Tuesday, February 14, 2012

136th Westminster Kennel Club results

The Pekingese won Best in Show. Seriously.

I'm actually surprised at how disappointed I am. A Pekingese? I thought it was going to be between say, the German Shepherd and the Doberman. Despite my personal feelings that something is horribly wrong with American show German Shepherd's hindquarters, somebody clearly likes them. But no. It was the Peke.

Elka was sad too.When I told her, she had to go and get Gumby to share the burden.

I tried to tell her there were other shows. Crufts, in the UK, is coming up soon, I seem to remember Alfie mentioning. There are Dobermans in the UK, albeit natural (they banned cropping and docking there, I'm not sure when). This was a hard sell for Elka.


But, with some of my steak, and judicious application of the Monster Mouth, I think Elka will get over her disappointment. After all, there is next year. And the future of Doberkind!


Sorry, Fifi, you were robbed. But all us Doberfolks support you!





28 comments:

  1. I agree! My husband and I aren't even doberman people and we were totally rooting for Fifi. What a gorgeous dog. I don't really know how dog shows work, this was my first time watching, but I am so curious how a judge can even compare a peke and a doberman.

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    1. The dogs are judged to the breed standard...not aganst each other....therefore the dog that comes clsest to the standard "should" win. Unfortunately tis does not always happen. Politics plays a huge roll. As beautiful a bitch she is..she is a little to long in body and should be a little longer in neck and leg. That is being very critical. I had one of the top dobes in confirmation for a few years. Dobes unfortunately do not do well in Best in Show.

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    2. Ahh, that makes sense. I still think judging a dog show has got to be so hard- especially at this level when no doubt you would have to compare dogs that are all really great examples of their breed.

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    3. Judging dog shows require a profound knowledge of the breed standards (which is why the GSD stuff was confusing to me, but I know I'm not the only one). So, if the Peke was the best Peke he could be, that's why he got Best of Breed and even perhaps Best in Group (I didn't look at the other toys). But I'm not sold on him having been Best in Show, against those other fine specimens!

      It's nice to see/hear how thrilled his owner was, at least.

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  2. Sorry for typos.....am sending from iphone so tiny keyboard.....

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  3. In big shows politics are big. That is why you rarely see Breeder/Owner/Handlers win group or BIS. We enjoy watching breed entries at local shows but usually skip group and beyond.

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    1. Yes, a lot of people pay for the big name Handlers rather than owner handling. I actually didn't know Fifi's handler was her owner and breeder as well until this week. I thought that was really cool!

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    2. In last year's show the Chessie that won breed was a breeder/owner/handler dog. The breeder could not show the dog in group because she was ill and could not physically do both breed and group so she did breed. Too bad because she showed her dog better than the handler.

      The best is when you beat handlers which my hubby did a few times with our Thunder. :)

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  4. After the Poodles didn't make it to BIS, we were also rooting for the Dobie. But...the Peke?

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    1. I want to see more corded poodles in conformation ;)

      I appreciate how many non-Dobie people were for the Dobie!

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  5. Fifi was stunning and I will always root for a dobe before any other breed I'm sure. But that setter, Emily, I thought she was going to take it. What a disappointment... =[

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    1. The setter was gorgeous as well! I would deal with dog hair for an Irish Setter (though no way Jose would I have the show cut)

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  6. I agree about GSD's hindquarters - it pains me to see them work in shows; how are cow-hocks functional in a herding dog?
    And that Peke - Oh, the cananity! Sorry - Fifi all the way but I have yet to see who won the Hound group (no TV so am dependent on Internet).

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    1. @Roberta, the wire-haired Dachshund won the hound group. He was actually a pretty cute little guy.

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    2. I did always think that cow hocks were a DQ, even in Shepherds. The things we learn....


      The Dachshund was a cutie!

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  7. Gaaaaahhhhh! I hadn't seen the end yet because it was on until midnight and I feel asleep by ten. I'd DVRd it and planned to see the final tonight. It's actually impressive I made it to one-thirty without hearing the results.

    A Pekingese? Really? Was the BIS judge a former Peke breeder? I didn't even think that dog should have won best in group. Ugh ugh ugh.

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    1. Hi Y'all,

      Heard on a news report that the Peke had won 15 BIS and was retiring to spend time courting the ladies. ;)

      Y'all come by now,
      Hawk aka BrownDog

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    2. Sorry for the spoilers! I wish I could watch more than the highlights on the Westminster site (don't have TV), but hearing about it and "listening along" online on the Doberman Talk board was kind of cool.

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  8. Hi Y'all,

    How can they tell if the dog is built properly through ALL that hair!?

    Guess we common retriever types and the like, just can't appreciate those little hairballs.

    Actually I was rooting for what my Human Papa calls a "real dog"...

    Oh well, if different people didn't like all different kinds of dogs, we wouldn't have so many breeds. I guess we big guys shouldn't be prejudice against the small hairy types.

    Y'all come by now,
    Hawk aka BrownDog

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    1. Which dog did your Human Papa think was a "real dog" out of the BIS's, if I may ask? (don't worry, I won't be offended if it isn't the Dobie ^^)

      All that hair really kind of weirds me out!

      I know different people are all passionate about their dog breeds, and I try to understand that, and not be too down on the Peke...but I was still super disappointed.

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  9. Oh Elka,

    Glad you were well compensated for your sadness - mmmm Steak!! :)

    Have a fun day and chin up :)

    Your pal Snoopy :)

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  10. I guess I can guarantee that no dog like me would win. That's okay. I'll settle for Gumby.

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  11. OK, so I am new to the dog-having world (4 months... I have a 24 lb terrier mutt that is super cute but would never win a "breed"), but that Pekingese was just absurd looking. It looks like something you dust with, not a pet! I'm just saying... And yes, I am one of those people that 6 months ago was afraid of pit bulls and dobermans, but no more! We were rooting for Fifi in our house.

    And since the Pekingese won, FKGuy has taken to quoting Harry Potter "He was no bigger than a Pekingese" every time a dog is mentioned. Oh, how I longed for the doberman to win (or the kerry blue - I thought that one was a cutie, too!)

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    1. Oh boy, I think the constant quoting would get a little old ;)

      The Kerry Blue is a neat dog...I think blue dogs are pretty cool (there are blue Dobermans, you know ^^)

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