golden retriever puppy



Dog Breed Show Terms Explained

Angulation: Degree dog handlers will bend over backwards to impress judges.

Balance: (a) How to arrange the checkbook so your husband won’t know how much money you spent on dog shows last month. Usually done in the bathroom with the door locked; (b) Ability to hold coffee, danish, leash, treats and entry form all at once.

Bitch: Name heard at dog shows, not always to describe a lady dog.

CGC: Canine Gastrointestinal Catastrophe {aka GAS}

Coat: The hairy part of a dog that usually falls out a week before the Specialty show.

Crabbing: What you do when the judge doesn’t like way your dog moves.

Dam: (a) lady dog with kids; (b) overheard at dog shows as losers leave the ring.

Distemper: Shown by those hot-headed competitors.

Dog: To chase a judge from show to show to attain more breed wins.

Elbow: Method of getting to ringside when late.

Expression: “Sweet” look adopted by dogs staring ravenously at chunks of liver.

Feathering: What winners are accused of doing to judges’ nests.

Force Fetch: Dog puts toy under sofa, scratches at carpet til you’re forced to fetch it.

Front: Part of the dog often stacked toward the outside of the ring.

Heel: (a) what you feel like when your dog beats the one you had just sold to an eager novice; (b) expression often screamed to attract the attention of deaf dogs.

Hock: A way of financing dog shows by the use of jewelry such as wedding rings.

Noseprints: Cute marks left all over your French doors.

Points: Minute, invisible awards for winning which you cannot convince your spouse are more important than cash prizes.

Specialty: Whatever dog’s good at, like chewing on walls.

Type: What your dog has... if you turn down the lights and squint a little.

Utility: The kind of vehicle you need to haul around your dogs.


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