The Seven Secrets to Show Success:
BY MICHAEL AND CATHY DUGAN continued
“EVEN WITH ALL OF THE PIECES IN PLACE THAT WE’VE MENTIONED NONE OF IT WOULD HAVE WORKED WITHOUT A COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS STRATEGY.”
decades, often with their own dogs, and are committed to excellence in shows and breeds. Ladybug ended up on six covers of major magazines and these can cost as much as $6,000 for a single cover. Covers are often reserved months in advance, but getting one is worth every penny. THE PROFESSIONAL HAN- DLER; YOUR BEST FRIEND Our handlers have shown our dogs for years and they take their craft to a higher level with Ladybug. A great dog has to have a great handler who has created that special bond that deliv- ers bravado performances in the ring. When we campaigned a dog like Lady- bug, where we competed became as important as the competition itself. We looked for big shows with lots of points and hopefully with veteran judges who knew the breed inside and out. The buzz about Ladybug grew quick- ly as she won 80% of her best of breed appearances and got a group placement 60% of the time after that. Once the Best in Show wins started coming, people expected her to win and the fancy start- ed rooting for her. No PWD had ever won at her pace and PWD owners were delighted to see our breed highlighted by a great dog. When people watched her compete on TV it just added to the program. It could not have happened without our handlers showing Ladybug like a thoroughbred. With fees, bonus- es, and travel costs we learned that reasonable costs will exceed $80,000 a year. PHOTOS AND MORE After we covered advertising and our handler, we found that things like photos, entry fees and vet costs were also substantial. As part of our cam- paign, we always had a photo taken when Ladybug won and sent a copy of that photo with a Ladybug thank you card. It was a genuine gesture on our part; we really appreciate good judges. Like editors, the photographers have spent their lives and careers with dog shows. They too can become valuable resources and friends. Yes, part of the definition of a “good judge” is one who puts up one of our dogs, but we know
how hard it is to become a judge and get assignments. Of the 3,000 plus AKC judges, only a few hundred get any regular work. As Cathy began her training to become an AKC judge, I often attended the semi- nars and training with her. I discov- ered that the requirements and hurdles demanded by the AKC to become a judge were a lot worse than law school; that was easy! While individual photos and entry fees don’t sound like much, they add up when you consider that Ladybug competed in 400 dog shows over three years. Do the math. FINDING PARTNERS, THE CRITICAL COMPONENT By the end of our first year, it became obvious to us that if we were going to take Ladybug’s competition to a high level we were going to have to have partners. At first, we talked to fellow breeders to join us in “Team Ladybug” to promote her show career and sell some puppy futures for her future litters. Paul and Judy Archam- beau of Bela Vista Kennel in Santa Rosa, California, and Matthew Davis and Bill Waters of Asta PWDs in Reno, Nevada became our first partners and helped a lot both financially and as cheerleaders for Ladybug. Even with their help and our own resources we knew we needed more. We didn’t take vacations anymore (Hel- lo Pomona, Goodbye Paris) because we didn’t have the time or the discretion- ary money. We turned to our handlers to help us recruit a major partner. In the dog business, it’s the role of the profes- sional handler to find a major backer. After all, it’s to their benefit to fund a serious campaign and they know peo- ple in the business better than anyone. Ultimately, we were introduced to Victor Malzoni and the game changed. Victor is a very successful real estate developer in San Paulo, Brazil who has been a dog enthusiast his whole life. Primarily a terrier breeder and backer, Victor has successfully campaigned numerous terriers for years. During the time he helped with Ladybug, he also campaigned several top winning terri- ers with his fellow breeder Jerson Valle. Victor became a close friend, advisor
and financial backer for us and Ladybug. We found that Victor is a true dog lover and one of the classiest persons we have ever met. If everyone in the dog world was like Victor they’d have to remake “Best In Show”. His vast experience was critical to Ladybug’s success as well as splitting the costs of competition with us. One of the reasons he was delighted to work with us with Ladybug was the absence of PWDs in Brazil, a Portuguese speaking country. DO YOU HAVE A PLAN? Even with all of the pieces in place that we’ve mentioned none of it would have worked without a comprehensive business strategy. First with Team Lady- bug and then with Victor Malzoni, we started each year with very specific goals about shows, goals and measuring increasing success. We put together an advertising campaign based on when various magazines were published so that Ladybug was in the fancy’s eye con- stantly. We tracked shows nine months in the future to see where the largest entry and best judges were going to be so we could plan our travel sched- ule. We’ll talk more about this in an upcoming article about “Understanding the Game”. IS IT WORTH IT? In the last three years of her compe- tition, the combined costs approached $200,000 each year. Was it worth it? Looking back we have made terrific connections and friendships with some of the best people in the world of dogs. Ladybug’s success has elevated aware- ness and acceptance of Portuguese Water Dogs to a level never enjoyed before. It’s not unusual anymore for a PWD to pop a group win as it was for many decades. In fact, after Ladybug a great champion PWD named “Matisse”, owned by our old friends Milan Lint and Peggy Helming, went on to win 238 Best In Shows! Judges had begun to look for PWDs in the ring. While we still compete with our dogs and have had seven #1 PWDs in the last decade, we know we won’t do the campaign again, even if we found a dog as great as Ladybug which is highly unlikely. But, what a ride it was!
40 • S how S ight M agazine , J une 2018
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