by Josh Dean
*He provides an illustrative example of how this all works in practice: “The number-one dog in 2007, a giant schnauzer, was often unopposed in the breed and never had to face more than twenty-five other dogs in the group. Nonetheless she accumulated on the average three times the points of the Terrier Group winner, because she was able to defeat the Doberman or boxer that had to fight dozens others in their breed.”
*He suggested that a fairer model was probably the cat-show ranking system, which allows each cat’s owner to choose only its top one hundred judges and use those points. Note to self: Show Cat, the book!
*And it is little, standing just thirteen to fifteen inches at the withers.
*The “ewe neck”—conformation jargon for a neck that bends backward more than 90 degrees—is a major genetic flaw in any other breed.
*Good news unless you’re a puffin.
*In which Roy the bearded collie was the overwhelming favorite. Not only was he the country’s top herding dog by a mile, but the group judge was one of the original breeders of beardies in America.
*So much for resolving that argument.
*Yes, him again.
*Carrol is a man and had an incredible last name for this career.
*Dry ice starts out as a gas, rather than a liquid, which is why it’s perfect for freezing—it doesn’t contaminate the substance. This is very similar, I should note, to the way Dippin’ Dots, “Ice Cream of the Future” since 1987—and in Chapter II since November of this year—is made.
*She also sometimes has to be the bearer of bad news. “I find males that are too low, and slow swimmers, and males where everything’s dead. Not often, but in some breeds more than others.”
*This is Poodle Art Talk, and I interpret it this way: When Kaz is shaping the poufs, he sees through the hair and pictures the lines around which he must trim. A handy parallel could be found in the line attributed to Michelangelo in which he says that he carved away at marble until he “freed the figure inside.”
*These are far from the only cuts you’ll see in the world’s poodle homes, mind you. For a laugh do some Googling around. The dog’s coat makes it a living topiary, and people have not missed out on the possibilities.
*Obviously my favorite winner of all time.
*The answer to your question is this: Frei threw the ball and Uno fetched it, then bayed to delight of the crowd.
*Costumed version.
*Eavesdropping in a dog-show crowd yields many gems. For instance, the woman behind me commenting on shar-peis: “They snore and they have stomach issues. It’s like living with my mother.”
*Not Jack’s son.
*Which Kimberly and Kerry, half joking, would refer to as the “Honorable Mention” curse.
*Which was nearly as good as having one of Jack’s puppies earn his conformation championship. “You want a stud dog that can have both performance and conformation,” Kimberly explained.
*The pups had all been named for opera singers, sort of. Ricky was for Ricky Ricardo, because Kerry could only think of so many names.
