Hobbes goes to a dog show

Only two  months after joining our family, Hobbes had his first experience at a dog show.  I should clarify--his first and LAST experience as a competitor in a dog show.  The Finnish Lapphund national specialty (a dog show whose only contestants are Finnish Lapphunds, unlike those all-breed shows we watch on Animal Planet) was scheduled for April, 2007 in LaPorte Indiana.  Since this town, just west of South Bend, is only eight hours away, my husband and I decided to send the girls off to the spa for a few days, pack up Hobbes, and have our first experience in the show ring.  Very big mistake.

Lesson One--Do not make your first dog show experience your breed's national specialty.  While, at the time, there were only about 250 Finnish Lapphunds in the country, and fewer than 100 at the specialty, the competition was very, very fierce.  I thought we would all just hang around, and get to know each other--the new puppy owners and the experienced--and be taught the ways of the show ring.  WRONG!  I won't go into gory detail, but suffice it to say that I will never, never, ever handle a dog in a show ever again. 

Lesson Two--Do not stay at a hotel that gets BAD ratings on Hotels.com.  I am sure that LaPorte Indiana is a lovely place.  The lake looked very pretty, and it is probably terrific in the summer.  But, the hotel where we stayed was creepy to say the least.  The shower would not drain, the carpet was stained, and there was what appeared to be a bullet hole in the window.  Not exactly the Plaza.  I was ready to leave the second we checked in, but stuck it out for one night.  After the show experience, and seeing the hotel, my husband and I agreed to pack up and go home immediately the following morning.

Lesson Three--Puppies with Myasthenia Gravis do not make good show dogs.  Of course we didn't know Hobbes had MG at the time, but should have guessed something was off.  While the other dogs stood and waited their turn to be poked, prodded, and patted down by the judges, Hobbes lay on the floor, doing his best imitation of a bear rug.  Not even the lure of a hot dog would get him to stand for more than 30 seconds. I had to hold him up like a rag doll just so the judge could get a decent look at him.

The entire trip was not a waste.  My husband got to talk to a lot of nice people (while I was trying to make Hobbes appear mildly interested in this showing thing), and saw some really lovely dogs.  But, it certainly was not worth 16 hours in a car, the hundred dollars to pay the girls' spa fees, and the gray hairs I sprouted.