Elvis Story #2: Namin' Nuts

When Elvis was coming up on a year old we got a call from the owner of his sire, "King Ralph". (That's the dog's name, not the owner.) Ralph was a big-time show dog -- one of the best vizslas in the country, a competitor at Westminster, etc. These folks were really into it, and they wanted to know if we'd be interested in showing Elvis. My reaction, obviously, was "Huh?"

I met them one evening at this dog training place in Libertyville, and they gave Elvis some practice runs around the ring. He looked really good, and I figured, "Why not?" So I took Elvis to a few classes at there, and practiced with him every night in the backyard or in the alley. I got a couple of "How To" books as well, since I really didn't know what I was doing.

At this point the kids were 6, 4, and 2, so it was pretty indulgent of Rachel to let me take on a new hobby. Our agreement was that I would only go to shows within an hour's drive, and that meant it was usually just a Saturday or Sunday morning committment. The other thing that made it possible is that vizslas require very little grooming; a long-haired dog like a golden retriever would have been impossible.

Our first show was in December of that year, at a high school in the south suburbs of Chicago (Palos-something). There were about 1200 dogs total, but only 20 or so vizslas. I brought Fiona along for company.

The interesting stuff started right in the parking lot -- it was full of RV's, with lots of Michigan, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin license plates, in addition to Illinois. This was also just when the movie "Best in Show" came out, which has a lot of truth in it, as it turns out. (When Rach would call me at a show asking for a progress report I'd tell her I was "namin' nuts!") Inside there were rows and rows of tables where people were washing, drying, trimming, brushing, and polishing their dogs. Cages, crates, folding chairs, tackle boxes of grooming stuff -- it was quite a scene, and also reminded me of Dave Barry's quote, "There's a very fine line between 'hobby' and 'mental illness'".

We found the ring where we were supposed to be, I put on my numbered armband, and when our time came I trotted him around, let the judge examine him, had him come to a stop-and-pose (a "free stack"), and took him through whatever other paces the judge asked for. We left with a ribbon as the best male 12-18 month vizsla. This was repeated as he won "Best Dog", and finally he went in against all of the already-champion vizslas, including his own sire King Ralph -- and Elvis won! Best in Breed! He didn't go any further that day, losing in the "Sporting Dog" group, but it was still a thrill. Whatever skill I lacked as a handler he made up for as a specimen of the breed, apparently.

At that point I was hooked, and it was clear I'd have to keep doing these shows until he earned enough champion "points". It took about a dozen shows over 6 months, in glamorous locales like the Lake County or DuPage County Fairgrounds, but he "finished" as a champion. He never did go "Best of Breed" again, though -- he peaked early.

We only did one show after finishing, since we had other things to tend to, but the whole thing was still good, clean fun. And long ago I also stopped giving impromptu demonstrations -- the last time I did, with Elvis on his show leash and using my special "Dog Show Dorky Run", I nearly gave Evan a heart attack laughing...

Pat