Having just finished up at the ARC National Specialty in Greeley, CO, we've started our tour of Colorado, the Rockies and are in the planning stage for our return home via a Southern route. The show went well -- lots of shots, lots of great people we hadn't seen in over a year, lots of late nights processing and little sleep overall. We had a blast!

We traveled with Max, a Rowdy son who was showing on the "big stage" for the first time and Sundance our boy who was traveling to a big show for the first time as well. Both boys were absolutely wonderful. They handled the time in the van without complaint; they met many wonderful people and, especially, children and made some very positive impressions for a breed that is often misunderstood. Of course, these are two very special boys so we were not at all surprised and we explained to people that not all Rotties were like those two boys but that many were. We were very proud of them.

Max showed for the first time on Wednesday in Carting and he and I managed to handle the course well enough to be in line for a qualifying score. Then there was the 3-minute down/stay with 5 other dogs. Max had a pefect 2 minute 45 second down/stay! The two boys on either side kept staring at him and it was his first down/stay in "clutter" with other dogs and he just finally got to the point where he had to stand up and show them how big he is. He never showed any aggression and never said a word but standing up during the stay is a DQ. Despite the DQ, we were very proud of him. Sundance was supposed to show in Carting as well, but when his time to perform came up, I was inside taking pics of the Futurity Winners. Linda wanted to take him in but was concerned about how he would handle the down/stay without me there. So we scrubbed Sundance's debut in the working category. He'll have his chances after we get home.

On Thursday, Max showed in the Open Dog class and made the cut and finished overall in 5th place -- out of the ribbons but still an outstanding placement for a dog that hadn't shown until late January of this year. Here's a shot of Max in the ring with his handler Kimm McDowell.



And another of him moving around the National's HUGE ring. He showed perfectly and we could not be more proud of him.



Max also showed in the Sieger Show (German-style) on Sunday in cold, gusty, rainy conditions and did very well under a judge for whom he was not exactly the right style. He again placed 5th in a large class and received an SG (Very Good) Rating and a very complimentary critique.

Yesterday, both boys ran in the snow in Rocky Mountain National Park and Sundance ate the snowballs I threw at him . Max thinks Sundance is kinda silly but still likes him. Today, we're off on our trek to the Southwest corner of the state to see the Anastazi ruins. I may not have internet again until later in the trip but I wanted to share Max's experience with all of you.

Jim

Sounds like a good time had by all.

Depends on how much pain is associated with a "good time" . When we returned Max to his home last evening, his owners asked if I had any photos of Rowdy showing because they had never seen him and wanted to see how much Max resembles his dad. So, I did a little digging and put together two comparisons of father and son. Keep in mind that in these photos, dad (Rowdy) is twice as old as his son Max who is 5. First the stacked shots.



Here, while it's evident that Max is younger, more supple and bigger than his dad was at 10 years of age, they still have similar head style, similar length of back and similar rear angulation. Max has a bit more forechest and Rowdy has a bit of a better topline especially in the croup. And, Max is bigger overall. Rowdy was 26 1/4 inches tall and Max is tickling 27"; Rowdy weighed 120 in his prime and Max is a svelte 130.

But it's in the moving shots that you can see exactly where Max comes from. The moving shot of Rowdy is from the Louisville shows in 2008 where he took an Award Of Merit; the moving shot of Max is from this year's Rottie National. Their movement is almost identical and virtually perfect.



Three people at this year's National asked me about breeding to Rowdy and I had to explain that he had passed away last October and that we had not frozen any sperm. But I mentioned that we had a Rowdy son with us who had exceptional clearances. They said they'd watch him show. After the boys showed on Thursday, all three asked me for a stud package on Max. That is perhaps the ultimate compliment to a stud dog -- that people who loved his qualities are willing to breed to his offspring who shares those same qualities. Did I mention that Max is also just as sweet as Rowdy was? Linda and I are very proud of Beachwalker Rowdy To The Max.

Jim

That really is a great compliment, and I know what that means, having been a breeder (cats) for 14 years. When you see exceptional traits being passed down to the next generation its a great feeling. Congrats on a great showing.

Diana

That's got to be a great feeling to see part of a dog you loved so much still alive in his son.

Diana, Jim,
perhaps the ultimate "moment" for me came at the hotel when I was taking Max out for a potty break. A young woman came over with her teenage daughter and asked if she could meet my Rottweiler. I said "of course" and Max buried his head in their tummies and got a total rubdown. After a few minutes, the woman said "do you mind if I ask you about this dog?" She then said that he reminded her of a dog she really had always loved but hadn't seen since the 2007 National in Orlando. She said his name was Loral's Der Terminator and people called him Rowdy.

I told her that Max was a Rowdy son and that Rowdy was no longer with us. Her comment both stunned me and made me cry: "I'm sorry to hear that. Rowdy was a legend." She went on to say that she and several other Rottie owners had watched him move in 2007 and concluded that he was the best-moving Rottweiler in the country. And when he had showed in Junior Showmanship with his girlfriend Michelle McDowell, they cheered for them both and decided he was just as nice as he was beautiful.

Her daughter had won Best Junior that day and she said "yes, I remember Michelle's dog. He was really awesome." This woman is now considering Max for her youngest Rottie girl. I would love to see another generation of Rowdy/Max puppies. It would be good for our breed -- and pretty wonderful for us as well.

Jim

Ok, so now I get to cry too.

What a beautiful story!

Aww how nice. Its extra special when other people truly appreciate them as much as you do.

Diana

Just wanted to report that Max showed today in Orlando and went Winners Dog/Best Of Winners for his first points -- a 4-pt. Major! This was just his 7th time in the ring and he showed great.

Today, Moxie showed for the first time and looked lovely. Unfortunately, the judge thought three other puppy girls looked lovly-er but Moxie was very pleased with her white ribbon. She was shown by her good friend, 17-year-old Melanie Leon and it was the first time in the ring for both of them and they did a superb job. I've always said that you can only control what you do in the ring and then it's up to the judge. At least he liked Max .

Jim

Congrats!