Hello again,

I must say I am getting very excited about Westminster after a day of specialties in New Jersey. Running into old and new friends that are here from all over the United States and from all over the world not the least, to watch or participate in the two days of showing is just about as good as it gets! We did miss the festivities at the Hotel Pennsylvania last night. I was too busy getting ready for the show today and we also had a whole lot of friends over to the house after the Saturday's show. Our own party certainly made for a really nice evening.

This sport of purebred dogs is attracting to young and old. I get confirmation of that every time I go to an AKC sanctioned dog event. I see juniors handlers with their grandparents that have been showing and possibly breeding dogs for years. Then you run into a new family with their lovely young dog just learning the ropes.

I teach classes for OHA which I mentioned before and we have a mixed bag of faces each week learning how to present their dogs at a dog show comfortably. This sport has its own group of professionals that for them this is their livelihood. I always say to my students to watch and learn from most professional handlers, mannerism, technique and report with their dogs. You will never get the same amount of ring time when you show your own dog as a pro handler gets from showing his or her "string" of dogs but showing your own dog you have the advantage that you really can practice with the animal and perfect your performance. The dog's quality will never change but you can learn to present the dog to the judges flawlessly and with an "invisible" handler the judge can really get to see this dog's virtues. Any owner handler with a bit of patience, willingness to learn, talent and feeling and not the least, a good dog can be just as successful as any professional handler! I am sure we will see a whole bunch of talented owner handlers right up there in the mix of things Monday and Tuesday. Some will probably be breeder- owner - handlers. Now that is a real accomplishment too! Remember one thing - no matter what dog wins on any given day, we always say congratulations to the lucky winner's handler!

Anna