Since it seems that some members of this class like dogs, I thought I would write about my son and his dog. They are going to compete in the Westminster Kennel Club show in NYC on Febuary 9th and 10th.

My oldest son, Rob has been showing his dog in the AKC for the last 4 years. He participates in Junior showmanship and breed. He has also participated in obedience and hunt tests. This year he and his brittany, Baxter, qualified for the Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) show in Junior Showmanship. To qualify, they have to win their class ten times with competition at dog shows held the previous year. They won open intermediate class 13 times this last year when Rob was 13. Rob is 14 (his birthday is Jan 4) and Baxter is 5 1/2 (his birthday is July 4). Rob has also trained for and obtained a Junior Hunter (JH) title on Baxter. He and Baxter have competed in 4-H in obedience and showmanship in the past. Rob helps a pro handler, some. She breeds English Setters and shows all breeds, primarily sporting breeds.

Baxter will be traveling to and from WKC with the pro handler. Rob and my wife are flying. This is the first time Rob or my wife has ever been to NYC or the WKC. We are all very excited about it. This will also be the first time Rob has ever flown on a plane. He is a little nervous about that. He is fortunate though that they are going on US Airways (you know, the airline with the plane that landed in the Hudson River?).

Rob and Baxter will be participating in both junior showmanship and breed at Westminster. You can see video of them showing on the Westminster website (www.westminsterkennelclub.com) the evening of the day that they show. They will be in junior showmanship preliminary #1 at 2:30pm on Monday Feb 9th. They are junior #5. On Tuesday Feb 10th you can see them in the brittany breed judging at 12:15pm. They are Brittany #22. The videos are usually accessible 3-4 hours after the judging takes place. Each evening of the show, you can watch the group judging on TV. On Monday Feb 9th, it is on USA Network from 8-9pm and continues on CNBC network from 9-?. On Tuesday, Feb 10th, junior showmanship finals, the rest of the groups and best in show will be on USA Network starting at 8 pm.