"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out on the inside." - Mark Twain

Yeah, we drove up to Portland this morning for the dog show. Good time!
It wasn't a single show, but a series of individual breed shows all held at the same time & place. So tomorrow there won't be any Best of Show, just a series of breed winners.

We talked to several breeders and learned a lot. Anatolian Shepherds aren't an option for us if/when the time comes because they need a large fenced area. We've got the large part, but not the fencing, and that would be too expensive. They're sight hounds and will go off after anything that triggers their prey drive. They're also BIG and need room to run, pasture land being the best suited for them.

We saw our first Black Russian Terriers and they are equally high on the cool factor. I read up on them after we got home and the BRT is the only dog "created" by a government - the Soviets during the 40's and 50's. It isn't a true terrier, but is large. The dog in this pic isn't full grown; an adult male runs between 140 and 150 pounds. They have a strong, gentle temperament, are quiet, and easily trained.
And expensive.







On the way home we talked about the dogs we

were most drawn to and agreed on the Great Dane's appeal, especially the fawn colored with natural, drop ears. They look both stunning and gentle at the same time.

And the Newfoundlands were adorable. This seems to be their natural resting posture, based on the number we saw laying this way. They look like a bear skin rug, especially the brown ones.

I like spaniels of almost all varieties. We only saw English Springers at this show and this one looked like the definition of forlorn.



There wasn't any agility competition but we did watch an obedience competition going on in three adjacent rings. Everything from a big beautiful St. Bernard to a Sheltie doing a standard set of movements on command. Some dogs did those with more energy and enthusiasm than others but all of them impressed us!

As fascinating as the various breeds were, some of the dog owners & handlers matched them. Oh my. The word eccentric is inadequate. But we talked to some very friendly owners eager to share the characteristics about their breed. The owner of a Newfoundland explained to us why some large breeds drool. It has to do with the shape of their lips (she had a technical term for that outside part of their lower cheek).  And the owner of a Ridgeback told us about why they're so gentle despite their breeding to hunt lions.

I'm glad we went. It was exactly the kind of outing we'd never have done B.R. (Before Retirement) - drive almost 500 miles round trip for 3 hours at a dog show.
The best part?
Together.