Posted on 02/10/2004 5:10:39 PM PST by nuconvert
Newfoundland, Norfolk Terrier Aim to Be Top Dog at Westminster
By Ben Walker
The Associated Press/Feb.10,'04
NEW YORK (AP) - With so many top dogs in town, any win at Westminster is a big deal. So it made perfect sense that Karen Mammano let out a playful yelp when the judge picked her American water spaniel. No matter that Shane was the only American water spaniel in the show.
"Yeah, it was a little strange being out there all by ourselves," Mammano said. "But hey, I'll take an automatic win."
Hours later, the competition promised to get a lot tougher at America's most prestigious canine event. Of the 2,624 dogs entered, only a handful were left in the running for best in show heading into Tuesday night.
Josh, a bounding, shiny black Newfoundland, figured to be the favorite among the crowd of 10,000 or so expected at Madison Square Garden. Big dogs always attract a lot of attention, although a sprightly Norfolk terrier named Coco has been almost unbeatable on the show circuit recently.
A primped, above-it-all Pekingese and a stylish, shaved standard poodle also earned their way into the final seven with group wins Monday. An Ibizan hound named Bunny - she has a white patch in the shape of the Playboy symbol on her back - was a repeat winner Tuesday in best of breed.
Josh spent part of the day napping in his crate, kept cool by a pair of huge circular fans. His owners planned to take him on a long walk to relax.
"We've got to get him out of here," co-owned Peggy Helming said.
Mikimoto on Fifth, the poodle with purple rollers in his hair, prepared for the big night with a little entertainment. With his paws, he played pattycake with owner Karen LeFrak.
Keeping a dog - and its owner and handler - calm on the big day can be a doggone difficult task. Along with more than a thousand dogs in the holding area, there is a crush of people strolling backstage to look at the pooches and buy a bevy of pet products.
"It's not an ideal situation," admitted handler Bill McFadden, who guided a Kerry blue terrier named Mick to the best in show title last year. "Sometimes, you have to take the dogs down the ramp to stretch their legs. It's cooler down there, and the fresh air helps."
Just in case of an emergency, Westminster keeps veterinarians on call in a Garden office right behind the ring. The vets work in two-person teams in three-hour shifts.
"Most of the problems are stress-related," vet George Korin said. "We haven't had anything too serious."
Mark Salemi said the biggest trauma he recalled came when a Bernese mountain dog jumped out of its crate and ripped a toenail, which bled profusely.
Often, the vets wind up soothing the nerves of the owners and handlers.
"That can be a big part of it," Salemi said.
One dog that missed out because of an injury was a lowchen named Napoleon. Three weeks ago, a pit bull-lab mix got into the family's backyard in Lawton, Okla., and broke its leg.
Still, 8-year-old handler Rachel Skaggs, her brother and her mother came with Napoleon as special guests of Westminster.
"He's a brat, and so am I," Rachel said, holding her pet. "We're going to come back here next year."
Mammano had it easy in the afternoon. Though five American water spaniels were entered, hers was the lone one that showed up.
"I've never seen it at Westminster," said Mammano, a longtime handler.
Even so, the dog with the official name of Ch. Bellwood's Dark Shadow had to go through its paces in front of judge Michael Faulkner. Shane trotted up and back the green carpet as fans lining the ring gently applauded, and then the judge moved in for a closer look and a word with Mammano.
"He said, 'We're going to put on a little production here,'" she said.
When Faulkner pointed at Shane and signaled him as the winner, Mammano jumped up and shouted, "Yeah!"
It was the fourth straight year Shane won his breed. Most American water spaniels come from Wisconsin and Minnesota and many owners don't think the long trip, the $50 entry fee and competition against Shane is worth it.
"That's fine with us," Mammano said.
If you're an experienced dog owner and can choose 'em at 6-8 weeks, get whatever you like. Otherwise, though I would avoid the Dobe.
There are some very knowledgeable Dobe owners on this thread, and a good Dobe is a wonderful dog. But there are some very aggressive and some very neurotic bloodlines out there (some dogs are both). My mechanic had three that were wonderful dogs and gentle as lambs, but the last couple of examples I've seen have been highly nervous and neurotic, and I wouldn't recommend them for kids. One was a washout in the obedience qualifying class for our agility center - he just simply would not obey his owners and kept growling and snapping at the other dogs. (His owners were a couple of granola types, though, and it was clear they weren't in charge. He was still much too nervous to have around kids though.)
One of our neighbors has a Chessie and she's a nice dog, they have two little kids. Don't know much about the breed as a whole.
We have a Lab, and we love her. If you have tiny, tiny babies, a Lab may be too boisterous and rough, especially as a puppy. But they are friendly, tough as leather, and the kids can't wear them out. They are not guard or watch dogs as a breed, but our Lab is very protective of the children and will interpose herself between them and strangers (this may be of course so that she can jump up and lick the stranger's face first!)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.