The Seven Secrets of Show Success Have a Great Dog BY MICHAEL AND CATHY DUGAN T he two old- est sporting events in the United
In 2008, Ladybug campaigned on the east coast and won her first group placement, a Group One, under Judge Houston Clark when she was less than two–years–old. She won her first Best in Show under Judge Ken McDermott on May 10, 2008. For 2008, Ladybug placed as the number two ranked PWD to CH Pouch Cove’s Monkey See Monkey Do on the last show of the last day of the year, trailing by only 24 breed points. It was a great start. In 2009–2010 Ladybug campaigned on the west coast, superbly handled by Amy Rutherford and her career took off immediately. Against the arguably toughest working dog group in the country, Ladybug was able to become a domi- nant competitor for PWD’s and the working group. She also won the PWD National Specialty among many specialty wins. Competing against hundreds of the best breeders in the nation, she won the Breeder’s Showcase at Santa Barbara in 2009 and placed Reserve at that show in 2010. She set all- time records in every category for conformation competition for PWDs. For 2010, Ladybug finished the year as the #3 Working Dog, #15 Dog All-Breeds and was the #1 Portuguese Water Dog, all–systems in 2009–2010. Once Westminster was over, Ladybug came home to Shingle Springs and immediately came in season; always the consummate professional. For any breeder, the goal is to produce consistent, out- standing dogs that exemplify the breed standards with excellent temperaments along with the competitive drive. Although Aviator Kennel has produced over 120 champi- ons, including over 50 PWD champions and multiple top ten dogs, Ladybug is truly the dog of a lifetime. Many judges have described her as the epitome of what a Portuguese Water Dog should be; powerful yet feminine, exhibiting the ability to do the work that the breed was bred for, with a reach and drive full of power and grace, and an enthusiastic love for the ring. What we learned from our experience with Ladybug is just how difficult it really is to breed, train and compete at the highest level and win. In this series, we’ll talk candidly about what it really takes to win big. Even after 24 years, we found that we had a lot to learn and made our own rookie mistakes. Cathy’s judges’ training to become an AKC judge with Mike tagging along learning to be a ring steward was no preparation for achieving success in major competitions around the country.
States are the Ken- tucky Derby and the Westminster dog show. We’ve been to both extravaganzas and have had dogs compete at West-
minster for several years. Until this year though, we never thought we actually had a dog who could win at the Garden, the Mecca of purebred dog competition. When our handler, Amy Rutherford, came charging out of the chute led by our Portuguese Water Dog, GCH Avia- tors Luck Be A Lady, “Ladybug”, we joined in the cheers and hooting for our powerful “little black dog”. Watching the spotlight track her run across the green carpet competing for Best in Show, our emotions and delight crested with the very idea that we were here at the Big Show with a dog who had become the top winning Portuguese Water Dog in the his- tory of the breed. Even better, Ladybug had come roaring into Westminster with a working group win at the AKC/Eukanuba Championship in December, knocked off two more Best in Shows in January and marched into the Garden ranked as the #1 Working Dog and #7 Dog All Breeds! When she won the Working Group at Westminster, she exceeded all of our expectations by a mile. How did we get here? What does it take to find and pro- duce a dog that can compete at the highest level week after week for three years with over 300 Best in Breed wins, win- ning that title 80% of the time in competition, 20 Best in Shows, 88 Group Ones and over 170 group placements, not to mention beating every record? Born on St. Patrick’s Day (a good omen) in 2006, GCH Ladybug demanded attention almost immediately. Although we have been operating Aviator Kennel in Shingle Springs, California since 1987, it was rare that a five-week-old pup- py attracted Cathy’s eye so quickly. Ladybug was not to be denied. Ladybug was shown by Cathy in the Bred by Exhibi- tor class and won her first major at the Southern Cali- fornia Portuguese Water Dog Specialty when she was seven–months–old. She finished her championship with Best of Opposite over specials at the Northern Califor- nia PWD Specialty at eighteen months. She was already demonstrating her unusual power and effortless drive in the ring.
The movie Best In Show only scratches the surface about the world of dog shows. Although the movie is supposed to be a satire, anyone who’s spent any time in the world of dog shows and the business of dogs knows that the movie is really an accurate documentary of how we all operate “FOR ANY BREEDER, THE GOAL IS TO PRODUCE CONSISTENT, OUTSTANDING DOGS THAT EXEMPLIFY THE BREED STANDARDS WITH EXCELLENT TEMPERAMENTS ALONG WITH THE COMPETITIVE DRIVE.”
78 • S how S ight M agazine , A pril 2018
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