Meliora Drents

Despite being an over 400 year old breed in it’s country of origin, the Drentsche Patrijshond is not yet fully recognized by the American Kennel Club. Since 2010, the Drent has been part of the AKC’s Foundation Stock Service, the first of two steps towards full recognition (the second of which is acceptance into the Miscellaneous Class). As an FSS breed, the Drent is limited in conformation showing to what the AKC refers to as “Open Shows“. But not all dog shows have an Open Show component – so it’s an incredible opportunity to have the Silver Bay Kennel Club host 6 Open Shows across their 3 day event.

Iris and I participated in all 6 shows (yes I took a vacation day from work to show on Friday!), and in between we represented Drentsche Patrijshonden to the public at the Dog Expo/Meet the Breeds event held simultaneously to the conformation shows. It was a LONG weekend, but a meaningful one for the breed!

Iris received Best of Opposite Sex (BOS) in all 6 shows – which is loosely “second place” to the Best of Breed (BoB). If BoB is a male, BOS must be a female, and vice versa. These were not the results we hoped for, but also not unexpected. Iris is a really nice female Drent – but a female Drent will always have a hard time competing with the bigger, flashier, longer coat males, especially under judges not familiar with the breed standard (which at this time is pretty much any American judge).

Additionally, while she did significantly better than last year, she was still uncomfortable with the judge’s exam, which made it hard for her to look her best. While she warms up quickly to people in general, she would rather not be touched by a stranger before being properly introduced (same, so I can’t balme her). When she’s uncomfortable she tends to tense up and curl in on herself, which affects her presence in the ring. And I made more than a few handling mistakes myself, which didn’t help her any.

That said, I’m proud of us. We worked really hard and we showed up knowing that the odds were stacked against us. We showed up for the breed. 3 Drents is the most that have ever been in an AKC show ring together – congrats to Sam (4 year-old male from the Bay Area) who won Best of Breed and had Group placements all 6 shows, and to Boots (Iris’s half-nephew, a 1 year-old male also from San Diego) who improved in huge leaps and bounds in just 4 shows!

Besides, overall, Iris was a gem – in the most chaotic environment possible she didn’t bark or whine, was stable around dogs and people, calm in her crate even when left alone for short periods, recovered quickly the few times she did understandably spook, able to focus when I needed her to, etc. In the ring she tried really hard to do what I asked and be right, even when she was uncomfy. As usual, she free stacked like a DREAM. I didn’t hand stack her once – a choice I made purposefully to reduce pressure on her, but I also didn’t even need to.

So while the judges might not have seen the best of her, I am only more proud of my girl than before.

Shoutout to our friends and their dogs Rainier, Spinner, Higgins, Scarlet, and Anchor who also showed this weekend, the latter two for the first time EVER; to our Obedience Club friends and their dogs Lira, Rumble, Ghost, Brady, Delta, Rio, Bodhi, Oliver, Ffi, Cora, and others who competed in the Rally and/or Obedience rings; and the many more friends than I can possible list who cheered us on in person or from afar. It means so much to have this village behind us and be a part of this community here in San Diego!

I also can’t thank Iris’s breeder enough for their support – I took a dog they thoughtfully and lovingly produced into the ring and didn’t get the results she deserved, but they still took the time to reach out with kind words and encouragement. I’ve said it a million times but I’m forever grateful they chose to trust me with this girl.

Photos mostly from various friends and fellow exhibitors!