It's Show Time!

Hi, I'm Zoey!
First a little about me all grown up. Of course, I think I'm all grown up, but my humans aren't so sure. I have one of those fancy show names now -- SouthWind Lady Isabella but I'm still just plain Zoey. Cavalier dog show

My human Mom says that I'm naughty like my grandmother Rose (Sheeba Rosemary) but I'm just exploring and discovering. I LOVE to be outside in the yard and have helped plant all kinds of growing things this summer. (I like to dig them back up too!) That's when my human Mom calls me a Doofas. My favorite thing is finding sticks to chew on. They are ever-so-much-better than the stuff Mom buys us in the pet store. I spend a lot of time with my dog Mom Ivy (Ch. Sheeba English Ivy) and I really love her. She is so beautiful and I want to grow up to be just like her -- a champion -- which brings me to talk about my dog show experiences.

My First Dog Show
My human Mom showed me in April at the Sunflower Cluster here in Wichita -- four days of dog shows! I was really tired when I got through.

Would you believe that I got a bath EVERY day? Honestly no dog gets that dirty even a doofas like me. :>) My human Mom learned from her "dog friend" Darlene that even if we aren't the best dog at the show, we can be the cleanest. It seems like we spent a lot of time combing, brushing, fluffing and then I always had to shake really hard to get everything fixed just right and then for some reason, we'd do it all over again.

Other Dogs at Dog Shows
Other dogs are REALLY loud and noisy. Why can't they just sit quietly (see pictures) like I do and watch the world go by? Some of those terriers just won't be quiet -- yap, yap, yap -- and the hounds -- oh well. The people are nice and friendly and wanted to pet me which was just fine with my human Mom and me -- Cavaliers are pretty much wash and wear so petting just makes it more fun.

King Charles Cavalier Sitting

The Show Ring
This really seems like a silly thing to me. We would wait and then all of a sudden, my human Mom was taking me into a ring with other Cavaliers just like me. We'd walk around in a circle while a nice man or woman would watch us. I liked that a lot. I like being with the other dogs. Then Mom would put me on a table that must have been 20 feet off the ground -- really -- and then I got to meet the judge. They were always very nice and looked at my teeth and eyes and then gave me a nice pat. Then we would walk around the ring again. (see the videos that Cassie took). By the time I got through I was tired and of course would sit down every chance I got -- not acceptable behavior for a show dog. :>) We've been practicing not sitting. All in all it was a lot of fun and I really liked spending so much time with my humans.

My Second Dog Show
I guess this was the "big time" because my human Mom sent me out with Alyssa Mosley to the Salina Dog show in September. (My human Mom and Dad were in Minnesota.) Alyssa is really nice and she takes lots of dogs with her to dog shows. (Her youngest little boy really like me.) I'm not sure exactly how I did, but Alyssa was happy and we had our picture taken (see picture). (Note from Andi: Zoey got "Best of Winners" on Saturday -- her first point toward her championship.) I'm looking forward to going to more dog shows with my human Mom and Alyssa. I guess I have show business in my blood.

(Zoey Received "Best of Winners")