Chef Won Best Puppy in Breed

July 1 /07

It was a great weekend for Chef at the Chateauguay Valley Kennel Club 2007 Championship Show. He walked off with 11 ribbons, including a rosette for Best Puppy in Breed and Best of Winners (Working Class). This means he won for best Boxer puppy, then best of all winning Working Class puppies.

He didn't get off to a great start Saturday, though. He was shown twice in the morning and competed with just one other dog each time, and lost, so he was given a couple of ribbons for simply showing up! The afternoon was even worse. He decided to be a clown and was jumping on his handler more than even the most generous judge would tolerate in a senior puppy. We had to work on him quickly and control the jumping. We switched handlers and things got a little better. Then Barry, Chef' s breeder, handled him and we thought our troubles were over. .. Chef behaved himself until Barry was stacking him for that last, all-important inspection by the judge, when he decided to get that one big jump in and he blew it.

Sunday was Chef's day, though. He was in the mood to show off, and he was well-handled so he showed magnificently in the ring. He won two Best of Winners, two Best Puppy in Breed, one Best of Opposite Sex, and a few other less significant ribbons that Morrie and I still can't figure out but accepted with a smile. He came pretty close to Best in Show, with the judge giving long, hard last looks at Chef and a Pekingese, but the Pekingese got it.

We couldn't have asked for better weather for an outdoor show. It was held at the fairgrounds in Lac Des Pins St-Antoine Abbe, in the Eastern Townships. Saturday, it was sunny and cool ~ thankfully, not too hot for a Boxer, as they don't tolerate heat well. In fact, it's a common sight at showgrounds to see dogs, especially Boxers, wearing ice jackets on their backs between rounds. But that wasn't necessary this time and as long as they had lots of water, the Boxers were comfortable.

The day started with an early visit to Barry's home in Ormstown, where he did some last-minute grooming on Chef. We then met up with several owners of Barry's other Boxers with one family coming in all the way from Alexandria, Ontario. We were a real Boxer clique! Most of the Boxers in the show were littermates, step-siblings and cousins ~ all Barry's dogs. So even if your dog lost to a family member, you were still happy for your dog's opponents and their owners. Outsiders, of course, didn't get our applause! We broke for lunch on Saturday on Barry deck, then headed back to the fairgrounds. Sunday was cold and cloudy, but again, good weather for a Boxer.

Chef has now racked up seven of the ten points he needs to be a Champion. But he must win the remaining three points before his first birthday July 25. We'll see if he can do it the weekend of July 20th at the Ontario Regional All Breeds Championships.

Good show, Chef !