Tuesday, August 16, 2011

THE YOUTHFUL SIDE OF DOG SHOWS

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!
TOBY here...

Hello there to all my special fur-buddies around the world!

I hope you are having a happy, barkful day. 

As many of you know, I attended two breed shows this past weekend.  These shows are essentially doggie-beauty-pagents - and there are many, many dogs:

There are Veteran doggies...
(14 yr old Golden Retriever, who won the Veterans class)

...middle aged doggies...

...Younger doggies..

...and pretty young puppies..


(16 wk old 'Reilly')

Mostly, the shows are about the dogs, but I personally adore the children I get to play with...

Generally these children are sweet.  They don't pull my hair and they simply sit and pat me, or brush my hair.  I adore these little miniature humans!

I am so happy to tell you that these shows often offer a special, usually unhighlighted competition:

THE JUNIOR HANDLER competition.


It is a category of competition which is reserved for the miniatures of our world -
human miniatures!


 It is one of the unusual times, during the dog show, where the judge looks at the small handlers, (as opposed to us doggies)
 Geesh, they can run, those little ones!
 ...and they have such fun doing it too!

Maxmom thought both the dogs and their Junior Handlers were adorable.



The winner of the competition...Superman?
 
These are all pictures from the
GOLDEN RETRIEVER OPEN SHOW
 which was held on Sunday at the Guide Dog Training Centre, here in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Although this little guy (above) won this competition, there were prizes for all the little participants.

 HILLS DOG FOOD
and the
GOLDEN RETRIEVER CLUB
went out of their way to make the experience a happy one for these young contestants.
I know that they really enjoyed their day.
I also enjoyed mine..
Sending lotsalicks to all my buddies and wishing you, too...
HAPPY DAYS!
.

12 comments:

How Sam Sees It said...

How beautiful! I've always liked the way the dog show world encourages young handlers - I can't imagine a better way to spend the day!

Sam

Scout and Freyja said...

Scout and Freyja say that there is nothing better or more fun than spending time with small humans and they make sure that they do it often!

♥I am Holly♥ said...

That just had to be so much fun!! These young humans seem to have so much energy and know how to play and hug on dogs so good!! Lots of love, Debbie & Holly

rottrover said...

What a great dog show -- encouraging young dogs and young handlers. Loved your photos!

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

That looks like a lot of fun for the pups and the kids. We have lots of young children here several days of the week - Mom works with them to be sure they know how to behave around us and they even get to work on our training. Mom says it is good for us to learn to obey everyone and not just our Mom.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

Anonymous said...

Wow what a great job you did Toby. It also looked like you had lots of fun with all the kids.

woos, Tessa

The Life of Riley said...

Hi Toby,

How wonderful to spend time with lots of Goldens and small humans. I'm sure you made lots of new friends, and are looking forward to your next show. Mum and I loved looking at the photos.

Woofs,
Riley

My Dog Sam - Ruptured Disk said...

Hi Toby, it looks as though you had a great day and the little people treated you nice. Altogether a very good day. Thanks for taking us along.

STELLA and RORY from Down Under said...

What a great post. Kids and dogs, just fab. Looks like everyone had a great time. Thanks for sharing. No worries, and love, Stella and Carol

Two French Bulldogs said...

always good to see kids participating
Benny & Lily
Check our blog today

sprinkles said...

How fun! I've never been to a dog show where they had categories for kid handlers.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Hi Toby
Thank you for showing us all your beautiful friends. They all look like champions to me.
And all the little humans do looks so happy and sweet!
Isn't happiness so fun?
love
tweedles