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Colleen Sipple with her dog Trinidad, a longhaired dachshund,
Grinning golden retrievers await their turn in the ring yesterday during the 34th All-Breed Dog Show & Obedience Trial Terry Marshall of Baltimore talks on a cell phone after her dog Albert (right) competed in the dog show's dachshund category. Winnie the Pooh rests in her lap as Lance squirms on his leash. |
It was not an auspicious beginning for the career of a Yorkshire terrier named Jento's Sierra Madre. On the way to the Greater Fredericksburg Kennel Club dog show yesterday, Sierra threw up in the car.
Then she found herself in a strange place, sitting on a strange table, being combed and spritzed and sprayed. It gave her the shakes.
But soon, the 41/2-pounder was looking as glamorous as any debutante. Her silky fur fell in a shiny curtain to petite paws. Her bangs were teased into a topknot, then secured with a polka-dotted bow. Her eyes were brown liquid, her teeth tiny pearls.
But her tail was tucked between her legs. And there, it seemed, it would stay.
Owners Ginny and Ray Torres of Bowling Green were philosophical about it.
"She's supposed to hold her tail up," Ginny Torres said as she gently combed the hair around Sierra's ears. "But she's scared. She's never been to a show before."
It would be a big day for this very little dog--and for hundreds more of every size and description at yesterday's 34th All-Breed Dog Show & Obedience Trial. The event repeats from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds.
Sierra was in what her owners called the "beauty pageant" part of the competition. That's where animals are judged on conformation according to the standards of their breeds, from tiny Yorkies to massive mastiffs.
In the ring, 11-month-old Sierra did not hold her tail high with pride and confidence, as several veteran Yorkshire terriers did. But as the only puppy in her class, she took home a blue ribbon anyway.
The Torreses can't know yet if Sierra will ever display the elan of best-of-breed Stratford's LeGran Whoopie, a dashing dame owned by Barbara and Ron Scott of Harrisburg, Pa.
Yorkies, Affenpinschers and all breeds in between had their stars yesterday, and also their similarly beautiful runners-up.
In some cases, the margin between "winner's dog" and not-quite-a-winner was perceptible only to keen-eyed judges who doled out the ribbons.
That was the case with Marshall's Rushing Red Wagon, a sleek dachshund nicknamed Albert. He won his class but not the coveted "winner's dog" honor for his breed.
Albert is the pride and joy of Terry Marshall of Baltimore, who sees greatness in him. "He will be a champion," she said.
Beauty and poise weren't the only qualities under scrutiny at the fairgrounds yesterday. Dogs also competed in obedience, for titles from the novice "companion dog" to the almost supercanine "utility dog excellent."
Carol Chapin of Fairfax and Evelyn Beede of Long Island, N.Y., were among more than a dozen eyeing the midlevel "companion dog excellent" title for their dogs.
Chapin's Weimaraner, Champion ShoMar's Night of the Hunter, and Beede's springer spaniel, Champion Jasmine's Twist of Fate CD, seemed up to the challenge.
While some dogs sat down, chased bees, sniffed grass or stopped to scratch during the contest, Chapin's and Beede's animals stayed focused.
They heeled, changed gaits, did figure eights, dropped to the ground, fetched wooden dumbbells, and breezed through high and broad jumps, all at their owners' commands.
A little mistake during one of those challenges took Beede's spaniel out of the running. But Chapin's Weimaraner seemed poised to succeed--right up until a challenge called the "long sit."
That requires dogs to sit side by side as their owners walk out of sight. The dogs must remain sitting for three long, loooooong minutes.
Hunter the Weimaraner sat, and sat, and sat. And then, a bare moment before time was up, he casually lay down and crossed his sleek silver paws.
"He'd rather be hunting birds," Chapin reasoned later.
She praised Hunter lavishly for his good efforts and vowed to try again when the event repeats today.
Obedience training is a good experience for dog and owner, Chapin said. "Even if you never get to a title, you still have a wonderful dog to live with."
