I Think The Time Has Come

I think the time has come for Leroy to enter back into the show ring.

I have been watching him closely over the past year, waiting and waiting for him to mature. Physically.
Not mentally. If I was waiting for mentally I’d be dead.

I have been waiting for his big nose to grow into his big head. For his chest to broaden. For his legs to thicken.

And last night when we were up at Bobby’s football practice and I looked over at him, I paused for a minute and said to my husband..”he’s ready”

He could use some more coat, but that will come in soon.

Now to you, this picture of him looks like normal Leroy, but to me I see what I have been waiting for.
A dog who is now competitive with the other dogs that are in the show ring.

I learned a lot when we showed Sherman. But don’t get me wrong, there is way more that I need to learn, but I have a base now.
I know that going in to the ring Leroy is the odd man out. In most of the shows he will be the only brown one there. He will stand out. This sometimes is good, but sometimes is not.
I know that some judges just don’t like the browns and I know not to show to them now.
I know that some judges like a certain “type” of Newfoundland, and that if Leroy is not their “type”
I will not show to them.
I know that all of the above can sometimes not be true at all, and sometimes you just have to take a chance.

What concerns me is Leroy’s head. Not the empty inside part, but the outer part. The shape. Leroy has a blocky type of head vs Sherman’s more rounded head.  Although Leroy’s head is huge, most of the dogs out in the ring now, that I have seen have a more rounded shape, and I just don’t know how this will affect him.
Most people would say it shouldn’t matter, but in the ring it does.
Regardless of that, we will take our chances.  We will do what we did with Sherman, and show him to his championship, no matter what. I am determined.
We are thinking of starting back up at the end of November, so in the meantime we will be training and grooming…and grooming.