From First Show Nerves to a Weekend We Won’t Forget

A few days before the ICKC Big Hair Classic, we were still practicing trots down our dirt road, trying to convince two young dogs that stacking meant standing still, and wondering exactly what we had gotten ourselves into. This would be our first dog show, our first time handling in the ring, and the first time either of our boys had been shown. There were plenty of nerves going into it, but mostly, we were excited to finally take that first step.

By the time midnight rolled around, there wasn’t much left to do except load the dogs, pile ourselves into the vehicle, and point south toward New Jersey.

Midnight in Maine

We left the house at midnight and drove through the night, eventually pulling into Rick’s Saddle Shop around 8:00 that morning. We knew the weather forecast before we ever left Maine. A nor’easter was moving through, and it had every intention of making itself part of our first show experience.

It was pouring. It was windy. Everything was wet.

There is probably an easier way to ease yourself into dog shows than arriving after an eight-hour overnight drive, stepping out into a nor’easter, and realizing that you now have to make two fluffy white dogs look remotely presentable.

But apparently, that would not have made nearly as good of a story.

Despite the weather, there was an excitement to finally being there. We had spent weeks thinking about this weekend, practicing with the boys, working on leads and stacking, grooming coats, and wondering what walking into that first ring would actually feel like. Suddenly, there was no more wondering. We were standing at the venue with Nike and Panda beside us, surrounded by dogs, exhibitors, judges, ribbons, and a whole lot of wet hair.

Dark Point's Watch Your Feet "Panda" & Northstar's Just Do It! "Nike" after their grooming session.

More Than Just a Dog Show

One of the things we were looking forward to most was simply being around other people who share an appreciation for these northern and primitive breeds. Throughout the weekend, we were able to spend time with people showing Nenets Herding Laika, Siberian Huskies, and, of course, other Yakutian Laika.

For us, that mattered just as much as getting into the ring.

So much of our life with the Yakutian Laika happens here at home. We study pedigrees, evaluate our own dogs, watch movement, discuss structure, compare photographs, talk about breeding goals, and spend a tremendous amount of time thinking about where we want our program to go. There is value in all of that, but there is something very different about standing ringside and seeing these dogs in person.

It gave us the opportunity to watch, listen, ask questions, and learn from people with experiences different from our own. More than anything, we could not have asked for a better group of exhibitors to share our first show with. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, encouraging, and willing to help two very obvious newcomers figure things out.

The judges were equally wonderful to show under, and the amount of work that went into coordinating the weekend did not go unnoticed. Putting on a show is no small undertaking even under perfect circumstances. Doing it while everyone is dodging rain and battling wind adds an entirely different layer of chaos.

Yet somehow, everyone kept smiling.

Learning on the Other End of the Lead

Walking into the ring for the first time is one of those things that is difficult to fully prepare for at home.

We had practiced. A lot.

What we had not practiced was doing all of those things while remembering where we were supposed to stand, watching the judge, paying attention to the dog, managing the lead, keeping the correct pace, and attempting to look like we had at least a vague idea of what we were doing.

There is definitely a learning curve.

Thankfully, Nike was far too busy having the time of his life to be concerned about whether his handlers were nervous.

At just six months old, NorthStar’s Just Do It! — Nike — was exactly who he always is: goofy, energetic, playful, and absolutely convinced that everything happening around him was potentially the most exciting thing he had ever seen.

There were moments when his enthusiasm made handling him a little more interesting. There were also moments when that same happy, confident attitude made us incredibly proud.

He walked into a completely unfamiliar environment filled with dogs, people, noise, weather, and activity and simply took it all in.

At six months old, we could not have asked for much more.

Then Came the Ribbons

We went into this weekend hoping to learn.

Of course we hoped the boys would do well. Anyone entering a dog show would be lying if they said the ribbons meant absolutely nothing. But being brand-new handlers with brand-new show dogs, our expectations were very reasonable. We wanted to see how our dogs compared, hear what the judges had to say, learn how to better present them, and hopefully leave New Jersey knowing a little more than we did when we arrived.

Nike apparently had slightly bigger plans.

On the first day, our goofy six-month-old puppy earned Reserve Junior Dog in Show twice.

That alone would have been more than enough to send us home incredibly proud.

Panda & Nike's ICKC Rosettes and Ribbons

By the second day, though, something had started to click. Nike was gaining experience, and so were we. There was still plenty that could have been cleaner and plenty we will continue practicing, but we were beginning to understand one another a little better on the other end of that lead.

And then Nike was awarded Best Junior Dog in Show.

There are certain moments where it takes a second for your brain to catch up with what just happened.

That was one of them.

For a puppy attending his very first show, with people handling him who were also attending their very first show, it was a pretty special way to end the weekend.

Proud of Our Boys

Coming home with ribbons is exciting. Looking at the pile spread across our table afterward made the whole weekend feel slightly surreal.

But the part we keep coming back to is how proud we are of our boys.

Nike and Panda trusted us enough to walk into something completely unfamiliar and figure it out right alongside us. Neither of them knew what a dog show was supposed to be. Quite frankly, neither did we.

We learned together.

There were messy moments. There were things we would handle differently next time. There were certainly moments when the boys reminded us that they are still young dogs with personalities and opinions of their own.

And that is exactly why this experience was so valuable.

A show result can tell us something about a dog, but the entire weekend tells us much more. We get to see how they travel, how they respond to unfamiliar surroundings, how they handle other dogs and strangers, how quickly they recover from excitement, and how willing they are to work with us when everything around them is new.

Those are things we pay attention to.

The First of Many Lessons

When we pulled out of our driveway at midnight, we really did not know what to expect from the weekend.

Eight hours later, we arrived in a nor’easter.

Two days later, we were loading wet dogs, ribbons, muddy belongings, and considerably more experience back into the vehicle for the trip home.

Somewhere in between, we made new friends, finally met people we had previously only known through conversations online, saw beautiful dogs, learned from judges and exhibitors, laughed quite a bit, and discovered that dog showing is something we very much want to continue exploring.

We also learned that you can apparently fit an impressive number of ribbons into a vehicle already packed with two Yakutian Laika.

There is still so much for us to learn. Our handling will improve. The boys will mature. Our stacking will get cleaner, our movement will become more polished, and hopefully someday we will walk into the ring feeling considerably less like beginners.

But everyone has a first show.

This one happened to involve an overnight drive, a nor’easter, two young Yakutian Laika, some truly wonderful people, and a six-month-old puppy named Nike leaving New Jersey as a Best Junior Dog in Show winner.

We could not have asked for a better beginning.