PTertacks
AKC/EUKANUBA CHAMPIONSHIP
Jan Jaeger
Dog shows are fascinating entertainment, informative and glamorous, but the new kid on the block, the AKC(American Kennel Club)/Eukanuba National Championship, which took place on Stroll Weekend, was pretty much eclipsed by the festive activities here on Nantucket. Telecast live December 2 and 3 on Animal Planet and Discovery, a 3-hour condensed version can be viewed on three upcoming occasions: December 14 from 8:00-11:00pm, December 16 from 5:00-8:00pm and December 23 from 8:00- 11:00pm. Held for the second time during this calendar year, this event is apparently trying to hit its stride in the world of big-time dog show competitions. No doubt their show last January was too close to the venerable Westminster Kennel Club Show, always held the second Monday and Tuesday in February at Madison Square Garden, because next year’s competition is scheduled for December 1 and 2, once again on the west coast in Long Beach, California.

Only six years old, this show has just been televised for the past three. Lacking the longevity of Westminster, it still offers all of the visual excitement and glitz of a major production. Unlike many shows, including the prestigious Westminster, whose winner takes home a silver loving cup, the AKC/Eukanuba Best-in-Show winner gets to bank $50,000, earns the title of National Champion, and I shouldn’t fail to mention, is provided a lifetime supply of Eukanuba dog food. Also unique to this event is the “Viewer’s Choice” award determined by online voters supporting their favorites.

The breed competitions are only a portion of the weekend’s events. At a “meet the breed” session, attendees can mingle with owners and their champion dogs, to touch, photograph and get information about their favorite breeds. Competitions for agility, obedience and conformation also happen this weekend. About 2,500 dogs from every recognized AKC breed, including 116 foreign registrations representing 16 countries, competed for the $225,000 in prize money, the most money offered in any AKC competition.

But let’s go back to the show ring. Because this is an AKC show, the competitions are divided up into breed groups. There are seven of these, divided basically by the tasks or talents for which the dogs were originally bred. The groups are: Toy, Hound, Non-Sporting, Sporting, Terrier, Working and Herding. The televised shows start their coverage with these Group competitions, featuring all winners from the individual breeds. For example, my personal breed favorite, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, would have their breed winner compete against all the other top breed winners in the Sporting Group. The Group winner proceeds to the final competition, the Best in Show, so that a total of seven dogs compete against their breed standard, not each other, for the ultimate honor.

I think it’s always interesting to get some of the insider information, and the commentators for this show had done their homework. First up were the Toys, and the picks for this Group were “Sonny,” the Pug and “Tommy,” a Maltese. Next, in the Hound Group, “Fairchild,” a Petit Bassett Griffon Vendeen (PBGV for short) and Moxi, the Whippet, were singled out. In the Non-Sporting Group, “Juneau,” an American Eskimo Dog and “Mojazz,” a Chow Chow, making his third appearance as best of Group, were mentioned. The final Group for the night, Sporting, noted “Marley,” an Irish Water Spaniel and “James, an English Springer Spaniel.

And the winners were: Toy - “Vickie” a dazzling white toy poodle, Hound - “Fairchild” the PBGV, Non-Sporting – Tibetan Terrier Ch. Players Prodigy, and Sporting – “James” the English Springer Spaniel.

On the second night, the favorites in the Terrier Group included “Max,” an Airedale and “Ben Low,” a Sealyham. For the Working Group, “Spencer,” a Portuguese Water Dog and “Monroe,” Boxer, were cited. The final Group, Herding, favored “Rebel,” an Australian Cattle Dog and “Smokin’,” the Old English Sheepdog.

And the winners were: Terrier – “Ben Low” the Sealyham, Working - “Spencer” the Portuguese Water Dog and Herding - “Geneva” the German Shepherd Dog, also recipient of thousands of online votes to win the Viewer’s Choice Award.

And so now the moment arrived for the judge’s decision for the Best in Show. Should I spoil the suspense? Which of these seven very disparate dogs was the best of the best? OK, I’ll tell you; after all, it’s now old news. “James,” the English Springer Spaniel of Fairfax Station, Virginia, took home top honors, the big bucks and the truckload of dog food.

Even though I’ve given away the answer, for those of you who haven’t seen it, catching a rebroadcast of this event is still very worthwhile. Watch and you’ll have your own insider information well before the next big show, Westminster,

coming up in February. I

Jan Jaeger is owner of Geronimo’s, Ltd., Nantucket’s pet supply and gift shop, and is a member of DWAA and CWA (Dog and Cat Writer’s Associations of America). Her pets at home are Junior, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and three cats. At the shop are cats Messrs. Fish and Chips, Flower bunny, Millie guinea pig and two budgies. Send email to jan@geronimos.com.