Scotty, Ben and Ava all take Best of Breeds at the NCKA Shows

Kevin, Ben and Scotty watching the shows

Despite the wet and gloomy weather over the weekend, our brave little team did us very proud at the North Canterbury Kennel Association shows.

It was the largest field we've seen in the South Island for a while. Great to see some competitors down from the North Island to swell our entries, particularly in the Smooth Coats, where Scotty found himself up against arguably, the best Smooth Coats in New Zealand.

In the first show in the Long Coats, under NZ Judge, Shirley Rolfe, Ava took Best of Breed, Best Bitch CC and Open of Breed. In the Smooth Coats, Scotty took the Reserve Best Dog behind the amazing Italian import, Otto, from the Misty Meadows kennels who was last year's Best of Breed winner at the National Dog Show.

On Day Two, in Show 1, Scotty blew us all way by winning Best of Breed under Japanese Judge, Hiroshi Tsuyaki. As is often the case with dog shows, Ava, who took Best of Breed the day before, was dumped completely and could only manage Best Open Bitch, LOL.

This is not as uncommon as you'd think. A few weeks ago we were at a show where the Best in Show winner on Day 1, came third in his class on Day 2 and didn't even get to the dog line-up for his breed! Such is the fickle nature of Dog Shows and why you have to learn not to take your wins (or losses) too seriously.

There is a reason, you know, for the saying "every dog has his day".

In Show 2, Ben stepped up and took the Best of Breed under Australian Judge, Elizabeth Gunter, in the Long Coats. Scotty continued to impress, taking the Reserve Best of Breed behind Otto and the Reserve Best Dog CC.

Kevin & Claude

We brought Kevin along for the experience on Saturday (he's not old enough to show yet) but he had a blast hanging out with the team and making friends with Claude from the North Island.

Stellar had an excellent weekend, placing second in her class in all three shows. Seeing her back in the ring after her fright as a baby is a real delight, and every show she gains more confidence, although we do have one problem with her.

Once she's been on the table, she seems to think the judge (it's worse with male judges) is her new best friend and instead of doing her obligatory up-and-back, or triangle walkout, she keeps trying to run back to the judge for more cuddles. It's very cute and the judges just adore her sweet temperament, but we need to have a chat with her about how the judge wants to see her on the move, and that ain't gonna happen if you are trying to climb the judge's leg for a cuddle.

Stellar and Scotty

So all in all, a great show. We took 2 out of the 3 Best of Breeds in the Long Coats , a Best of Breed and a Reserve Best of Breed with the Smooth Coats and scored lots of eggs off the Easter Bunny.

Thanks to the NCKA for some great shows and a special thanks to Debra's son Jeremy for helping us put up the gazebo on Thursday,