First IABCA Shows

A friend (Elaine S.) told me the IABCA (International All Breed Canine Association) was holding shows in Michigan.  The cluster of shows was called the “Great Lakes Sieger show.”  Well,  how could we miss that?  So off went our show registrations.  We entered two GSD –  Billie and Gavin, and two CKCS – Phoebe and Charlie.  All together we had seven dogs with us, Gavin, Billie, 4 CKCS (Cavalier King Charles Spaniels), and Pookey a Pitt bull mix.  All dogs stayed in the motel with us as it was too hot outside for man or beast:

The IABCA judge each dog against the standard for its breed, not against the other dogs entered of the same breed. Very similar to the SV style shows we attend. The ratings awarded were also the same as the German shows (SV). Adult dogs could earn a “V” rating. But unlike the SV shows the dogs did not need have their AD, BH, SchH1 ( or 2 or 3) before even being able to compete. Depending on what rating your dog is awarded they can obtain certain titles. This weekend all 4 of our dogs earned their IntCH (International Championship).
Here are our 4 new International champions:

What is very nice about these shows is each judge gives you a written critique of your dog and you sit down and talk one-on-one with the judge about your dog. I found it intellectually stimulating with the  CKCS as I do not know the breed. None of the judges had my level of experience with GSD so the conversations we had was more about the state of the breed, breed differences, breed type, and their appreciation to us for bringing such lovely animals. Billie and Gavin did get a lot of attention from other exhibitors. They were sparking all sorts of conversations, most of which revolved around why don’t you see that type at AKC shows?

Another interesting aspect to the IABCA shows is they recognize many breeds not yet recognized by the AKC. Some of which are known as designer breeds, such as the Silken Windhound and the Shiloh Shepherd. The Silken Windhound is a mixture of Whippet and Borzoi, what you have is a dog that is slightly taller then a whippet, but much smaller then a Borzoi, not quite as arched as a Whippet, and with longer hair. They really are a very nice looking dog, unfortunately I did not get a picture of the ones at the show. I looked them up online and truthfully the ones at the show were much nicer then any of the photographs I found on the internet. The Shiloh Shepherd is an over-sized long-coated GSD. Most are much taller then a normal GSD and some have long hair and some do not. They all seem to be black with a very light tan, nearly white.  Here are a few of the Shiloh Shepherds at the show, they are all very much loved by their owners:

This is also a Shiloh Shepherd, it was a sable and had a normal coat:

We had the only two GSD entered into competition, one of the judges asked if this was Gavin’s normal color. No, not really he is out-of-coat right now and normally has better color. Here is Gavin with Monica:

This is a Biewer, pronounced Bev-AH, also called a German Yorkshire terrier. They were at the show in full-force.

There was also plenty of highly recognizable breeds, Bouviers:

Who is the most handsome dog in the world? Just ask Gavin he will tell you who!

Gavin with all 4 feet off the ground: