Post by CampWhippet on Dec 15, 2005 8:29:26 GMT -5
Full story here: www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/13394207.htm
A nice picture here: www.grandforks.com/images/grandforks/grandforks/13393/179376733760.jpg
From Top Model to Top DogGrand Forks hopes for its second national champion.Shelley Olson hopes this is Grand Forks' year for beauty contests.
"First Nicole, then Sounder," she said from her home on Belmont Road.
Nicole, of course, would be Nicole Linkletter, the 19-year-old from Grand Forks who recently won "America's Next Top Model" competition. While her contest involved talent beyond beauty, you can't be a supermodel without being a looker.
Sounder is a looker, too. A four-legged looker.
Sounder is a 2½-year-old greyhound who soon will be competing in the prestigious AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Tampa, Fla. If the Westminster Kennel Club event is the Super Bowl of dog shows, the Eukanuba is the conference championship game.
Not just any mutt can enter. Sounder - who has the stage name of Champion Lorriebrooks Emblem - has earned his spot and his champion status by winning points in other shows. Invitations go only to dogs ranked in the top 25 of their breed in the United States and top five in Canada.
Sounder's points come from Canada, because shows in Winnipeg and Kenora, Ont., require less travel than competing in this country.
Olson, who grooms dogs and teaches obedience classes, has been showing dogs for 40 years. As a teenager, she had a bloodhound entered in the Westminster. Just as Olson's mother got her into the sport, Olson also got her daughter, Jaime Olson, hooked. Jaime is grooming a Toy Manchester Terrier for showing next year.
Sounder has the pedigree to do well. His daddy was the top-winning greyhound in Canada in 2002 and 2003 and won Best of Show (the all-around title) 50 times.
Most of the folks who prance around the show arena with their canines also have good pedigrees. So, is the stereotype true that they're snooty, snotty and rich?
"Most people are nice, but the people who have been in it for a short time and have won are arrogant," Shelley said. "And there's a lot of rich people in it, on the East and West coasts especially. But we're not one of them."
But, Sounder might be a little snooty. You see, when he had visitors Monday, he turned up his nose at a chunk of hot dog. Would your dog turn down a hot dog, or would he/she gulp it down in a nano-second?
But, Sounder is accustomed to cooked steak. To keep him interested and alert in the show arena, he is given bites of steak. The treats to bribe the dog are called "bait." No, he doesn't hold out for filet mignon bait.
Other than his selective palate, Sounder seemed like a normal dog. He was excited when his visitors arrived, craving attention, jumping on them and wanting to play.
"Greyhounds are called the 'The 30 mile-per-hour couch potatoes,'" Shelley said. "They go fast in bursts of energy, then they want to sleep."
But once he gets into the show ring, Sounder is neither too fast nor too mellow. He's all business. Manners are important, as are the gait, the body structure and the posing ability, just like with models.
"The winner is whatever dog looks closest to what he's supposed to look like, what he's bred for," Shelley said. "It's a beauty contest.
"But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And different judges have different ideas of beauty."
Sounder is a year or two away from his prime. Shelley said prime is at ages 3-4, which in human years would be 21 to 28.
"The winner is the one that has that extra spark of personality that day," she said. "Some days you're on and some days you're not."
A nice picture here: www.grandforks.com/images/grandforks/grandforks/13393/179376733760.jpg
From Top Model to Top DogGrand Forks hopes for its second national champion.Shelley Olson hopes this is Grand Forks' year for beauty contests.
"First Nicole, then Sounder," she said from her home on Belmont Road.
Nicole, of course, would be Nicole Linkletter, the 19-year-old from Grand Forks who recently won "America's Next Top Model" competition. While her contest involved talent beyond beauty, you can't be a supermodel without being a looker.
Sounder is a looker, too. A four-legged looker.
Sounder is a 2½-year-old greyhound who soon will be competing in the prestigious AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Tampa, Fla. If the Westminster Kennel Club event is the Super Bowl of dog shows, the Eukanuba is the conference championship game.
Not just any mutt can enter. Sounder - who has the stage name of Champion Lorriebrooks Emblem - has earned his spot and his champion status by winning points in other shows. Invitations go only to dogs ranked in the top 25 of their breed in the United States and top five in Canada.
Sounder's points come from Canada, because shows in Winnipeg and Kenora, Ont., require less travel than competing in this country.
Olson, who grooms dogs and teaches obedience classes, has been showing dogs for 40 years. As a teenager, she had a bloodhound entered in the Westminster. Just as Olson's mother got her into the sport, Olson also got her daughter, Jaime Olson, hooked. Jaime is grooming a Toy Manchester Terrier for showing next year.
Sounder has the pedigree to do well. His daddy was the top-winning greyhound in Canada in 2002 and 2003 and won Best of Show (the all-around title) 50 times.
Most of the folks who prance around the show arena with their canines also have good pedigrees. So, is the stereotype true that they're snooty, snotty and rich?
"Most people are nice, but the people who have been in it for a short time and have won are arrogant," Shelley said. "And there's a lot of rich people in it, on the East and West coasts especially. But we're not one of them."
But, Sounder might be a little snooty. You see, when he had visitors Monday, he turned up his nose at a chunk of hot dog. Would your dog turn down a hot dog, or would he/she gulp it down in a nano-second?
But, Sounder is accustomed to cooked steak. To keep him interested and alert in the show arena, he is given bites of steak. The treats to bribe the dog are called "bait." No, he doesn't hold out for filet mignon bait.
Other than his selective palate, Sounder seemed like a normal dog. He was excited when his visitors arrived, craving attention, jumping on them and wanting to play.
"Greyhounds are called the 'The 30 mile-per-hour couch potatoes,'" Shelley said. "They go fast in bursts of energy, then they want to sleep."
But once he gets into the show ring, Sounder is neither too fast nor too mellow. He's all business. Manners are important, as are the gait, the body structure and the posing ability, just like with models.
"The winner is whatever dog looks closest to what he's supposed to look like, what he's bred for," Shelley said. "It's a beauty contest.
"But beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And different judges have different ideas of beauty."
Sounder is a year or two away from his prime. Shelley said prime is at ages 3-4, which in human years would be 21 to 28.
"The winner is the one that has that extra spark of personality that day," she said. "Some days you're on and some days you're not."
