To be honest, before I started down the path of showing Zoey I had never really heard of dog clubs – and even after I became aware of them, I really didn’t know what they were about or why I should join one.  So, let me tell you just a little bit about my experience in being a member a local breed cub…

Before the COVID shutdown, I had the opportunity to volunteer as a ring steward for a club-sponsored fun match.  It followed all the same processes as a regular conformation show, but it was much more relaxed, and the audience unabashedly clapped for each participant.  Then I had the pleasure of attending a club-sponsored Introduction to Barn Hunt clinic.  It was great fun for the dogs, and we owners hung out and socialized, shared lunch together, and traded our knowledge and experiences with our crazy furbabies.  There have been other club-sponsored events that I was not able to attend, yet I enjoy hearing other members talk about the fun they had at those too.  But here’s where the rubber really hits the road…

As you probably know, Zoey began whelping puppies late Friday night and all through Saturday morning – the 4^th of July.  Independence Day.  A holiday.  That means, no vet support (except for the emergency pager number which typically means you’re headed to their office for an emergency c-section.)  You might wonder, what’s that got to do with dog clubs?

Our pals, and fellow club members, Bob and Troy came over and spent the whole night providing midwifery service.  My husband, Craig, and Bob handed to me fresh towels, gloves, and necessary tools while I sat in the box comforting and assisting Zoey.  As each pup was whelped, they weighed the puppies, recorded gender, put on their color-coded collars, and gently handed them back to mama so she could nurse them.

Meanwhile, Troy set up the puppycam and kept the other dogs, Max and Honor, entertained downstairs.  Being just 2ish, these two youngsters were not accustomed to the sounds of newborns nor the fierce protectiveness of a new mama.  So, Troy’s help in keeping them company and reassuring them during this night of odd sounds and strange human behavior was fantastic.  Besides that, he captured that photo above, which is now my favorite photo of our “Independence Day Whelping Party.”

And the club benefits go much deeper than that!

Around midnight, we collectively started to worry that the puppy was taking too long to come out.  None of us wanted to mention “stuck puppy” but we were thinking it.  A stuck puppy can be a death-sentence to the entire litter!  Not wanting to wake anyone, we sent text messages to a few of the experienced breeders in our club.  Within moments we had multiple calls and return messages asking for the details and offering advice.  It turned out that we didn’t actually have a stuck puppy – Miss Zoey was just working to her own schedule, not ours – but I wonder if you can imagine how valuable it is to have a network of support when you need it most.  The members of the club rallied around me and buoyed our little whelping team throughout the night.  It. Was. Awesome!

Alright, so you’re not a breeder.  I promise you; you’ll have some incident or condition or behavior while living life with your standard schnauzer in which a network of fellow owners will benefit you.  And, when you share your experiences with the club you help us all grow, collectively, into the kind of humans that our dogs just love to call their own.