Western Washington Hound Association Show 2009

Tanner went up to the WWHA show in Auburn, Washington last Sunday. We were very excited about this show because the judge was Espen Eng who is a well respected greyhound breeder (his kennel name is Jets) and judge from Norway.

Ring time was at 8AM for sweeps and 830AM for the regular classes. Since it is a long drive from home, Tanner and I drove up on Saturday and spent the night with their good friend Jane. At Jane's house, Tanner quickly made friends with all the hounds and commenced playing with Reid, one of Jane's greyhounds who is close to his age.




In the morning it was up early and an hour drive to the show. Tanner showed well and the sweeps judge liked him but gave the honors to another dog.

As the youngest dog in the regular classes, Tanner went in first. For the most part, he acted like a pro. He held his stack, gave ears, and gaited well. It was nice and cool so he did give in to some puppy antics while gaiting but quickly settled down when asked.Mr. Eng was complimentary of Tanner when he gave us the ribbons for the 6-9 month puppy dog class. When we went back in for Winners Dog, it was evident that he meant what he said when he put us in front and gave Tanner the win for a 3 point major!

The most exciting part of the morning happened when we went back in to the Best of Breed ring. There were a couple of nice specials at the show and I wasn't sure if Tanner would continue to keep his positive attitude up since he had already been in the ring 4 times that morning. I wasn't really nervous but I wanted Tanner to look good and be happy in the ring so I knew I needed to work hard. I shouldn't have worried, Tanner did everything I asked of him and showed very, very well. I could hardly believe it when Espen pointed to us and gave Tanner the Best of Breed win! It is not often that such an honor is bestowed upon a young dog like Tanner. Needless to say, I was very, very happy! This also meant that Tanner beat more dogs and ended up with a 5 point major! Very nice indeed!

Tanner and I are very fortunate to live in the Pacific NorthWest. I count my fellow greyhound competitors that were at the show among my best friends and they were genuinely happy for Tanner. Thanks to all of you! Some pics from the show are available from Helios Hounds Photography, you can see them here.

Of course, winning breed means we had to hang out and wait for groups at the end of the day. We hung out with our friends from Bantu Basenjis and Ridgebacks. Thanks to Shelby, Jennifer and Chris for the shade and entertainment!

Tanner had to go back in the ring twice more in the afternoon. Once for the regular hound group and one for the puppy group. As a puppy in the hound group we weren't optimistic about winning anything. However, Tanner stayed cool (it was pretty hot by this time) and showed well.

We didn't get pulled for the hound group and we took a break to get Tanner cooled off and let him rest while we waited for the puppy group (this is something they often do at specialty shows and not at normal dog shows). Tanner was very tired and very hot by this point. I kept his cool coat on him as much as possible and encourage him to lay down while the judge was going over the rest of the group. Our judge for this special group was Espen Eng again. Tanner did pretty well despite being so tired and hot. We were very pleased when we were pulled out and awarded Puppy Group 3!

Thank you Mr. Eng, for recognizing how wonderful my boy is and for giving us this nice win and great memories!