Dog Show Observations.....

The dog show in Des Moines is held once a year and is sponsored by the American Kennel Club. One's first impression when you walk in to the big building is the various staging, grooming areas scattered all around the show rings. Many people groom their dogs before showing, including washing and blow drying as well as trimming and combing out of the dog. The dogs are placed on grooming tables and have a collar to hold them in place. They, the dogs, don't mind any of it and have been doing it for a lot of the time of their lives.
Most people groom their own dog, but some families bring lots of different dogs and they may have one person designated or hired to groom them to get them ready. During the judging, we noticed one woman who showed up with different dogs under the different breeds. She could have been a trainer who showed for others or she raised different dogs and show them all.
I didn't know that I would like to see a dog show or not but once I had been to one, you just can't stay away. I snap pictures continually along with my wife all day. I would love to snap pictures of people too, as their are a lot of interesting people out there, especially those who show dogs, BUT I don't.
This is a judging going on with Afghan hounds. The one lady with the black dog, I had photographed earlier, as she was practice running her dog all over the building in and out of the crowd. She stopped for a pose for me, she and her dog, and I took their picture. I liked how her haircut allowed her to look like her dog with they were both running with their mane flowing. I noticed she tipped her head back just like the dog did when they both ran. She was proud of here beautiful animal and she should be. This little long haired Dachshund is sitting on the lap of a young girl who had just shown her dog in the ring. I noticed the little girl later and she was there with her parents, who had a large number of Retrievers that they were showing. She was helping to groom some of the dogs.
This young man had a apron on which made him look a little more serious as a groomer than some of the people there working on their animals. There were a lot of Retrievers there and they have to show them in different groups, with brackets rating until they have a final group to show for first, second, third, and fourth place.
The crates are everywhere in the building. These Papillon dogs were owned by one person or a mother-daughter team. They actually had seven carriers so one was carried separately from the others of those that were rolled in. The dogs take everything in stride and you can tell they are pampered and loved. It is a friendly circus atmosphere with a lot of dogs and a lot of people who love dogs. Some people bring their own dogs along with them to watch the show. A young family with two young girls in stroller were being pushed around by their mother, while the father walking around with two very large Mastiff dogs. I have more stories to tell about this with lots of pictures. I seem to be jumping all over the place with my life and what I do, but I will settle down as soon as the snow starts to fly. Thanks for reading......