Last weekend was the Ft Worth Specialty. It was the biggest dog show in the country with people coming there from Coast to Coast. There where 32 Akita's there, including the number one ranked Akita.
The first day was Friday. Matsu was brought out as one of the top three for a second look. The judge did something we have never seen before. After she put her hands on him and felt his muscles, checked his manhood to be sure he was intact, and looked at his teeth, she walked away, then turned around real fast and went to touch him again. Our handler didn't anticipate this and she wasn't holding his head properly. Matsu snapped at the judge, which scared her real bad. This could have been very bad, but we think that because the judge knew she had made a mistake, she just kicked him out of the ring instead of banning him from the show. The number 1 Akita in the nation won Best of Breed and we got nothing that day.
Saturday, the judge awarded Best of Breed to a female Akita that we know very well and consider her to be a very nice girl. Matsu received Best of Opposites, which means the judge thought he was the very best male Akita there, which also means he beat the number 1 Akita in the country.
On Sunday, Matsu won Best of Breed, which also means he beat the number 1 Akita in the country.
He is just getting back into showing after AKC closing down for most of last year. We switched handlers this year because of issues we had with our previous handler. The new handler is in her 20's and her husband is also a handler. They trained under one of the very best and well known handlers in the country. In order to win, the handler has to know the breed better then the judges, but also they have to know the judges and what they expect. Since you get a different judge every day, it's really important to understand the subtle differences in order to win.
The first picture was taken from a video that somebody took during the show. I think it's kind of amazing that the show was in Ft Worth TX, the video was seen in Spokane WA, where the picture was taken from the video, and then the picture was sent to Matsu's breeder in North Battleford SASK and then I saw in on FB here in Tyler TX
This is Matsu and his handler with a few of his ribbons from the show
At every show, there is a professional photographer that you can pay for a photo. It's expensive, but according to my wife, "we have to have it"!!!
One of the things that amazes me is how much he wants to go to dog shows. When my wife pulls up the van, he loses his mind wanting to get into it. I weigh 260 pounds. Matsu weighs 115 pounds. I can barely control him on the leash going from the dog yard to the van!!! He is pulling so hard that I'm afraid he will get away, or hurt himself, trying to get into the van.
Here is a link to a video taken when he won BOB on Sunday. You have to go to the 2 min 20 sec point to see Matsu being named the winner. Since there where so many Akita's at this show, they work it down to the best boys and girls, and then they are the ones that make it to the final judging. In my opinion, Matsu really stands out next to the other Akita's. Thankfully, the judge thought so too!!!
I'm not sure if this link will work. It's on my FB page, which I shared from a friend who took the video. If you want to see it, and the link doesn't work, you can try to copy the link and open it in a new page. That worked for me when I tested it. If not, I'm sorry, I think it's pretty cool, but I'm also very biased.