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)

2 New International Champions!

Both Miska and her daughter, Diva, strutted their stuff at a recent International All Breed Canine Association (IABCA) all breed dog show in Tucson AZ on Dec. 11-12 and each earned an International Champion (UCI CB) title.  This type of organization is quite different from the Cdn or American Kennel Clubs because the shows are not competition-based. Each dog is judged against the breed standard.  Each judge gives each dog a written critique encompassing 12 different parts of a dog's body and movement. If a dog does well (gets the top score at each show), an adult dog can earn an International Title in three shows. Group and BIS competitions do not affect title points and missing a group or a BIS has no effect on title standings and points.

Both Miska and Diva accumulated four V-1 ratings which is equivalent to "Very Excellent" (the top rating for adult class) although only 3 are needed for an International Title.

Proud Vizsla mum with Diva (L) and Miska (R)

Miska (L) and Diva (R) posing with their IABCA medallions

Shandy's evaluations

Here are the written IABCA (International All Breed Canine Association) judges' evaluations for Shandy (Cdn & International CH Varazs Artemis Vizsandy CD, AGN, AGI, RN (CKC & CARO), RA (CKC & CARO), CGN).  I am grateful to Shandy's owners, Chrissie Diron, for allowing me to share these.