Poodle Variety Magazine January-March 2025 - January – March 2025

I’ve been everywhere or at least every AKC Poodle club specialty show. Starting in 2015 when the goal’s seed was planted, I have shown a Standard Poodle at 41 different Poodle club specialty shows. Started years ago, with the local Greater Milwaukee Poodle Club specialties and ended this past December 2024 with the Orlando Poodle Club. The journey has been a very interesting lark with meeting lots of great Poodle people along the way.

When my wife, Patty, and I started showing our Standard Poodles we decided a five-hour drive would be our limit. Sometime in the mid 2000’s, Terri Meyers convinced me to enter the Twin Cities Poodle Club show. That was an almost seven-hour drive which broke our time barrier. Then in 2015, I met Wendy Penn at the Great Lakes Poodle Club specialty. When Wendy told me she was from Ohio, I commented on how far she had traveled to Joliet, IL. Her reply was that she liked to support the Poodle specialties. Hmm.

“A Poodle specialty is the only place a Best of Breed is awarded. Grooming near the rings reserved for Poodle exhibitors is great. It’s easier to share grooming tips...”

Just about that time, I had stopped competing in triathlons and marathons. It was a thing for runners to do a race in every state. I like making somewhat goofy goals, so voilà, I thought why not go to every Poodle club specialty show. I’m sure Terri and Wendy have no idea what they started. LOL.

Planning long-range goals are right up my alley. The first thing was to make a list of all the Poodle clubs from the AKC website along with their show dates. Some clubs have two shows per year and the show that seemed to be their “main” show was listed first. Some dates have three specialties on the same weekend so entering every specialty is impossible to do in one year. A column was added for the region of the country where the shows were located. That way the shows could be grouped to see if any shows could be done in consecutive weekends like the Texas club shows in July.

The first really long trip was in 2017 to the Quinnipiac Poodle Club and then a weekend later to the Poodle Club of the Lehigh Valley. Our longest duration trip was six weeks to California where we made consecutive stops at the Poodle Club of Southern California, an agility trial; the San Diego Poodle Club, an agility trial; and the Poodle Club of Las Vegas Nevada. The farthest distance-wise is of course, the Poodle Club of Hawaii. Going to Hawaii definitely involved a lot of planning to get a Standard Poodle to a rabies-free state (that’s another story!).

Along the way to every specialty, we always planned to visit other people and places. We stayed with a childhood friend that I’ve kept in contact with while we were showing at the Columbia Poodle Club in conjunction with the Rose City Classic where we also did agility. We had Thanksgiving dinner with my brother in Tucson while showing at Valley of the Sun Poodle Club. In Florida, for the Tampa Bay Poodle Club at the huge and lengthy Brooksville cluster, we were able to visit and sightsee with Patty’s sister and her husband. We camped on the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Appalachian Mountains, the Ozarks, and the Rockies.

“Some new exhibitors are nervous at an AKC show. I’ve been at a specialty where there was a first-time exhibitor and I was the only person helping them.”

So, what makes a good specialty? My view is that a specialty should be a celebration of the breed. A Poodle Party! It should be more than a regular dog show. A Poodle specialty is the only place a Best of Breed is awarded. Grooming near the rings reserved for Poodle exhibitors is great. It’s easier to share grooming tips, share a joke and a laugh, share a snack, and share a win celebration when exhibitors are close together. It certainly creates a camaraderie among Poodle people.

Having nice prizes is great. I’m not big on monetary awards although I’m sure the more frequent exhibitors might think otherwise. Items embroidered with the club’s name are a nice touch. The zippered bags from the San Diego Poodle Club are used often and bring back happy memories of the Bates Nut Farm show site. A couple of clubs have party favors for every entrant which is appreciative. Other seemingly simple things like a coaster or a little cloth cover squeaker with an imprint of the club’s logo adds to a festive feel to the show.

Decorations near the ring, especially Poodle blingy stuff, creates a cheerful atmosphere. The Columbine State Poodle Club is in a big venue and had Poodley things at the ring. Raffles always seem to be a big hit and generate a bit of a buzz. I was super lucky to win Artero clippers at the Palmetto Poodle Club at their first specialty show.

Every show site has different rules about food and food really does add to any festivity. The Great Lakes Poodle Club really does a super job with having an extensive spread for lunch. Yummy! They have a stand-alone show site so there aren’t many restrictions. Even the big show venues can have some type of celebratory food like simple snacks or candy.

Local ambience or timely themes is always cool such as King Cake at the Creole Poodle Club of New Orleans, a Christmas theme at the Poodle Club of the Lehigh Valley, and of course a wine theme for the Poodle Club of Central California in Napa, California. The Palmetto Poodle Club’s first specialty was very lively and festive with their pink flamingo theme. All very clever enhancements!

Here are some suggestions for clubs. Appoint someone to be the host/hostess. Jean Lazarus was a great hostess for the Greater Milwaukee Poodle Club. Because of Jean’s encouragement to me in the mid-1990’s, I have one of my most cherished win pictures when I went High in Trial at the Obedience trial. I didn’t know enough at that time how to even ask for the photographer.

I notice there are lots of new young handlers/groomers. Some new exhibitors are nervous at an AKC show. I’ve been at a specialty where there was a first-time exhibitor and I was the only person helping them. This exhibitor was a young, local person. I pointed this out to the show chairperson suggesting they introduce themselves and hand out a membership application. There wasn’t a membership application on site. A specialty can be a new member recruitment opportunity.

Be a good host and go out of your way to make sure exhibitors (especially new/unfamiliar exhibitors) are comfortable, that the grooming setup is adequate and that they know how to get pictures, etc.

For any new exhibitors reading this, here are a couple thoughts. I’ve met many, many great Poodle people and everyone has been so helpful. The list would be too long to mention for this article and I’d probably miss someone. From helping me put in a topknot bubble to loaning equipment when I forgot mine at home or getting a great show picture, everyone, pro-handler or experienced breeder-owner-handler, has been so helpful. As a new handler, don’t hesitate to ask for advice but be respectful. The other handlers have their own dog or 10 to get ready which means it’s probably better to wait until after the show. At a specialty show, all the Poodles are top quality so don’t be too disappointed when you don’t win. Be sure to congratulate the winner. Watch the whole specialty as you might learn something from the pros and more experienced handlers.

My journey with showing Poodles is not over. I’m still dreaming of a Best in Specialty Show win. Plus, we’ve had 10 years of enjoyable experiences in trying to reach this goal. There are three clubs that haven’t had a specialty show in years. If that ever changes, I’ll have some new shows to add to the list. Supporting Poodle specialties and meeting Poodle people from coast to coast has been interesting and fun. Yes, I’ve been everywhere!

John Pittman has been showing Standard Poodles since 2001, exclusively in AKC events. He also competes in many other AKC companion events. His Standard Poodle, Gerard, was the top agility Poodle in 2024; Gerard is the only Grand Champion Poodle to be an Agility Grand Champion. Breeding under the Gladystar prefix, John became an AKC Silver Breeder of Merit in 2021. John and his wife Patty are based in Saukville, Wisconsin.