This winter marked my third trip to the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, and while I've learned a great deal more about dog shows over that time (mostly due to the instruction of my friend Susi Szeremy over at DogKnobit), I think it's fair to say that I'm still mostly clueless about that world. Which is fine, since I'll never show a dog; I just need enough knowledge to be able to watch. I know a bit about the point system and the actual play by play of showing a dog, like how you're ... Read more »
AKC Eukanuba
Bloggers Stakes 2: In It To Win It
As you might remember, I spent a week in Orlando last month at the Celebrate Dogs event for the AKC/Eukanuba National Dog Show, which will air on ABC on February 2. There's a ton of events that comprise the show, but for me personally, the most fun I get to have is on Saturday night, when the invited bloggers go onto the main floor of the arena during the evening sound check to have our very own pretend-but-still-majorly-intense dog show, otherwise known as the Bloggers Stakes. If you weren't ... Read more »
The path to canine enlightenment
I'm a dog person. I've always said this. Which is why December is one of my favorite times of the year. I'm getting geared up for the big Celebrate Dogs event in Orlando this weekend. I'm really excited about the whole event, because in addition to the actual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, they've really expanded the show to become one that encompasses all aspects of dog-dom way beyond the conformation ring. There's dock dogs, Super Dogs, Soccer Dogs, agility, obedience, and Meet the ... Read more »
Stilettos and Vuvuzelas: The Road to AKC/Eukanuba
Last year I had the pleasure of attending the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. I felt a little bit like Alice in Wonderland while I was there. I had no idea what to expect, my world being that of cages and operating tables. Down the chute I went, past bedazzled leads and ornamental throws covered in Corgis. And there, on the other side of the door, I entered the surreal world of the dog show: Here is the White Queen, windswept and amiable; (This by the way bears a striking resemblance to ... Read more »
AKC/Eukanuba Part Two: World Challenge
I've been sitting fretfully at the computer all this week wondering how the heck a non-dog show person can do a big dog show like the AKC Eukanuba National Championship justice. I've toyed with a "Dog Shows for Dummies" primer, a summary of the process, discussion of the paucity of dog show haute couture, and a straight up journalistic approach before coming to this conclusion: I still don't really know what I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, I know a heck of a lot more than I did last ... Read more »
On breed and health and what we love best
I'll finish recapping the AKC Eukanuba experience this week (in between building my gingerbread houses and working on the 12 Days and all the other things that manage to pile on this time of year), but I wanted to deviate for one moment into this large cloud that looms over any sort of dog discussion, and that is the vast and gaping chasm separating two equally passionate groups of pet enthusiasts. I had some very interesting conversations with some of my fellow bloggers at the conference ... Read more »
Dr V Goes to Long Beach
The day before I headed to the AKC Eukanuba National Championships, I was talking to my sister on the phone. "I'm heading to a dog show," I told her. "The AKC Eukanuba show?" she squealed. "I LOVE that show!" So it was from my sister, a legal professional with no ties to the animal community whatsoever, that I learned that this show was a Really Big Deal. It's actually better that I really didn't know what was in store for me, since I might have been too intimidated to focus by the level ... Read more »
