No, we won’t be there in person this year (February 15-16 if you’re watching on USA and CNBC as we are). But if I had a bucket list, a trip to Westminster Kennel Club’s dog show would surely be on it, with or without a canine family member participating.
Can I say it will be just a little bit more exciting for me to watch from here on out, knowing that technically, I could have my dog in the game? Axel is now an AKC Champion of record and would be eligible to enter in the future (only Champions of record are eligible to enter Westminster, which I think is the only AKC show with that requirement at this time). The chances of us ever participating are still almost nil. Entries are limited to 2,500 and fill up incredibly fast. This is also a show we would have pretty much no chance of winning. This will be the 134th year for this show, and in that time, a Rottweiler has never won Best in Show at Westminster, and has won the Working Group only once, in 2006.
So Westminster dreams are really just that: dreams. But still. Wouldn’t it be nice?
Ever since the dogs started working on titles, I’ve had to explain more than a few times what dog shows and trials are about. I’m wondering if those of you who visit here would be interested in some “dog stuff basics” posts? I know at least some of you are psycho dog people yourselves and could probably recite the AKC “Rules Applying to Dog Shows” in your sleep. But as many times as I’ve had to explain points and majors and how Axel’s shows are different from Freya’s trials (that got really confusing last month, when they were both competing in Rally Obedience, but in different organizations), maybe some of you would like to know more?
(NaBloPoMo | February ’10: 4 of 28)