Competing in the Bred-By Exhibitor Class

Hi All!



I have to first apologize for my delay in posting the next chapter- my computer was at the Computer Doctor (that is really the name of the business...) and it took longer to repair than we anticipated! I am so relieved to have it back at home...



Today's subject is on my favorite- and least favorite- class at the dog show; The Bred-By Exhibitor Class.



BBE is my favorite class to compete in, when I can. It says to the world (and the judge) that I have bred this dog- that I am responsible for creating this dog- and that I am very proud of what I have created. Please keep that sentance in the back of your mind.



BBE is also one of my favorite classes to judge, when I have a good entry. The pride in the handlers; the quality of the entries; THIS is what judging should be about!



I want to share with you one of the most valuable lessons that Marieann taught me. (and at the time, it wasn't a lesson I felt I needed to learn...)



Why do YOU enter your dogs in Bred by?

Is it because of the reduced entry fee that is offered by some clubs? Is it because you want that imitation gold medallion that the AKC offers?



Maybe its because some judges will point to a dog out of Bred-by for the points...whether or not they deserve it?



OUCH!! That sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it?? Sorry- but its the truth! There are LOTS of reasons that people enter the Bred By class- and most of them are the wrong reason!



If you remember NOTHING ELSE from this blog- PLEASE remember this: There is a VAST difference between ELIGIBLE for Bred- By Exhibitor Class, and WORTHY of Bred-By Exhibitor classes.



The Bred By Exhibitor Class is the only place where breeders have the opportunity to show where their breeding program is going. The dogs they enter in BBE are the dogs of their future; dogs that they are proud to have their names on as Breeders and Owners and Exhibitors.



Many judges will hope to find their absolute best class dogs in the BBE class. Thats where they SHOULD find their best dogs! When we mentor new judges, we hope that we find great dogs in the BBE class to use as examples!



The BBE class is not the place for dogs with major breed type or structural faults; questionable temperaments, or poor movement!



Not every dog that you, as a breeder, regardless of your time or experience, will produce, is worthy of being finished out of the BBE class! They may be eligible to be shown in Bred-by, but are they really worthy?



Think about that for a minute... Think about the dogs you are currently showing...



It takes far more talent for a breeder to evaluate show prospects, and choose which ones are truly outstanding and worthy of that BBE Medallion- and which ones need to be shown in Puppy/Am Bred/Open (or not shown at all) than to toss everything in Bred-by and save a few bucks on the entry fees! Yes, eventually they will finish regardless of which class you enter, but what have you said about your breeding program, yourself, your standards... Your Breed???



Lets go back to what I said earlier...



"BBE is one of my favorite classes to compete in. It says to the world (and to the judge) that I have bred this dog, I am responsible for creating this dog, and I am very proud of what I have created."



If you are showing dogs in the Bred By Class that you are less than thrillled with, they are in the wrong class! The decision to enter BBE or not is a decision that only you can make; its a decision that ties into your standards, your ethics, and your goals.




The quality of the dogs you show speaks to the judges... and believe me...the judges remember!



If you are not proud of that puppy, and sure that it is something outstanding, maybe it doesn't belong in the Bred-By class! If that youngster that you have been showing in BBE isn't pretty darn close to your ideal= maybe you would be better off in Am Bred or Open!



Moving on, remember I said that the Bred-By Class is also my least-favorite class, at times?



From a judges standpoint, there is nothing more heartbreaking then to look out at your Bred-By entry and see entries with bad fronts, straight rears, freaky temperaments...etc. To be honest, the first time it happened to me I was shocked- then insulted- then downright MAD!! Unfortunately, I have gotten used to seeing some pretty mediocre dogs in the BBE class!



Bred By Exhibitor should be every judges strongest class. It should be the class from which most points are awarded! It should be the class which holds the greatest depth of quality!



I urge you to be critical of your own dogs, and before you enter the next dog show, decide "Is she/he TRULY worthy of being shown in Bred-By?"

Home from the Nationals

We are home from the CWCCA National Specialty! PHEW!! What a week!!

We had a fabulous National Specialty! We brought home lots of Rosettes and coolers (trophies)! I think the count on Rosettes was 20 at my house, another 4 or 5 at Lisa's house, and then there are those that went to Mandy's house, and Terri's house, and Lisa Phillips' house....

We also brought home 2 new titles!! Yeah for Bugsy---aka--- the dog who could not be trained! Bugsy now has a CD and an RE behind his name~ with placements for each leg earned! He finished his RE with a first place and a score of 99, too! His CD scores were not quite that impressive, but it was good enough for a second place! Bugsy can now brag that he is a balanced dog-- Ch. Xtacee PV Bugsy Malone CD, RE, HIC--- now to get serious with that dumbell and drop on recall... and agility stuff!

Sera (Ch Xtacee Moonlight Serenade) won the 2010 CWCCA National Specialty Brood Bitch class, followed by her beautiful puppies, Morgan and Will-Smith-Jacob. For me, this was the biggest thrill of the National; this is the first time I have ever won this award. Sera also made it to the bitter end in Best of Breed~ but no AOM~ again. Maybe the 3rd time is the charm? Guess I will have to take her to another National to find out? Sera did win the Best Blue Bitch award in the Megan competition for the second time.

Jitterbug (Ch. Xtacee Lifes A Dance) won Best Black Bitch in the Megan- and by the end of the week, had somewhat learned to stand still and bait! Her show career is over; now we can have fun learning rally, and agility, which is her real love anyway!

The Veterans had a lot of fun! Granpa Nicky won the 11 +older class, both in the Sweeps and the regular classes! He really enjoyed being a show dog again- of course, it will take him a week to sleep off all the excitement!

George came back, almost 2 years post surgery, with style. He won the 7-9 Veterans class Sweeps and Regular classes, amid cheers and tears! He loved being in the ring, and moved out with almost the same beautiful foot timing. George was given an Award of Merit in Best of Breed- a fitting end to his show career! Now George can hang up his show lead, next to his AOM ribbon!

Terri Clingerman joined us for the week, with Cricket (Spotman x Dora). However, Cricket opted to leave her hair at home. None the less, Cricket placed in her Sweepstakes class and showed beautifully all week! I think we may have Terri almost converted... she is starting to think about a second cardigan, anyway!

Little LeeLoo (Xtacee the Fifth Element- Sera x Powell)- had a great time, too! She placed in all of her classes, and won her sweeps and her regular class on Sunday at the Del Val Specialty. She is quite the head turner! Such a sweetie!! Her owner, Lisa Phillips, is obviously head over heels in love with this girl!

Morgan did not learn to be a show dog over the week- but he certainly had fun trying! He placed second in a very large 6-9 sweepstakes class, and then I threw him to the wolves and showed him in Bred By Exhibitor against all the adult dogs. He was the youngest dog in the class (6 months, 3 days) and yet he placed Fourth!! Go Morgan!! On Sunday he won both his Sweepstakes class, and the Bred-By class!

And the, last but certainly not least, is Will-Smith-Jacob. Owned by myself and Mandy Bossi (and trained by Caitlyn, of course), WSJ strutted his stuff to win the 6-9 puppy dog class, and then on to Reserve Winners dog.... and BEST PUPPY IN SHOW at the CWCCA National Specialty 2010

I am already making plans for Texas-- and hope to see you all there!

Worth Bragging About

Morgan the "Wonder Puppy" aka Xtacee La Amistad.

Morgan is the baby boy that stayed here from my Powell x Sera litter, and is shown in this picture winning his THIRD-- yes, thats right---THIRD major match win; at 3 1/2 months of age. For the record, he's been shown at just 3 matches.

Hence... The wonder puppy...

Morgan's first match experience- and first time on a lead- was the Lehigh Valley Kennel Club Canine Learning Experience Puppy Sweepstakes- 3 months and 4 days of age- and Morgan came out of the ring with Herding Puppy Group I under jude Liz Muthard (OES breeder and AKC judge); total puppies defeated- 37. COOL!!! I was pleased~ He moved like a little trooper, sort of held a stack for a few seconds, and discovered that hot dogs were Gods Food! Thats a good way to start any little show hopeful!

Day 2 of Canine Learning Experience was going to be tougher! Judge was a GSD breeder/judge who admitted he knew NOTHING about Cardigans... "Oh Well" thought I "Its great experience for the puppy" Morgan learned more about stacking and baiting, and learned about waiting in a crate until time to play in the ring. He learned that its fun to have people pet you- and learned to go in the ring with all the BIGGER puppies and that was way cool!!! Color Me Shocked when the judge pulled my little baby Cardigan to the front of the line, and awarded Morgan Herding Group I-- Again! His comment as he handed me the ribbon... "Do all Cardigans move that well?" (Hmmm... shall I tell him the truth?)

So... on we go to the Very First Corgi-Mania! This event is co-sponsored by the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of the Garden State, and the Garden State Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club, and was held on Valentines Day. Having nothing better to do... (see post on keeping my life in balance...) Morgan and I went to Corgi-Mania to support the event. I had planned on also taking Bugsy, and working him in Obedience, but a late night out with friends made an early morning pretty much not likely- so Bugsy stayed home.

By now, I have drug out the Stacking Stilts, and Morgan and I have had some remedial training on what STAND and STAY mean. >>> It didn't help much- but I did make the effort!<<<

Under Pembroke & Cardigan breeder Sherri Hurst, Morgan was awarded Best of Breed Cardigan- and then, to put the Icing on our Valentines Cake- was given Best Puppy in Match!

Needless to say-- I was Thrilled with my baby boy! He needs LOTS of training (how many days until the Nationals?) but he really LIKES to play show dog, and that is half the battle!

Now- confession time--

I wasn't "thrilled" with Morgan as an 8 week old puppy. He was the best male puppy in the litter~ but I wasn't convinced that I needed to keep him.

But then... I wasn't really "thrilled" with his mother, Sera, either. And look what she turned out to be??

Maybe I should always keep the dog I am really NOT all that thrilled with...

Moving Forward

I have been unemployed for just about 2 months now- and I guess thats my mental limit.

Before I was laid off, when we all KNEW it was coming, I had these grand plans for my 'down-time'!! I was going to sit home, collect unemployment (for the first time in my life!!) get a tan, spend time training the dogs, go back to school, go to dog shows, relax, organize the house, remodel the kennel, decorate the living room...etc...etc... I think, since I KNEW I was going to be unemployed at some point, I was almost looking forward to it!

HOWEVER- I was totally unprepared for how it was going to effect me emotionally~ and ~ completely out of my element with being a "stay at home" person!!

I am- to put it mildly- BORED OUT OF MY SKULL!!

It's not that I don't have THINGS to do! I definitly COULD be training the dogs, organizing the house, working on the new kennel, decorating the living room- Hell-- I could be cleaning- and gardening- and grooming!

But most mornings I find myself having a hard time doing ANYTHING!!!

I am enrolled in school- but class doesn't start until August. I am going to dog training classes- several of them- and I do work the dogs- but there is a limit to how long and how often you can train a Corgi; they are too darn smart and they burn out fast!!

I would be going to more dog shows- but that involves spending money- which I am having a hard time justifying- since I have a reduced income. My specials bitch has dropped all of her coat and my class puppy dog is really not at all competative yet- so there is no sense in giving my money away to the kennel clubs and then giving breed points away, too! So I am staying home more!

I think the dogs and my husband- and even my sons- are LOVING that I am home all the time.

But I'm not! I feel like I don't have a purpose- I guess I was just MEANT to be a worker-bee; even though I have so often been accused of being the Queen Bee!!

I can't wait for this economy to turn around!!!!!!!!