Sun Maid Kennel Club Of Fresno Show! Sawyer's First Best of Breed wins!!!

No exciting ring photos, but here we are taking our first official Best of Breed photo!!! Its nice to see the results of all the hard work you put into these amazing red kids!

Then comes the challenge to not look freakish yourself in your picture! Smile! Look up, smile down at your pooch. Straighten out your jacket! Its a work in progress!

AND here we go! Our first trip into Groups! Here we are with all the other lovely Best of Breed winners from the Sporting Group.

Here we are waiting our turn, trying to stay entertained as well as looking good! A special thank you to handler Bill McFadden for graciously letting me enter ahead of him, I had no idea it was a free for all and frankly I think I was about to be trampled!

Nervous? Who me? Uh, yes.

Advice from my Peanut Gallery! It was mostly, "Get that bait out of your mouth!!!!". Oh yeah, judges don't really like that, and seeing photos of hot dogs jammed in your cheeks like a chipmunk storing up for Winter, not pretty!

Yup. I find that like Sawyer I too can lose my mind in the ring! Ugh! Hot Dog! But here we are being gone over by Judge Mrs. Jean Fournier, who complimented us on how "Very, very nice." Sawyer felt. :-)

Now he's over stretched, but better not to fuss with anything at this point, hey! He is standing still! There's that...

He's being such a good boy! This was a long time in the ring for Sawyer, and he's handling it like a champ!

Almost all the breeds have been examined, now time for the "Pick me! Pick me!" look,  can I manage that with what appears to be yet another hot dog in my cheek?

Our last look before the Judge makes her cut. It wasn't our day, but I think my boy did a great job anyway! We'll be back tomorrow!

Our second Best of Breed from the following day!

Happy New Year from The Golden Gate Kennel Club benched show in Daly City, CA

Here are Joye and I back at it in 2010 with Sawyer and Brenna! 

The Cow Palace show is always interesting, a two day benched show makes for a long day, but it is only once a year and we are always amongst good company. "The AKC is proud to recognize AKC Breeder of Merit participants who are dedicated to breeding beautiful purebred dogs whose appearance, temperament, and ability are true to their breed. These accomplished breeders are the heart of the AKC." 

I am always happy to be there to support Sawyer's Breeder, Joye Bondanza of Aristo Acres who has always been a tremendous support for Sawyer and I during all these new adventures! She has a wealth of knowledge, and I would say Sawyer and I are still novices.

There are over 1200 dogs entered, representing 136 breeds.

Here are Joye and I waiting for the classes to finish up before the Breed ring

Always nice to have your husband take pictures so you can see how your dog is stacked. In my case not so well!

Here we are on the second day, doing a little better! Practice, practice, practice!

Much better! But Sawyer? Where is your tail??? (this question is often followed by a bark! So I chose not to ask today)

Ms. Brenna getting her turn with the judge, despite the time and all the hard work, it was a great weekend with friends!