but we never could afford to try to rank him -- but we handle the advertising for a bunch of people who do. It's a tough game and you have to have deep pockets and thick skin to play it successfully.

I hope that gives you some insight into the Show Game. Watch the movie Best In Show to get some hyperbolic clues about what goes on.

Jim