Dog Show Weekend #2

Gunnar and I had our second-ever show weekend this past weekend.

I don't have a "before, before" picture but suffice it to say that he was a good, muddy, mess prior to going to the Groomer for a "professional" bath.

My friends at Taboo Tibetan Mastiffs helped me with his "show" grooming again.

Gunnar was looking pretty darn handsome by the time we were finished with him.

He won Winner's Dog and Best Opposite Best of Winners both days for two points toward his Championship.  On Saturday, he also won Best Puppy, which meant we got to compete in a puppy-version of the Working Group.

If you're unfamiliar with AKC dog shows... All of the entrants for each breed compete against each other for Best of Breed, then all of the Best of Breeds compete against each other in their respective groups.  For Tibetan Mastiffs this is the Working Group.  The dogs that win their Group compete against each other for Best in Show.

There are a lot of points and accolades available for the dogs that do well in the Groups or Best in Show competitions.  As Best Puppy, we competed in a puppy-version which is more just for the experience.

Our ring times were very early, so there was a lot of waiting around for the Group Competitions...

I did a little "show grooming" all by myself.  :-)

Yes, I was able to coax him onto the table all by my lonesome.  Which is a bit of a challenge since he is not allowed on the furniture at home and is now well beyond my weight-lifting capacity.  ;-)

Over the two days of the show, Gunnar made lots of friends... both human and canine.  I lost track of how many people came up to talk to him or to me about him.  They all commented about how neat it was that he is so easy going, mellow and friendly for such a big, impressive-looking dog.

Gunnar got to visit with his breeder again, who he adores, and got to see many of his puppy-friends from class.

I am so, very proud of him.  He handled the noise, attention, waiting around and many females in heat extremely well.  He also performed well, held his stack and stayed upright his entire time in the ring.  :-)

By the end of the weekend, were both good and tired.

The Fluffy Puppy is happy to be back with his alpacas and playing in the mud.  :-)