Last weekend was a big weekend for us. It was the Region-7 LG show being judged by Herr Hans Joachim Dux, attracting some very tough competition. This weekend, in pristine Malibu, was also a crowd puller because there was a Schutzhund 3 Trial as well, being presided over by Herr Wolfgang Henke, the S.V president. I, as always, was extremely nervous, as before every single dog show; the ‘prenatal’ anxiety always seems to get the better of me no matter how hard i try and it indeed is a very stressful time for me till the day is over with. Yvonne, as always, was trying to comfort me, “its just a dog show, we will win- don’t worry!”... easy for you to say, i thought... i am the one running in front, screaming my lungs out! But magically, i always find solace in her words. God knows what i will do without her!

Getting back to the show; I was up with my girls the previous night till 2 in the morning, unable to get any sleep and keeping Indy and Xambi up with me... You could just see the “please put us up and let us sleep” look in their eyes!

On the show morning, i was up at 5.30 AM again with the girls and took Indy for a walk. She was perky as ever, jumping around, being her crazy self, barking at fellow dog walkers and looking up at me for appreciation!

Then, i took out Xambi. We have grown particularly close with each other ever since she came to live with us. She is my ultimate lap dog; and a very beautiful one at that! Xambi and I share a special connection, one that can’t be explained... just felt. She indeed has touched my heart and the hard work has paid off for the both of us. After Yola and some what with Simone, this is the dog that i have bonded with, quite inseparably.

She had a slight cramp in her shoulder and this was almost unnoticeable; no one else seemed to see it but me. I freaked out! “Show morning and she isn’t feeling well... why does this happen to me’’, I sighed in despair.  Xambi gave me an ever disgruntled look as if to say, “get over it, i am fine!” She even pulled me to the grass and barked happily at passing cars to prove her point! I was still not convinced. Pretty sure that i saw her shoulder jerk, i hurriedly started for my hotel room with her to have it examined by my better, more sensible half. As we made it through the almost freaked out glances of people and joyous “wow! can i pet your dog mister ?!!!” shirks of little children in the elevator, i made it to the room with Xambia only to find that the ailing shoulder had magically recovered and before i knew it, Xambi was on the bed, fast asleep... underneath the covers!

We start to get ready for the show as the commotion i raised took a little while and off we went. I would like to add here that Indy and Xambi are an extremely spoilt lot and the slightest ‘misdemeanor’ or even the change of tone from our part seems to offend them and put them in a sullen mood.

Yes, they need discipline. As Yvonne simply puts it, “they just need their butts kicked!”

The show started out and i was honestly very impressed with the numbers the show had attracted, both two legged and four. The venue overlooked the ocean and the whole day was a typical California day, beautiful and sunny.

I took Indy out of the car, to get her ready and we walk by the ring side after the customary grooming and rubbing down. Indy is an absolutely medium sized female who has the heart of a lion and the stamina of a horse. She is never intimidated or fazed by anything and she is always up for a game of catch, no matter what the object in question is. So, controlling her by ring side with all those dogs & people running and all the horns and soccer balls being bounced around is a bit of a chore. The last thing you need at this point is someone coming to talk to you and pet her!!! So after the puppy classes came Indy’s turn and she walked into the ring with Yvonne, looking for me. Now, one would think this is a good thing. In normal cases, yes, but Indy always seems to pinpoint where i am hidden and then tends not to stand or walk in the ring. She JUST wants to run straight to me! Yvonne somehow got over with the individual and Indy was extremely grumpy! For me, this was a nightmare come true... A bad individual meant a bad spot in the lineup. We ended up being called out at number 12 in this huge class. Yvonne certainly didn’t seem to be very happy and was bound put up a fight; now if only Indy would cooperate too!! After a couple of rounds of walking, Indy started looking better and I saw a window of opportunity, i whistled and Indy immediately had her head up and looked like a million bucks! Herr Dux saw this and she moved up a few places. This kept getting better and better as we moved to the fast round and Indy was moved up to third and then second place! I was thinking to myself... wow! this is certainly a bad start getting brighter! The first posotion female Karmella vom Wuestenberger land also a beautiful female; she can be regarded as the brood bitch type, descends from the same mother-line of VA Jenny Laacher Haus and looked immaculate that day. The dogs did a few more slow rounds, a fast lap and the judging was over; some 40 minutes later! What seemed to be an awfully nice and bright California day had turned into a baking oven by the end of this class. The judge commented that both the females i.e. Indy and Karmella were of equal quality, definitely towering above the rest of the class, its just that the first position female made an impression since the beginning of the class. Indy, certainly had a bigger win though, making all those positions which is not a common site- certain shining star in both Indy’s performance sheet and a job well done by Yvonne, as always.

I happily went and put Indy away in anticipation of Xambia’s class. This was again an extremely tough class with the SG1 and the SG13 from the Sieger show competing alongside, sharing the ring space with my girl. Herr Dux absolutely fell in love with her and called her out in the first position from where she led the class. He commented, that she was for him, the absolute best German Shepherd on the show grounds and certainly a worthy daughter of her incredible father Idol, who has certainly proved himself as a super producer.

After all these years of showing, I have come to realize that it is such encouraging words that really make your day and your efforts worth their while. It doesn’t matter what position you end up in or whether you own the absolute champion, it is how you get there and you knowing yourself what you strive for, what goals you set for yourself as an individual in the game and how close you are to fulfilling them. I see people getting incredibly exited about the circumstances and reacting in ways not foretold; I have definitely been there and learnt to take things with a pinch of salt. This is but a game, to be enjoyed with your dogs and friends, not to harbor malice and anger. With this i conclude my very zealous overture of the Malibu Chapter, another great show for the West side history books for the people and of course the dogs.