Willkommen! The Winter Garden Dachshund Club of America Specialty 2015

Photo by Warren Cook

by Lisa Dubé Forman

February 13, 2015, was the first in a three-day, multi-breed Specialty event held at the Westchester Hilton in Rye Brook, New York. The Dachshund Club of America show on Friday had an entry of 61 dogs with 56 in competition. For those who have contemplated attending, but not yet have been, I must comment on my first experience at this circuit. The Westchester Hilton hotel has not only very gracious staff, but an ample employee corps throughout the hotel. As soon as one enters the hotel, guests and visitors are greeted with a pleasant inquiry by a roving doorman as to how they could be of service. Every few yards there is another friendly, smiling staff person to answer any questions or guide you in the right direction. Insofar as the prerequisite of any good headquarters hotel, the comfortable, well-staffed, al fresco restaurant offered diverse food selections delivered in a timely, courteous manner. I will add that this is an invigorating breath of fresh air in contrast to other nightmarish show headquarter’s hotels. We all are aware of the stereotypical dog show hotels that are typically understaffed not just in their food and beverage areas, but in general administration of housekeeping, room service, and front desk clerks. I have always maintained that showing dogs does not necessarily have to go hand in hand with hotel adventures filled with frustration and distress for exhausted and hungry exhibitors. If you wondered about this three-day circuit, then feel comfortable in putting it on your schedule for next year. Just be forewarned that depending on what time of the day it is, traffic can be very heavy in this hectic region of Westchester. Proper planning is an absolute must for arrival and departure times to avoid heavy route congestion.

As for the badger dogs; they were out in full force. The agile, robust hounds strutted their stuff in all three varieties and did not, of course, disappoint although there were one or two shy, or timorous entries observed. This display of temperament, of course, is concerning in a breed that is supposed to be courageous, to the point of rashness. Nonetheless, specialty’s such as this afford an enriching opportunity, especially to observe the younger, charming 6-9 month puppies. Though the Wirehaired and Smooth variety’s regular classes were sparsely represented, their Best of Variety (BOV) competition were not. The Wirehaired BOV had eight of its ten entries competing, with the Smooth and Longhaired BOV each having 13 in competition. The eventual BOV Longhaired Dachshund, GCH. Dox Country’s Flutterby Bug of Seabrook and the BOV Smooth Dachshund GCH. Leoralee’s Barstool Boogie MS contested it out with the Wirehaired BOV for Best of Breed. Nevertheless, under the authoritative breeder judge, Ms. Andra O’Connell, the BOV Wirehaired Dachshund, GCH.Raydachs Ride My Ducati SW prevailed taking the grand award. In closing, the day was educational and certainly worthwhile, but importantly, enjoyable.  Kudos to the event volunteers, officers, and directors for their often thankless jobs and endless work.

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Posted by chesliepickett on Feb 18 2015. Filed under Current Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.