This year was my first time showing a dog there, Haru made her debut. I get a lot of mixed reviews on her. She's a gorgeous dog, very sound and extremely athletic, but has a few flaws. Regardless I decided for her sake and mine to show her this year. The weather cooperated and the cherry blossoms were beautiful. There were just over 160 Kai entered, with many more there to watch the show.
A couple from Oregon who've been looking for Kai pups managed to arrange their schedules so they could come to the show, and we had a grand time together. Everyone loved having the 'gaijin' (foreigners) there and many stopped to talk with them and take pictures. We even had the judges coming over to talk and look at the pups that were going over to the States. They were very impressed by the male pup that was going over, with one gentleman even asking if Kaito was for sale.
Inoue-san (Haru's breeder) returned the overall champion banner that his male Riki won last Fall at the opening ceremony, and another friend of mine who's female Tsuki finished second to Riki returned the Terada trophy cup. Inoue-san had a wonderful time introducing the foreigners to everyone, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the day.
Haru was entered in the juvenile female category against 20 other bitches, and ended up in 12th place. I had a good laugh as after the morning 'kotai shinsa' (conformation check) I randomly guessed she'd be 12th, but if we were lucky maybe 10th. All in all it was a great experience for both man and beast, with Haru doing exceptionally well in the ring. She's usually very energetic and it's hard to get her to do her 'stand', but as soon as we were in the ring she got right into her groove. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and am seriously hooked now. Just thinking about the fall show gets me excited.
So without further ado, here are some pictures. I didn't take any pictures or video this show as I was busy with Haru and running around translating. These pictures and video are courtesy of my new friends from Oregon. Good luck with the pups! I'm now catching up on all the sleep I missed out on for the past 2 months. Here at my place we're now back down to 3 dogs, Haru, Baron and Momo. Haru and Momo are both coming out of heat and not a moment too soon.
