We wanted Freighter to have a positive experience at the shows this past weekend. We knew there would be a lot of entries and it is a big noisy place. For an inexperienced dog, it can be intimidating. We asked Freighter’s breeder if she would show him for us because she has a lot of years experience showing dogs and if Freighter started to act up or got too nervous, she is well equipped to handle the situation.
Turns out Freighter was very well-behaved while waiting ringside and while in the ring. He was excited, but that is not a surprise since he is a busy dog. On Sunday we had a later ring time so by the time it was our turn, the show was packed with the general public who came to watch. Little kids were drawn to Freighter, just like they used to be drawn to granddad Thunder whenever we took him to a show. I think it is their “happy” faces. At one time a child in a stroller wanted to pet Freighter. Normally a wild child, Freighter was so sweet and gentle with the child…tail wagging away the whole time.
Being in the show ring takes a bit of practice because the dog needs to stand still while a stranger feels them all over and checks their bite. Then when they move, it is has to be at a certain speed. Lots of rules for a busy dog.
Was Freighter the perfect show dog? Of course not. But he had fun and that is OK too because fun makes for bloopers.
Thursday was the first day of the show and Freighter was a bit uncertain. However, he was not uncertain about the bait. More than once he stretched himself out trying to get it.
Lesson learned, stack him differently so if he stretches a bit, he still looks good. Thursday was the day he almost tripped Cindy as they were going around a corner. I guess Freighter didn’t think the bait was going to round the corner with the handler. Lesson learned, bait in a different spot.
By Friday Freighter was feeling more comfortable in the ring. He was so comfortable he licked the judge’s face when she bent over to examine him.
But by Friday he did seem more comfortable with the judge touching him all over, stood still to allow it and didn’t sit down when the judge got to his hind end.
I also thought he moved very nicely on Friday. He wasn’t as fixated on the bait and moved with ease.
By Saturday he had enough of dog show. It was old news to him and he was tired and bored. Tired and bored makes for a cranked up Freighter. He was a wild man in the ring and did not move with ease. He kept getting ahead of his handler and broke into a gallop a couple of times, (another thing grandpa Thunder used to do when he was bored with dog show).
Sunday was more like Saturday but Cindy worked very hard to get him to stay calm outside of the ring. It must have worked because he did a nice job in the ring on Sunday. His down and back was very nice. His around was good and he hit a nice free stack. There weren’t any bloopers from Sunday, well maybe just one small one.
Thanks so much to Cindy for doing such a great job with him. We feel he has a good foundation for the show ring. I think going forward hubby will start practicing with him and start showing him. The next shows aren’t until April so they have plenty of time to practice.
Between field training and training for the show ring, Freighter will be a busy boy.
Sounds like it went well apart from the odd mishap. Funny how he did exactly what grandpa Thunder would do when bored. LOL. Have a terrific Tuesday.
Best wishes Molly
These winter shows are tough because they have a lot of pent up energy. 🙂
Love how he kissed the judges face! Thats so sweet 🙂
He is a sweet doggie!
I love blooper pictures and those were great. I love the licking the nose and kissing the judge. Glory snuck in a kiss once also. You know we have mean chessies don’t ya! LOL
Yes our ferocious Chessies…lol. I suspect the judge had some yummy smelling lotion on. 😉
What a great tale of Frieghter and his weekend at the show. You are right he is a character! But so loveable, some Chessies are just magnets for
people…and kissing the judge!!!
Thanks for leaving a comment Martha. He is a silly boy. 🙂
I love that he kissed the judge!! That would have won me over completely (probably why I’d never make it as a judge!).
LOL when she handed Cindy the last place ribbon she said: “and to my youngster”. 🙂
What a flirt, kissing the judge! Having been to a show once in my life, I can understand how Freighter found it to be boring. I would be impatient too after several days of it, but he did awesome! We prefer a dog that has some mischief to keep people on their toes!
I was happy that he did seem to enjoy just watching all the goings on. I like out door shows much better. We have a few around here but many conflict with hunt test dates.
Good job Freighter! Kissies are an excellent way to bribe the judges! Wooooowooooooooo!
Didn’t work too well…lol.
I’ll bet he likes being busy. It will be quite the year for him if it all goes well–a good foundation for the rest of his career.
Thanks Jessica. Having one dog who hated dog shows we really wanted to take things slow so that Freighter would have a positive experience and we accomplished that. By that measure the weekend was a huge success!
I love the kiss! Damn but I would make a lousy judge. He would have been handed the Blue Ribbon On. The. Spot. LOL How can that not melt your heart?
I think she was amused and was looking for a more mature dog, which I don’t have an issue with. His day will come. 🙂
We don’t know much about shows but we do know we loved those pictures bloopers or not. Freighter is just such a sweetie and he makes us smile. Love the way he let it be known he was tired of the dog show. : ) He is very smart and we don’t know how anyone could not fall in love with him. Loved the way he gave the judge kisses. lol Hugs and nose kisses
Thanks Mag. He is a sweet dog and a good ambassador for our breed. 🙂
I could tell by looking at him and what you posted about him ever since he was a wee puppy that he was a sweetie.
What a terrific post. We are heading to Westminster Kennel Club for coverage next month, so this post has us re-charged and excited. Love that you said, “Normally a wild child, Freighter was so sweet and gentle with the child…tail wagging away the whole time.” Way to go! Great pics, too.
Have fun at Westminster. That is on my bucket list. I would just like to go to watch, not necessarily enter a dog. Freighter is a fine ambassador for our breed and if he ever completely settles down, would make a good therapy dog.
I bet the judges covet his muscle tone! Love that he tried to buy the win by loving up the judge!
He is nice and fit. I detest the trend to fatten up dogs for the show ring. Not all owners fatten them, but some do. Luckily both Thunder/Freighter and Storm’s breeders are adamant about showing fit, not fat, dogs.
I can’t stand to have my hands on a fat dog at a show. I didn’t know the trend was for fat. I would hate that, too! I’ve read judges’ comments about enjoying examining dogs who are field-fit even with brush scarring on their undersides.
Is kissing the judge considered some form of sucking up? LOL It always amazes me when watching dog shows how well behaved the dogs are. Reading about how Freighter acts just makes him sound more like a normal, fun loving dog! It sounds like he is coming along great.
Well kissing didn’t work to improve Freighter’s placement…lol.
LOL! Your such a suck up Freighter! Hope you had fun!
Siamese smothers!
He had fun and mostly because treats were plentiful!
Freighter, what a ladies man…trying to influence the vote. Love the photos.I bet he turns out to be a great show dog.
He didn’t end up doing much influencing but he sure tried…lol.
I can only imagine how hard it was for Freighter to be good in the ring. Those bloopers weren’t too bad. Maya would be chaos for sure. She knows not to lick, but she’ll sneak in some big wet doozies from time to time. She knows not to jump too and is good about not jumping on me. With strangers, forget about it. Good job, Freighter! Perhaps you can come over some time and teach Maya some lessons. 🙂
He was a good boy for the most part, we have to work on him not being so fixated on the treats. 🙂
Is it bad that I really enjoyed the bloopers? I laugh because I love, Freighter, and I just love that you tried to kiss the judge. I think human beauty queen contestants are disqualified for that sort of thing. 😉
LOL we were laughing too. Would be funny if beauty contestants tried to kiss the judge. 🙂
It would appear that Freighter had a good time after all. He is a good looking dog even when he’s being silly 🙂
Thanks he did have fun!
Way to liven up the show ring Freighter! I think it is just too cute and funny that he licked the judge’s face.
He is a character and we are happy he was having fun.
You are So Welcome. I had a lots of FUN showing him. He is everything a Chessie should be, young but still Perfect 🙂
You did a great job with him and had to do a lot of running around…lol. Thanks again.
Haha! Trying to make friends with the judges, eh? Love it. Funny how much he has in common with Thunder.
Sometimes the similarities between the two are startling. Its seems like as he matures we see them more often.
Hi Y’all!
You show ’em Freighter! Busy boys are happy boys!
Y’all come back now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Very true!
Nice job Freighter! I think that Sherman and Leroy always showed best on the first day of the shows because they were excited. If we were at a 4 day show they totally weren’t it to it as much on the last day!
Thanks for the bloopers, it seems that four days of showing wears on a dog. I’ve also seen a similar reaction to four days of hunt testing as well.
Good work Freighter! Keep it up. 🙂