CAC Dog Show Schwarzenholz, Germany

What an exciting weekend!

On Saturday afternoon, Gerry put on summer tires on our car, and we filled it with gear up to the point where nothing more would fit in. Of course, the trunk was occupied by our princess ;)
Benny tried the trunk out first, to get a feel what it's like to be Kimmy...



He even barked a bit, for authenticity... ;)



Finally, we hit the road to Germany. It was a lovely sunny day, just perfect for a family trip!

We arrived in our hotel in Elm shortly after 6 PM. It was the first time we stayed there and we were pleasantly surprised how nice our room was. The added bonus was that the full length window opened right onto a tiled terrace (we had a ground floor room), which made potty breaks with Kimmy a breeze!



She looked puzzled at first - I guess she had no idea what the heck was going on and why we were in this strange place...



I took her for a little walk around the hotel, which was situated in a quiet part of a small town, near a forest and a lake. The hotel owners also had a pair of real live horses on premises, and when Kimmy first saw them, she almost strangled herself on the collar jumping up, barking, and trying to get a closer look. They must have looked HUGE to her.

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was a traditional German "pub", but with some modern flair, and the food was delicious. We were starving, so we took an appetizer and a main dish each. Benny was quite tired by the end of the meal, but he was very well behaved and enjoyed making eyes on the staff ;)

As we were paying the bill, the waitress told us: "I really have to pay you a compliment - we get families with children very often here, but we can't remember the last time a child that young was so well behaved here. Your little boy is so cute and well mannered. We are all dead impressed!" That was so nice and rewarding to hear! Deserved, too - our meal took over 2 hours and Ben was just great. Moments like these make it all worthwile - all those times we sat down in a restaurant, ordered and had to beat a hasty retreat due to a cranky baby/toddler...



And then it was time for bed!



Kimmy got a comfy place to sleep made on the rug beside our bed, but during the night I ended up taking her up to me (pssst, don't tell Gerry!).

The next day we got up bright and early - the excitement and anticipation made getting up a bit easier. We had a lovely breakfast in the hotel, then packed up, paid and drove about 5 minutes to the dog show grounds.



We unloaded our gear and found a place to set up camp. It was open air dog show, so we got really lucky with the weather.



Then we took Kimmy for a walk in the woods. It was still a bit chilly but the sun was shining and we knew that by noon we'd be comfortably warm.

At 10 AM the judging finally started. As is the custom, males go first, so we had to wait for all the male classes to go before our turn.



I watched the first few male classes with interest, observing the judging and how the judge placed each dog and the criteria (she announced her evaluation of each dog on the microphone), so it was yet another learning experience for me.

Here is one of the black/rust male classes in the ring:



It became clear that this judge placed a lot of importance on the movement - the trotting part of the ring performance was crucial when deciding.



I took Kimmy aside and we practiced trotting for short bursts. It was different running with her in this grassy terrain - the carpet was of course much smoother and even the last time.

Then it was time for Kimmy to get some rest in her travel crate:



I went to look at the trophies already all lined up and hoped we would take one of them home at the end of the day :)

Then we got a nice surprise - Kimmy's breeder, Ela, showed up! She drove to the show not to compete, but to watch one of her pups in action. We were touched :) She said she was so proud of Kimmy. So far she is the only one of the litter who has been in a show.

By the time the males classes were finished, it was time for a lunch break. I couldn't eat (nerves), so instead I took Kimmy for a walk and then we practiced trotting for a bit again.

Kimmy got changed into her "show collar".



And Gerry and I gave her a good brush down to make her look her best.

And then we just counted the minutes until it was our turn in the ring (below: Kimmy, Ela, and I)



Ringside photos:

The judge was very nice and gentle and I could tell that she liked how Kimmy looked. But I was still so elated when she announced her at the 1st place in the puppy class!

The atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, and people even clapped :)



Then it was like a weight off my shoulders, we could now just kick back and watch the rest of the classes, knowing that we would be leaving with a trophy.

Benny was like at home there, and even made friends with other people's children.



They had fun playing in the agility area.

Ela brought her two dogs with her - Kimmy's mother Banja, and sister Ayu.

Kimmy was excited to see them again, especially Ayu.

Finally around 4 PM came the ceremony and the trophies were handed out.

I very proudly took Kimmy's trophy and certificate - and the prize which were two dried pig ears, ha ha ;)

Kimmy, you're a star!