Diva's a Champion!

We 'missed' celebrating Diva's Canadian Championship because at the time, I miscalculated the number of points she had earned when she had her Group 4th placement at the Burlington Kennel Club show in late September.  According to Cdn Kennel Club rules, dogs can earn extra points if they take a group placement; the number of points are determined by the number of breeds present in the group.  That's where I went wrong. Diva needed 2 points to finish and I calculated there were only enough Sporting Dog breeds to make 1 point.  Perhaps I forgot to include Vizslas in the calculation because according to the CKC, she earned 2 points at that show and that was enough to finish her championship! It wasn't until I received her certificate in the mail 3 months later that I discovered she was a CKC Champion. And during that time, I thought she was sitting on the 'dreaded 9 point' position.

And so, this past weekend, I was showing Diva in United Kennel Club shows. Her mother, Miska, outshown her but the final judge of the day slightly preferred Diva over Miska and gave Diva the breed which finished her UKC Champion title on Sunday. She also earned a Group 2nd in the Gun Dog group but group placements in the UKC do not give any points. 

UKC shows are very relaxed shows as no professional handlers are allowed to exhibit dogs. Only  owners or breeders can exhibit dogs.  There are many breeds that aren't yet recognized by the AKC or CKC so it's an opportunity to view some unusual breeds.  I got to see my first Braco Italiano and Redbone Coonhound for which many people mistake Vizslas.  Unfortunately, these two breeds weren't present on Sunday when I brought my camera so I didn't get a photo of them.

Anyway, Diva now has acquired 3 Champion titles from three different organizations: 

1. Canadian Kennel Club (Sept. 26, 2010)
2. International All Breed Canine Assoc. (IABCA) (Dec. 12, 2010)
3. United Kennel Club (Jan. 30, 2011)