Eddie,
As you probably know, wining 4 majors in a row is not something every dog could do. Have you considered Westminster? Do you have a pro handler? Hope you are freezing and collecting!
For shows like Westminster, you have to be invited. The Akita that was there last year is a friend of ours. We watch it on TV because my wife forces me to, and then I get to hear her scream at the TV in excitement when she sees him. I love her enthusiasm for the dogs, so whatever makes her happy, I'm all for it.
Since our two show dogs are still just puppies, we're just focusing on getting them established and gaining points. Matsu is only 5 1/2 months old. We weigh him every Sunday because we picked him up on a Sunday. At exactly 2 months of age, we weighed 22.2 pounds. Yesterday, he was 78 pounds exactly. He seems to be gaining 4 pounds a week. He plays all day long with Kami, and there isn't an ounce of fat on either of them. They play rough, they run hard, and then they crash!!!
We do have a couple of pro handlers that tried to get Raiden finished, but he just wasn't into it. If the dog hates the ring, it's a massive challenge getting him to win anything. One of the pros is a guy that goes to Westminster every year. He is also at all the big shows you see on TV. The other is a lady that has been doing this for 40 years and trains other handlers. The third is the daughter of a good friend that handles them for free when we are at the same show. Karen saves money sleeping in her RV at shows and when she's in the area, she comes over to our place to fish in our lake and hang out in the evening.
Karen handled Kami in three of her wins, then freaked out when the big name handlers showed up at the forth Major that Kami was entered in. For that win, another handler took over and got Kami her win and finished her. Karen could have done it, Kami responds to her better then the handlers, but she just freaked at the competition. Because of that, Karen is taking Matsu to Conformation classes and learning all the little things that need to be done. Things that she says most of the Handlers don't do, but should. She feels that with the top genetics and feed, it will all come down to the small things that only a good Handler can do in order to win in the Specialty shows that we will be focusing on.
