Vying for the title of top dog
There's a very nice story in the Oshkosh Northwestern about getting involved in showing dogs and what it's like once you are involved. It's very much a labor of love. Unless you're a professional handler earning a living from showing your dog, or a vendor making a living going from show to show selling merchandise, dog shows are a hobby for the vast majority of people who enter them. There are token prizes at shows, but, as far as I know, the Eukanuba Championship at the end of the year is the only show which actually offers cash awards and that's an invitational show. (In other words, your chances of winning there are pretty slim unless you are one of the very top dogs in the country.)
Most people show their dogs for fun and because they are passionate about their breeds. They love dogs and they enjoy showing. They make friends with other dog show people and they like to see all the dogs every week. And, honestly, they like to compete with their dogs. Breeders show their dogs because they want other people to see what they have produced. And don't forget the original and ongoing purpose of dog shows: to evaluate breeding stock. You take dogs to shows to get the opinion of qualified judges and to see what your peers think of your dog. With a little experience you learn whose opinions you can rely on. The "champion" title is nice, but what it really means is that people who know your breed have judged your dog and consider him or her a good representative and, physically at least, a good candidate for breeding.
(Of course there's much more to breeding than just looks. That's why not every champion dog should be or is bred. Many dogs are retired once they earn their champion title without being bred. Health and genetic considerations play a big role in breeding decisions.)
Many people have the idea that show dogs are pampered creatures who aren't allowed to lead normal lives as dogs. Some owners may treat their dogs that way, but for the majority of people who show dogs, their dogs are pets, the same as yours are. My dogs, both the retired show dogs and the current ones, sleep on the bed, race around the back yard getting muddy, and steal things off the kitchen counter. They don't get as many baths as they should and I'm always behind with trimming their nails. However, they get love all the time all day long.
Vying for the title of top dog
By ALDRICH M. TAN
of The Northwestern
Sue Wellenstein grooms Penelope, a 9-month-old Bernese Mountain breed, Jan. 2, at their town of Vinland home in the preparation for last week's show in St. Paul. Wellenstein, who has been a trainer since 1990, will enter her dogs into the Oshkosh Kennel Club dog show. Shu-Ling Zhou/ of The Northwestern
Penelope had no idea what a dog show was.
But she soon did. The 9-month-old Bernese Mountain puppy participated in her first dog show last week in St. Paul, Minn., to prepare to be one of more than 950 dogs entering the American Kennel Club all-breed dog show in Oshkosh this weekend.
Penelope's owner, Sue Wellenstein, has been showing dogs for 15 years. Wellenstein owns three kennel-club champions.
"It is nice to win," said Wellenstein, 56 of Oshkosh. "As much as you like your dog and think they are lovely, it's great that someone else will tell you that too."
Any dog owner can enter a show, Wellenstein said, adding that she shows her dogs as a hobby, leaving them enough time to be "regular dogs."
"They walk on the Larsen Trail every day and get dirty like everyone else," she said.
Wellenstein, a receptionist at Lakeside Animal Hospital, said she started adopting Bernese Mountain dogs in 1990, and joined the Oshkosh Kennel Club, where she heard about dog shows. She started volunteering, and decided she wanted to participate in the shows too.
"I just thought it was going to be a fun thing to do with the dogs," she said.
It's a different experience to see the dogs in the show and be part of that show. Dog show participants go through a lot of pressure, said Jeanne Murawski, show chairwoman from the Oshkosh Kennel Club.
There is a lot of traveling and expense involved, she said, and there is an emotional part, especially for those who enter the sport with one dog.
Wellenstein entered her first Bernese Mountain dog, Addie, in a Fond du Lac dog show in 1992. The experience was nerve-wracking, Wellenstein said.
Addie, who died in 2000, was having a great time, she said.
"Oh, you could tell by the look in her face and her tail was always wagging," she said. "She loved every minute of it."
With the encouragement of her husband Nick, Wellenstein entered her more dog shows, and felt more comfortable with the process as she went. Wellenstein also took weekly classes with a professional handler in Milwaukee.
Through those classes, Wellenstein learned how to present her dogs' best attributes. Wellenstein said the key is to learn how to show the dog so that faults aren't blatant. Her champion dog, 6-year-old Enzian, does not have good front movement but she has good expressions and great rear movement, for example.
"When you show your dog, you're not hiding anything from the judges," she said.
Wellenstein said she is a casual trainer, teaching her dogs at home by offering dog treats.
"I want them to enjoy it and have fun and for me, that's what makes them good show dogs and that's how they enjoy it," she said.
Wellenstein continues to enter shows with her other dogs, who are kennel club champions: Elliot, 10, Enzian and Emmett, 4.
Wellenstein plans to enter Penelope and Dudley, a 2-year-old Wellenstein co-owns with fellow kennel club member Paige Heff. Dudley is eight points toward becoming a champion.
Murawski advises dog owners considering entering a dog show to be very objective.
"You have to be willing to look at your dog and understand the good things and the bad things," she said. "You also have to be thick-skinned in this type of competition."
Wellenstein said she also tries not to take the shows too seriously and focus on having a good time.
"If you are going to a dog show, you are there to compete and everyone wants to win," she said, "but I try not to get too serious about it, so I'm not upset if I don't win. I still have a good time and a good day with my dogs."
Aldrich M. Tan: (920) 426-6663 or atan@thenorthwestern.com
