THE MAKING OF A CHAMPION
The inspirational tale of one impressive canine’s journey to gold
A Siberian husky named Oreo journeys to gold in this inspiring tale.
Oreo is a purebred Siberian husky, born on December 23, 2014. Just like the cookie he’s named after, he’s black-and-white—and he has a very sweet temperament. Oreo is the centre of attention wherever we go. His left eye is icy blue, while his right is brown, which makes him unique. A passerby, who Oreo stopped to greet on one of our walks, said that having two different-coloured eyes is a sign of good luck.
Oreo competes in conformation dog shows, which are when purebred dogs are examined by judges to see how well the dog’s appearance, movement and temperament fit with the function that the dog was bred to perform. Siberian huskies were bred to pull sleds. In Canada, breed standards are set by the Canadian Kennel Club.
When people ask me what dog showing is all about, I typically ask them if they have watched the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. If they say yes, I explain that although we do not show in such a prestigious arena as Madison Square Garden in New York, the overall procedure of what we do in the show ring is the same. The dog stands nicely in a position that is called a “stack” and holsds that position as the judge examines the dog. The dog also performs a series of movements inside the ring so that the judge can observe the dog’s gait, which is the way the dog moves.
At Westminster, the top dogs look and behave perfectly, and their handlers know exactly what to do. This does not happen overnight, but is a result of the formation of a special partnership between the dog and the dog’s handler that takes lots of training, perseverance and dedication to achieve. Oreo and I are certainly not comparable to the top dogs shown at Westminster, but we have come a long way since we first started conformation training classes when Oreo was four months old.
Preparing for conformation shows was a lot of work as neither of us had ever done anything like it before. Oreo was a mischievous pup—a bundle of uncontrollable energy. In our first class, Oreo snatched up a squeaky toy squirrel in his jaws and would not release it. The instructor, Monica Park, advised me not to use squeaky
toys, but rather to use food to get his attention; this is called bait. Another time, Oreo tried to teasingly tug on an Irish setter’s long tail. We were told to go behind an Australian shepherd instead so that Oreo would not be tempted to snag another dog’s tail—aussies don’t have long tails. Oreo would also playfully nip at my fingers. The more I struggled to stop him from nipping me, the more he’d do it as he thought it was all just a delightful game. To solve this issue, I sprayed my hands with bitter apple taste deterrent spray, the one thing at which Oreo would actually turn up his nose.
On learning to become a handler, I was far from the ideal student. The reason Oreo had the squeaky toy in his jaws was because I had held it too low, and was not paying attention when Oreo snatched it. In addition, I would unknowingly put on Oreo’s lead incorrectly. I also had to work on my movement in the ring. Sometimes, I would move around on tiptoe like a dainty ballerina, and other times, I would move like a sprinter.
As the classes progressed, although Oreo maintained his high energy level, I was able to handle him better and we were beginning to perform quite well in the conformation ring. Over time, I stopped spraying my hands with the bitter apple spray and Oreo was able to trot nicely behind dogs with long tails. I never made the mistake of putting Oreo’s lead on incorrectly again, and I worked to perfect my movement so Oreo would be gaiting correctly.
Two months later, at our final conformation class, our instructor used Oreo as a model to show the other dogs and handlers what to do. In awe, I watched how elegantly Oreo moved around the ring. It was hard for me to imagine he was that the same overly rambunctious puppy who loved to nip.
Oreo and I were ready to enter real competitions. Oreo now knew how to act and behave in the conformation ring, but he also had to look the part, meaning that he needed to be properly groomed. Fortunately for Siberian huskies, in comparison to other dog breeds, grooming is not a painstakingly challenging task. Oreo’s breeder, Kim Leblanc of Snowmist Kennels, who has always supported me and Oreo, taught me how to bathe and brush Oreo to make his coat look perfect.
Oreo participated in his first competitive conformation dog show four days after turning six months old. Entering the show ring, Oreo’s confidence calmed my nerves. He was a natural and earned his first two championship points.
Although Oreo and I experienced our share of challenges and disappointments in dog showing, we would not get discouraged. Each setback was viewed as an important learning experience on how to improve for the next time.
On December 3, 2016, when Oreo was 23 months old, all our hard work paid o as Oreo earned his final two championship points to attain his Canadian Champion title. Although we were both novices in the dog showing world, with determination and enthusiasm, we journeyed to success. On November 26, 2017, Oreo reached the next level of championship in Canada: the Grand Champion title. I am so lucky to have Oreo in my life.