DIY DOG SHOWS YOU CAN DO IT YOURSELF— AND WIN!
by Cecilia Bozzo
In July, 2019 I was asked to participate in an Owner Handled Survey which was featured in the July, 2019 issue of ShowSight Magazine. I found the responses from fellow Owner Handlers very interesting. The article brought so many different perspectives together. I was asked to write an article for the Top Notch Toys No- vember 2019 issue which features Owner Handlers. I would like to share my perspective on what it takes to be truly successful in the All Breed ring as well the National Owner Handed Series ring.
I bought my first ‘Pet’ Chihuahua in 2009 and attended my first Regional Specialty in 2010. I purchased and began showing my first ‘Show dog’ later in 2010. My first litter was bred in 2012 which produced my foundation bitch. Prior to breeding, I had shown her 99 times! I entered every local show. I was new to showing dogs and didn’t know how to train her, how to groom her, where to show her or who to show her to. A friend of mine with much more experience advised me to enter her in a show under a judge who she felt would find her. Her first time back in the ring 14 months post whelp she finished win- ning her last major, going Best of Va- riety over Specials and a Toy Group 4! Good advice and patience truly paid off. I purchased a puppy bred by Darwin Delaney of Dartan Chihuahuas in 2013.
I realized she was special but could never have fathomed how special she would become until our journey began. Tiffany has been in the top 10 Breed/All Breed for 5 years. She has been number one Owner Handled Smooth Coat Chi- huahua for 5 years. She has earned an All Breed BIS, All Breed RBIS, MBISS. She has earned 19 OH BIS and 15 OH RBIS. She had been awarded in the rib- bons at the Chihuahua Club of America Regional and National Specialty and Westminster Kennel Club multiple times in her youth. She was awarded Best of Variety at the Chihuahua Club of America National Specialty in 2018, RBIS at the AKCNOHS Finals in 2018, Best of Variety at the AKC National Championship in 2018, Best of Variety Progressive Toy Club as well as West- minster Kennel Club 2019! >
36 • T op N otch T oys , N ovember 2019
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