Showtime -- The Aftermath

I didn't know there was math involved!

There are a few things that must be completed before a show committee can say everything is done.

Day Of:

• Ensure that the steward's and secretary's catalogs match the Judge's Book (which is really just a couple sheets of paper).
• Double check the number of dogs judged (may differ from number of entries) and verify the points earned for the show. This is a big deal!
• Mark a catalog for the judge to keep.
• The Judge's Book must be signed.
• Apparently there is supposed to be a cover sheet that goes along with the Judge's Book, but I can't find one online or in the AKC manual. The judge handwrote the information on the front of the Judge's Book. (Note to self: design something for next year.)
• It's best to have the club treasurer at the show with checkbook in hand. The photographer will want to settle up and the judges may have additional expenses they need to be reimbursed. Plus, there are always last minute purchases, no matter how hard you plan.

Within the week:

• A marked catalog must be sent to the AKC.
• The Report of Dog Show or Obedience Trial form must be filled out and fees tallied. The AKC charges the club $3.50 per entry (on top of the initial $100 they charge just to have the show). Annotate any unusual events on the form.
• The Judge's Book, a marked catalog, the Report of Dog Show or Obedience Trial and the check all have to be sent to the AKC within seven days of the show. FYI: If you have two shows in one day (like we did) you must send the information separately.
• I learned later that our parent club, The German Shepherd Dog Club of America, also wants a marked catalog and copies of the win pictures. Unfortunately, they didn't tell us up front, nor do they advertise who/where to send this information.

For A While:

• Per AKC, the club must hold onto all entry forms for six months. It's a good idea to have a copy of the judge's book and any other paperwork (i.e. disciplinary hearing) on hand as well.
• Keep a clean, marked catalog for the club.
• Once the show is over and all bills have been paid, it's a good idea to have the club treasurer draw up a profit and loss statement for the show.

Repeat:

• While the event is still fresh, the show committee should sit down and discuss what worked, what didn't and what could be done better the next time. (I suggest this be done over a bottle a wine.)
• Ideally, a folder will be made for posterity/the next show committee. That folder should include:
• Copies of all paperwork related to the show -- applications, letters, judges contracts, vendor orders, the premium, the catalog, the Report of Dog Show or Obedience Trial, etc.
• The profit and loss statement
• After action notes from the committee
• Passwords to the Show Secretary email and PayPal accounts
• A flash drive containing the master address list, premium and catalog (to be used templates -- seriously, we shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel every year!)
• Don't spend too much time resting on your laurels (or licking your wounds, depending on how well the show went). It's time to start planning for next year!

Whew. That was a lot of work. Did you learn anything? I sure did! -- K

Showtime -- The Big Day

Manning my table

On April 6, 2018, nine months of hard work finally paid off. 25 beautiful dogs came to our German Shepherd Specialty shows. The weather was clear and warm. But as show secretary, I didn't have time to watch the show. I had work to do!

The Show Secretary's table was set up ringside. With me was a big box of stuff including:

• Entry forms. Per the AKC the club must have "All entry forms, arranged in catalog order so the Secretary can easily refer to these forms to answer any questions exhibitors may raise." (Trust me, they raise questions!)
• Armbands for all exhibitors. To make things easier for everybody, the Secretary should print the dog's name and class on the backside of the armband. (Not my invention. Just passing on what I've learned from others.)
• Catalogs. Have one for the table (mark "TABLE COPY, DO NOT REMOVE" on it -- 'cuz they will). Catalogs will also be needed for stewards, judges, AKC and to be purchased by anyone who wants one. However, the AKC mandates that the catalog cannot go on sale until one hour prior to regular judging.
• The latest versions of the AKC booklets: Rules Applying to Dog Shows Rules, Policies and Guidelines for Conformation Dog Show Judges, Dog Show Stewards, Junior Showmanship, Rules Applying to Registration and Discipline, and Dealing with Misconduct. Fortunately, the AKC sends these ahead of time.
• CYA forms Event Committee Hearing Procedural Checklist forms, Club Incident Report forms, Dog Aggression -- Action by Event Committee forms and Dog Disqualified by Judge for Attacking forms. (Pray you don't have to use them!) The AKC sends these as well.
• A copy of the Premium. Remember, this is the contract the club made with the exhibitors. The club should abide by all the promises made in the premium. By the same token, the premium contained regulations and disclaimers that the exhibitors agreed to when they entered.
  

  

  Winners Bitch competition

• A list of pre-ordered catalogs.
• A list of anyone who may owe or be owed money for entries or catalogs. (It happens.)
• Any miscellaneous things you may need like pens, markers, rubber bands, badges, clipboards, tape and a stapler.

We're a small club, so everybody pulls double (and triple) duty. In addition to manning my table I arrived early to unload the trailer, helped set up the concessions tent, helped the afternoon steward (it was her first time and she was nervous), answered a bajillion questions and refrained from choking a regular busybody. When the show was over I helped break down and reload the trailer before going out to dinner to celebrate a job well done. It was a l-o-n-g day. All we have left is the aftermath, then we can call this show officially over. -- K

Showtime -- The Catalog

The premium was sent out March 1 and entries trickled in -- until the closing date. Then all the entries came at once! Putting together an official show catalog isn't easy.

Dogs (male) or bitches (females) are entered into a specific class. This year our club offered the following classes:

• PUPPY DOGS (6 months to under 9 months)
• PUPPY DOGS (9 months to under 12 months)
• DOGS (12 months to under 18 months)
• NOVICE DOGS
• BRED-BY-EXHIBITOR DOGS
• AMERICAN BRED DOGS
• OPEN DOGS
• PUPPY BITCHES (6 months to under 9 months)
• PUPPY BITCHES (9 months to under 12 months)
• BITCHES (12 months to under 18 months)
• NOVICE BITCHES
• BRED-BY-EXHIBITOR BITCHES
• AMERICAN BRED BITCHES
• OPEN BITCHES
• BEST OF BREED

The entrants are listed in the catalog by class with a whole lot of information. The specified listing required by the AKC is:

Our catalog!

DOG'S FULL REGISTERED NAME. Registration number. Date of birth. Breeder's name by sire's full registered name -- dam's full registered name. Owner's name, full address. (Hired agent, handler)

It looks something like this:

ROLLING STONES' JUMPIN JACK FLASH. DN12345678. 07/04/15. Breeder: John Lennon by GCH Hard Daze Knight -- CH Strawberry Fields V Yesterday, TC. Owners: Mickey and Minnie Mouse, 123 Disney World Dr, Orlando, FL 32830. (Harry Potter, Handler)

Trust me, that's quite the task. First of all, not all handwriting is legible. I had to email several people for clarification. Also, some registered names are outrageous -- hyphens, apostrophes, alternative spellings. Ugh. The Show Secretary's job is to ensure every jot and tittle is correct. I ended up going to breeders' websites and calling owners to confirm the proper spelling of over a dozen dogs.

Once it's determined that every dog is in the right class, each entrant is assigned a number/arm band. The numbers are listed in the catalog with the corresponding dog. To keep things as objective as possible, dogs are judged anonymously. The judge only knows the dog by number until after the show is over.

The AKC requires a number of other things be listed in the catalog as well. The cover or title page must include:

• Date or dates of the event
• Name of the show-giving club
• Notice that the event is held under American Kennel Club rules
• American Kennel Club logo
• The event's exact location and time of opening and closing
• List of the club's officers
• List of the members of the Event Committee
• The Show Chair’s address
• Name and address of the Superintendent and/or Show Secretary
• Name, complete address, and assignment of each judge
• Name of the veterinarian or veterinary clinic, and whether the veterinarian will be in attendance or on-call

The catalog must also contain a list of prizes and trophies, the AKC Schedule of Points for the region and a copy of the judging program.

Over-achiever that I am, our catalog included much, much more. I was given carte blanche to write the catalog that I would have wanted to see as a newbie. I included:

• The AKC Code of Sportsmanship
• Our club history, Facebook and web addresses
• 2017 Club Member awards
• The Official AKC breed standard
• A Disaster and Emergency plan
• … and puzzles about anatomy & terminology!

I easily put 80 hours into the catalog. It is beautiful! And now we have a template for next year. I think we're about ready the Big Day. -- K

Jedi Jewelry

Hubby got me the neatest Christmas present this year. He took one of my favorite pictures of Jedi and turned it into a necklace. He even had Jedi's registered name engraved on the back. This is the original picture:

Which became this necklace:

I wore it to the Westminster Dog Show this year so that Jedi could join me in spirit. (He'll never get there with my sucky handling skills!)

For reference, the necklace is about the size of a quarter. So how cool is this? Do you want one too? Go to My Pets for more details. But first, hop around below and see what others are sharing. It's Wordless Wednesday! -- K

Awww...Shut Up!

Jedi is the most vocal dog I have ever known -- and that includes my mother's husky! Jedi whines, groans, grunts, sighs, barks, yips, yowls, woofs and howls all the time -- for whatever reason. The more excited he gets, the louder he becomes. This includes car rides, approaching his favorite parks, going to any pet store, using the self-wash at Pet Supplies Plus and the first 20 minutes inside a hotel room. (I always pay the pet deposit up front -- there is no sneaking Jedi in!) And the more you try to quiet him down, the more excited (and therefore vocal) he becomes.

My friends think it's hilarious. Some even encourage it! Others just laugh and take pictures. In the past year I've been tagged in two dozen photos like this:

In this picture Jedi is just singing his lungs out! If you look closely, you'll see he's wearing a GoPro. Once I figure that out I'll actually record him so you can enjoy the voice of Jedi as well.

Annoying aside, Jedi's joie de vivre is undeniable. I hope it made you smile. Today is Awww...Monday, where a group of bloggers come together to brighten the start of your work week. Click around below and see what others are sharing. A big thank you to Sandee for putting this together each week. Happy Monday! -- K

Kelley Conquers Westminster

Rumor, last year's winner, was this

year's poster child

The 142nd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show was earlier this week -- and I was there. Yep, I can cross that one off the bucket list! I was in New York City Saturday through Wednesday and I don't think I got more than twelve hours sleep total. I'm still groggy, but I wanted to share with you all while it's still fresh in my mind.

New York was overwhelming. We were there 5 days/4 nights and barely scratched the surface. We saw Wicked on Broadway, caught a comedy show in a dive club, ate dim sum in Chinatown, rode the subway, had a rude cab driver (and several really nice ones), visited the 9/11 Memorial, got a hot dog from a street vendor in Central Park, ate lots of real NY bagels and so much more. Our hotel was in Times Square and it's true that the city never sleeps.

Back to the dog show: The individual breed shows are held at Piers 92 and 94 during the day, with half on Monday and the other half on Tuesday. I expected a lot more from the day shows at the Piers – the AKC National Championship in Orlando is bigger (go figure). There were only a dozen vendors or so, and most of them were way out of my price range. Because of this, I didn't spend nearly as much there as I had budgeted. Good thing too. Food all over NY was expensive, and I spent more than I had expected on cab rides. (I didn't brave the subway until day 3.)

This is Keeper. I'm madly in love with him.

All the dogs were gorgeous. We got there early and had ringside seats for the GSDs. This was a benched show, so all the dogs had to be on display the entire day. This allowed us to schmooze with the dogs and owners/handlers afterwards. Awesome! I think I met my next puppy’s daddy. Seriously! Don't tell Jedi.

The night shows at Madison Square Garden were all that I had imagined. It's a huge venue and it was full of dog lovers. There were also a lot of casual spectators, which I found surprising. The announcer made several comments about these being intentionally bred dogs from reputable breeders, and urged people not to buy dogs from pet stores or puppy mills. Touché!

We also visited the Pennsylvania Hotel across the street from MSG and checked out the basement where dogs were being groomed, pottied and exercised. This is the official hotel of the Westminster Dog Show and every year it becomes dog central.

One of many!

BTW, there is nothing low fat in NYC. I ate like crazy (hot dogs, bagels, pizza, cheese cake and Rueben sandwiches top the list) but only gained half a pound. My Fitbit said I walked 31.37 miles in 5 days, so I think that helped. It was wet on Sunday and colder on Tuesday, but the weather was never unbearable. I had friends go to the show a couple years ago and it was 8 degrees. EIGHT! By comparison, our low was 38 and the high was 52. Cold by Florida standards, but all in all not bad.

Next time I go to NYC (and yes, there will be a next time!) I will make sure to see the Statue of Liberty, the Natural History Museum and the Bronx Zoo. For now, I'm still trying to process it all. There are hundreds of NYC pictures between me and my three traveling companions. Here are a few that I think you might find most relevant. Enjoy! -- K

There were 14 beautiful German shepherds vying for Best of Breed. I don't envy the judge, I couldn't pick one.

Mia and her handler, Jesse, in the benching area. They came all the way from Florida too!

The four of us at Madison Square Garden. We made it!

We Did It!

Jedi and I did Chariots of Fur again this year. In years past we've only done the mile. This year we did the whole 5K. In the cold. In the sand. My goal was to walk it in an hour. I was over by 19 seconds -- not bad!

I'd tell you all about it, but it's Wordless Wednesday! Hop around below and see what others are sharing today. -- K