I mentioned in September that Storm made the trip to our National Breed Specialty Show.  I finally thought to ask for pictures.  🙂 Thanks to Storm’s breeders, I have these beautiful pictures to share.

Storm was entered in the Open Bitch Class.   Each class has specific rules that govern which dogs can be entered in the class.  The competition in Open Class can be fierce.  A National Breed Specialty Show draws the best dogs from around the country.  There were 22 bitches in the Open Bitch Class.  With an entry of that size, many times the judge will examine all of the entries in the class, and then cut out those he wants to consider for placements.  Placements are First, Second, Third and Fourth, with ribbons given for each placement.  The first place bitch in each class goes on to compete for “Winners Bitch” and the all important points toward her title.

In Storm’s class the judge cut 5 bitches out of the 22 and Storm made the cut!  She did not end up with a ribbon; however, just to make the cut was really wonderful for Storm.  She sure has come a long way.

The Judge Kept 5 Out Of 22, But Only Four Got Ribbons

Storm is not a fan of dog shows.  As a pup in the 6 to 9 Month Puppy  Class, she was scared by a meanie judge.  It was only her second show and it left her with a bad feel for dog shows.  We really had to work with her just to get her to the point where she would go into a show ring.  We took her to a lot of obedience and conformation practice classes so that she would be comfortable with the bustling environment of a dog show.  We also trained her for the Canine Good Citizen test which has a part that requires a stranger to put their hands on the dog.  (As Storm’s handler, I was extremely nervous about this part before the test, but she was perfect and easily passed her CGC.)  Storm has matured so much over the last year and gained so much confidence through all of her various training.  With an experienced handler, she can do very well at a show.  Watching her you might never know she had any issues.  At the Nationals she had a very experienced handler, her breeder, who did a fantastic job with her.  Nicely done Dorene!

So which one of the five is Storm?  Why the brown one of course.  😆  She was number 300, the last one on the far right.

Storm Made The Cut (Storm is the last bitch in line)
The Judge Is Looking Storm Over
Storm Looks Happy Enough

Here is a picture of Storm stacked which was taken when they got home from the Nationals.

Very Pretty

21 thoughts on “Nationals Revisited”

  1. Wow what a great pose! That last photo looks like it should be in a Chessie calender. Congrats to Storm for making the Final Five! Well done! 🙂

  2. She looks simply beautiful, I would have given her a ribbon for sure.

    I would think the judges wouldn’t be allowed to be mean to the dogs. Do they have some kind of rules or do you have recourse to file a complaint?

    1. The judge wasn’t mean to her, he just scared her. There are judges who are really good with the puppies, take their time and try to make it a good experience for them. I may not agree with the dogs that they select to win, (and let’s face it a young puppy is not likely to be the winner), but I would pay the fee and take a puppy to them just so that the dog would have a positive experience in the ring.

      This particular judge approached Storm very quickly and from behind and to the side and he was kind of loud. He plain scared her (she was probably just past 6 months). She would not hold perfectly still so he could examine her so he excused her. He took no time to try to put her at ease so that is why I say he is a meanie. 🙂

      And yes I wrote a letter to the breed club and requested that they not use him at a Specialty. 🙂

  6. Storm looks smaller compared to the others in the top 5. She looks great, though!

    I remember really disliking the “subjective” aspect of the judging of dog shows – I consider her a champ regardless!

    1. Storm is right in the middle of the standard. The Chessie standard is somewhat different from some of the other retriever breeds because Chessies are not required to be an exact height or weight. The Chessie standard was meant to accommodate a wide variety of dogs. In fact outside of the standard is not a dq for Chessies. Thunder is actually one inch too tall and about 10-15 pounds too heavy, yet he easily finished his championship with a novice handler because structurally, he is pretty nice. Storm does look a bit thinner than most of those dogs though and that is because she was training hard all summer. I really give kudos to the judge for pulling her. Many times show judges like a little more meat on the dogs in the ring. 🙂

  7. Hi Y’all,

    I hate confirmation classes because it can be so political or just plain what “type” a judge likes. I know judges go by the breed standard, but so many things can be subjective. I prefer obedience or agility where you have some control over the outcome. Agility is more like “open jumpers” in horses. It’s all up to you and your hooved or pawed one.

    BrownDog’s Human

    1. Conformation is subjective and can be political too. But then again so can hunt tests. We have had the experience where a judge overlooked something that say a lab or a golden did and yet pointed out as a fault, or failed our Chessie for doing the exact same thing. I think whenever there are judges there is subjective judging.

      We are lucky with Chessies because the judging is often less political. For example in the pictures I posted, those are all breeders and no professional handlers. And as much as I love her, Storm is not perfect when it comes to conformation. She is very nice, but not perfect, so maybe on that day, those dogs just did better. 🙂

  8. She is beautiful! Love her stack, and her free stack looks awesome!
    I know what you mean about making the cut in and Open class that is so big! Of course we all want 1st place but when it comes to Nationals making the cut is almost as good!

    Sherman isn’t a big fan of shows either, he didn’t have a bad experience, I think he would just rather be on the outside of the ring watching:)

    1. Storm is more old style of Chessie and is very athletic from running and training hunt tests all summer. I really am happy that she made the cut, because last specialty, she went unnoticed. 🙂

  11. Wow,

    You look great Storm – brings back memories from when I was younger and gave this a try!!

    Did you have to do the ‘show teeth’ thing? I was pretty good at that…… 🙂

    Glad you’re having fun,

    Your pal Snoopy 🙂

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