A Great Show Weekend at the Avalon Kennel Club!

We had a wonderful weekend at the Avalon Kennel Club dog shows! We are so proud of Lexi and Zara who both received points towards their grand championships in some pretty competitive line ups and grateful also to the judges who recognized them.  We are hopeful to continue showing them this summer locally at the Newfoundland All Breed Kennel Club shows in Flatrock and also at the Conception Bay Kennel Club shows as well.

Shows are often very exciting and a lot of fun. If you have never been to one, I strongly encourage you to give it a try as they are all open to the public and filled with people who love their dogs. Often, breeders are there prepping their dogs but many when they have time will talk to interested families. Always remember that conformation is important even for pet dogs! I often get messages from prospective families with people telling me they do not need a show dog. You might not want to show competitively but you should always be interested in adding a sound and stable dog to your home. Poor conformation can lead to problems especially as a dog ages. 

When a dog receives its Canadian Championship, it is affirming that several licensed judges (yep! they are licensed!) have chosen a dog as posessing important traits that the breed standard has outlined.  A dog must receive 10 points with some of those points being a major (in Canada it is a 2 point major). This means they didn't just beat one dog every time but beat several (depending on how many dogs were entered). Sounds complicated but it is important. 

A Grand Championship means that the dog has already been recognized as a Canadian Champion but is now competing further to obtain a higher level title. Not every dog will complete this title but it is a further demonstration of their qualities and conformation to the breed standard. Dogs competing for this higher title must start again and win 20 points and two majors! We are so pleased to say that Zara and Lexi are working towards this and both are just around the halfway mark. We hope to finish these titles within the next year. 

Exciting times!