Kevin, Our “Superb Baby”, Takes the Toy Group Twice in Dunedin

Wow. Where to start! We spent the long weekend in Dunedin at the Forrester Park and Waikouaiti shows. 5 shows in a marathon weekend that left us thrilled, chilled and quite blown away by how well Team Kitaco performed, and in awe of our stand out star, Kevin.

What made these results even more impressive was that Long Coat Chihuahuas were the largest breed entry in the Toy Group and in the top 5 largest breed entries for all the shows.

We go off to a slow start, with Ava taking Reserve Best of Breed in Show 1 under Australian judge, Ros Barden. Ben took Best NZ Bred of Breed and we got our first hint of what was to come in the dog line-up when the judge asked the steward if she could award the CC to a baby. The steward explained that she could give the baby Best Dog and even Best of Breed but that meant no CC would be awarded. The baby she was talking about was young Kevin (Kitaco Baby One More Time) who in his very first Champ show ever, had already won the Baby Puppy Dog of Breed and earned himself a place in the line-up.

She ultimately awarded the Best Dog CC to an older, imported dog, but gave Kevin the Best Reserve Dog and Baby Puppy of Breed, which we were very happy with, considering this was his first proper show. We’ve been so busy with the new puppies at home we have not done nearly enough show training with him and he’s a bit of a nutjob.

In the Smooth Coats, Scotty took Best of Breed, the Best Dog CC and Best Junior of Breed, which was fantastic because that means he is now (Dogs NZ approval pending) officially an NZ Champion! Oh, and he finished that achievement off with the Best Junior in Group!

We also started getting a steady stream of other exhibitors attending the show, who wanted to come over and meet Kevin. By the end of the weekend this stream of admirers hit double figures. They were all very complimentary and raving about what an amazing puppy he was, which bemused us somewhat, because to us, Kevin is a crazy nutjob with the soul of a Labrador going through his uglies.

Show 2, under Pueto Rican judge, Mr Blai Llobet, Ben took Best of Breed in the Long Coats, Best Dog CC and NZ Bred of Breed, Ava took the Best Bitch CC and Open Bitch of Breed while Kevin again took the Best Baby Puppy of Breed, which we were pretty happy with.

Scotty took Best of Breed, the Best Dog CC and Best Junior of Breed and then went on to take the Best Junior of Group for the 2nd time that day.

We went home to thaw out as the day had been horrifically wet and freezing, even inside the hall where we were showing. We really felt for the Gundogs and the Hounds who’d been showing outside. Our little home away from home was very snug, however, and the puppies were very happy to settle into our laps for some snuggles before dinner and bed and getting up before the crack of dawn to be at the venue early enough to grab a decent car park.

Day 2, in the first show under Mr Noberto Barcos (Venezuela), Ben took the Best of Breed, Best Dog CC & New Zealand Bred of Breed. Ava took the Best Bitch CC and Open Bitch of Breed and Kevin? Well, he got dumped completely, which just goes to show how fickle dog shows can be and how you can never assume that just because you’ve won something in the last show, you’ll get anything in the next, LOL.

Scotty didn’t let us down, yet again taking the Best of Breed, the Best Dog CC and Best Junior of Breed but then blew us away by taking the Reserve Best of Group!

On Cloud Nine over that remarkable result, we waited for Show 2 with no inkling that the best was yet to come.

We get to Show 2 of the day under Australian judge, Duncan McAllister, who awarded the Best Baby Puppy Dog, and then Best Dog, and then Best of Breed, and then BEST OF GROUP to our nutjob, Kevin, who was just having the time of his life. Kevin had made such an impression on people that a cheer went up when he won!

He also awarded Ben the Reserve Best Dog and Best NZ Bred of Breed and Ava the Best Bitch CC, Best Open of Breed and Reserve Best of Breed.

The judge liked Scotty too, giving him Best of Breed in the Smooth Coats, the Best Dog CC and Best Junior of Breed and then Junior of Group, commenting “excellent breed type in the Chihuahuas here” as he handed over the ribbon.

Forget about Cloud Nine, we were just about in orbit on the way home from the shows, still a bit gobsmacked by Kevin’s win. He is such a happy, fearless puppy, and just oozes charisma that you cannot teach. We were so thrilled and so tired and a bit worried about how the team would fare with still another day of shows to go.

Day 3 and it was back to Forrester Park for the last show under Norwegian judge, Karl E Berge who we had heard was a bit of an ogre and had excused multiple dogs in multiple groups in the other shows.

We went into these shows hoping simply to get through, but as it turned out, he was a brilliant judge. We can’t comment on the other breeds he judged, but he knew his Chihuahua breed standards backwards and gave a critique over every dog. He spoke of their good points and their weaknesses and knew exactly what he wanted to see in a champion.

So, when he too, awarded Kevin the Best Baby Puppy Dog, and then Best Dog, and then Best of Breed, and again the BEST OF GROUP. we were thrilled beyond words.

His comment as he was going over Kevin was “superb baby, superb baby”.

He awarded Ben the Reserve Best Dog and Best NZ of Breed and Ava the Reserve Best of Breed, the Best Bitch CC and the Reserve Best of Breed.

Wow. What a result for a 4-month-old baby with minimal training and no coat yet. We are so excited to see what the future holds for Kevin. He did all of this with barely any show training, just his charm and amazing conformation. He is the first boy we have ever kept from our gorgeous Narci (GR CH, GR JNR CH, NZ CH, Mystic Legion Narcissus (Imp Greece)) who has given us many beautiful daughters, but until now, we have not had a son we felt was a worthy successor. Time will tell, but it appears we have one now.

To round out the results, over the 5 shows, Team Kitaco took 8 Best of Breeds, 4 Reserve Best of Breeds, all but 3 of the 15 CCs on offer, 4 Best Junior of Group, 2 Best Baby Puppy of Group. a Reserve Best of Group and 2 Best of Group wins. We won so much food we are going to have to donate most of it, because the Chis will never get through it all!

Thanks so much to the Waikouaiti and Forrester Park committees for a great weekend, and particularly the stewards who did a fabulous job and really didn’t deserve some of the grief they received from some competitors.