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It was really on a lark that
we decided to take Pax to Nashville and show him at the Sieger Show sanctioned
by United Schutzhund Clubs
of America. This is the most prestigious German Shepherd dog conformation
show for those who keep and breed their dogs under the German system.
Our own dogs are pets and although we are involved in dog sports and the
occasional therapy visits we never had intended to show a dog.
But then came Pax and our lives
changed. Pax, bred by Michele O'Connell of Alpenhof
in Canada, comes from show and herding lines. His sire is V Ulk v. Moorbeck
SchH3 and his dam is V Orka v. Kirschental SchH1. Pax was a precocious
puppy: smart, inquisitive, quick to learn, and he fit himself into our
existing pack easily and with great charm. Marcus and Jake readily accepted
him and though he annoys them daily, they bear up and teach him how to
be a dog.
When he was five months old a
friend encouraged us to show Pax at an AKC match. "It'll be fun,"
she said. It was, and it was nerve wracking. We placed second in a group
of two, losing to an American lines puppy of the same age. The ribbon
Pax got was the first ribbon any of my dogs have ever "won"
and it will always hold a place of honour on Pax's shelf.
There arrived that fateful day
when someone on our e-mail list asked "Who's going to Nashville?"
Not being involved in formal dog events I wondered what was going on in
Nashville and checked the link that was given: the USA
Sieger Show, a really big deal event. "Hey, Richard," I
said to my husband, "want to show Pax at the Sieger show?" I
was kidding, really, I was. "Sure!" he said, and after that
life ran its course and definitely ran away with me.
Our dog friends got organized.
They inspected and critiqued the puppy. They dug into their dog boxes
and made us loans of show collars and whistles. They agreed that Pax and
I needed show ring training and they built a show ring and made us run
around it. At the show, one friend agreed to handle Pax, another watched
Kathy's vendor booth while
she was in the ring with Pax, a third took videos, and a fourth friend
opened her home to us, gave us a house key, fed us, and came to cheer
us on. The truly astonishing thing is that many of these very kind folks
were strangers, people we knew only through their posts to our e-mail
list. The loyalty and trust of dog people is amazing!
Thank you Phyllis, Jane, Fran,
Elli, Shelley, Kathy, Sue, Melanie, and Kitty. We could not, would not
have done this without your help and encouragement. Special thanks to
all the members of our e-mail list, TGSD-L,
for your support!
Pax competed in the 9 - 12 months
Senior Puppy Class and was one of the youngest in the class. It showed.
He was smaller physically than most of the other dogs and more immature
mentally. Still, our handler said when she met him, "He's kinda full
of himself, isn't he?" Yep, that's our Pax all right. Mr. Delicious,
the Attitude Puppy.
The class was judged by Herr
Erich Orschler, Vice President of the SV,
the German Shepherd breed club in Germany. I had little time to actually
watch Pax gait in the ring. My job was to watch Kathy and to make the
proper responses to her hand signals. That meant calling his name to get
his attention, hiding to make him perk up and look for me, running along
with him on the outside of the ring to keep him motivated. By the time
the judge declared his ratings I was too winded and, yes, too confused
to hear what he said. Right about then Kitty ran up to me, grabbed me
in a big hug and shouted, "VP! Pax got a VP! Isn't that just great?!"
VP stands for Very Promising and is the highest rating to be gained in
the puppy classes. All the dogs in the class got a VP, a true comment
on the quality of the dogs presented on that day.
We had been warned that showing
dogs can be addicting and I fear it's true. But it's not just the showing,
it's living with dogs, specifically GSDs, that's addicting. They're gorgeous,
of course, and they're affectionate, but most of all they're intensely
committed to their owners, loyal, willing to do just about anything as
long as their person is there to do it with them. What joins us all together
is passion: the passion we have for the breed, the passion we feel for
the well being of our dogs, and their passionate devotion to us. I cannot
imagine a life without them.
Here then are some pictures of
Pax and Kathy in the ring. Photo credit belongs to Kitty Porter unless
otherwise marked.
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