A Cattle Dog Day

This weekend we attended our first dog show in Concord, NC. Our Carolina Australian Cattle Dog Club held our Regional Specialty in conjunction with the Great Monroe Kennel Club show. My husband and I were part of the hospitality booth team which handed out goody bags and sold raffle tickets for tons of cool cattle dog stuff. This show gave us the chance to meet more of our club members as well as other cattle dog owners across the US. It's totally true that we are all as feisty as our dogs. Our cattle dog conformation was all held in one ring so we took up residence to watch all of the gorgeous dogs under the judges' eyes. The funky arena lighting and trying to hold Jake on his leash didn't exactly make for the best photo opportunities but we managed to sneak in a few photos when Jake was holding still (that doesn't mean the other cattle dogs were holding still, though). The only time Jake seemed to be rattled by the crowd was when we were all screaming and clapping for the cattle dog in the Best of Show ring. He started shrieking, leaping and trying to get out of his collar. I was kind and removed him from the scene for a little calming down time with just his momma.



Two of our agility instructors were also at the show with their dogs for the agility competition. We snuck out of the conformation ring to go take a peak at the truly spectacular agility ring. The seating was definitely set up for the spectators to see both rings at work. Jake was beside himself wanting to get down from the stands and get out on the dirt himself. He was positive that he would have as much fun as all those dogs sailing over the jumps, whipping through the tunnels, and wiggling through the weave poles. After almost a hour of watching, Jake finally settled down and just shoved his head through the rail to keep getting a better view. There were very few cattle dogs competing in agility so we'll just have to do our best to help change that in the future as Jake gets old enough to compete. We didn't get a chance to go see the obedience or rally rings where some of our other club dogs were competing.



I couldn't get enough of watching all the cattle dogs. Red or blue didn't matter. I used to think I didn't like the look of the reds as much as the blues but then I met some of them in person. I'm still partial to the blues but I couldn't help but admire the handsome reds either. Jake got to meet some Great Danes, some Irish Wolfhounds, some Pugs, some Beagles, and even some Chinese Cresteds. Every single one of them had him so fascinated that he didn't know where to look next. I think he wore himself out trying to turn around and around and see the other dogs all at once. I know it wore me out trying to make sure Jake didn't invade some other dog's personal space. Jake truly enjoyed howling with someone else's dog across the cavernous grooming area as they tried to out-howl each other for the saddest sounding noise (of course, my husband was whispering in his ear and egging him on). The true highlight of Jake's day was when he got to play with a little red female who was only 4 months old. The two were kindred spirits in play and rolled around on the floor, happy to be out of their cages. The humans were all tired but Jake was exhausted and found himself a spot in our chairs to rest for a few minutes. Jake fell into a coma once we got him in the car to take him back to the hotel. Again, I'll reiterate, events that wear my ACD out are high on my list of activities to repeat! Thanks to all the wonderful people who made this show happen.