Trader, a 5-year-old Akita owned by Ann and Tom Bavaria of Weisenberg Township, won his Best of Breed competition and placed third in the Best of Working Group competition at the 138th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, held Feb. 11 and 12 in New York City. Trader, the No. 1 nationally ranked Akita, also won Best of Breed and Best of Working Group titles at the National Dog Show, held Nov. 16 and 17 in Oaks, Montgomery County. Tom Bavaria is the subject of this week’s QA.
Q: How long has Trader been participating in dog shows and what has been the highlight of his career thus far?
A: Trader started showing at 9 months of age. His first show was at the Lehigh Valley Kennel Club, held at Rausch Fieldhouse in Bethlehem. The highlight of his career was winning the Akita National in 2013 in Denver, Colo. It’s an all Akita show with over 180 Akitas competing for the Best of Breed title. The two highlights a dog can have, in our opinion, are to win a Best in Show and your breed’s national show.
Q: Were you pleased with Trader’s performance at this year’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show?
A: We were extremely pleased with how well he showed and with how well his handler (Heather Bremmer of Blandon) made him look. After his breed win, the third place in the working group was really icing on the cake!
Q: What are Trader’s strengths and weaknesses when competing?
A: Trader has beautiful type and movement. He is usually laser focused, but sometimes if he’s hungry, he can get overly excited and move a foot! And Heather doesn’t want him to move a hair!
Q: What does Trader like to do when he’s not in the show ring?
A: He likes to play with his daughter, Rosie. He loves the snow and he enjoys throwing his toys in the air when he’s in our family room.
Q: What is Trader’s favorite toy?
A: He loves his rubber chicken, Henrietta.
Q: Can Trader do any special tricks? If so, what are they?
A: No. A lot of show dogs don’t learn tricks because we don’t want them to do something that isn’t welcome in the show ring. A sit, shake or roll over is not something that would impress the judge. Maybe we will teach him some tricks when he is retired from showing!
Q: What do you love most about Trader?
A: How much he loves us and wants to be with us. He gives us the best kisses and whether he wins or loses, he comes out of the ring and jumps all over us. He is a dream dog – both in and out of the ring. We waited over 28 years to have a Best in Show dog and he has 17 Best in Shows so far in his career.
Q: How would you describe Trader’s overall performance last year and where do you see his career going in the year ahead?
A: Trader was the No. 1 Akita and the No. 5 working dog in 2013 and the No. 28 all breed dog in the entire country. He beat over 18,000 dogs last year to gain those rankings. This year, he is ahead of where he was last year, point wise. We’d like to see him continue to win Best in Shows before he retires at year’s end. He just keeps getting better and better and loves the show ring. So, as long as it’s fun for him, we will show him through the end of 2014.