By Jackson Gardner
The Chronicle
CENTRALIA
Though perhaps it felt like they were blue-collar competitors at a white-collar competition Feb. 10-11 in New York City, they were in their element.
Erb works at a veterinary clinic by day, and Maulden pays the bills as an accounting assistant.
Their journey that led to Erb’s dog Lizzie, a 2-year-old smooth collie, winning select female (the equivalent of a runner-up award) in her breed, and Maulden’s dog Jack, a Siberian husky, an award of merit (the equivalent of an honorable mention) at Westminster was more a labor of love than a spending spree.
Some show dog owners who want their dog competing at Westminster pay annual expenses of anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000, a former professional handler told CNN in 2015. And some owners can pay up to $250,000 in one year for their show dog, CNBC reported in 2014.
Maulden estimates her annual expenses run around $14,000.
Raising a healthy and happy dog has always been the priority for these two women who collectively own over 20 dogs. If the dog — like Lizzie or Jack — enjoys doing shows, then Erb and Maulden will buckle down and commit to it.
“It’s like signing your daughter up for softball,” Maulden said. “You hope that they will like it and want to keep playing, but sometimes they don’t.”
The attention to detail required to be competitive at the world’s most notorious dog show only allows an owner to focus on one breed. Erb directs her attention to smooth collies, not to be confused with rough collies like Lassie. Maulden’s breed of expertise is a Siberian husky.
The road to Westminster
So what exactly does it take to own a dog worthy of the stage at Westminster?
It all starts with proper breeding. Like many sports, if you don’t possess the best genes then the odds are not in your favor.
When a dog competes in a show, they are largely being graded on how closely they resemble the “official standard” set by the American Kennel Club.
A female smooth collie like Lizzie should be a well balanced, medium-sized herding dog of athletic appearance. It should be 18 to 21 inches in height from the withers and its expression should be intelligent, alert, eager and full of interest.
A male Siberian husky like Jack should be a medium-sized working dog that is quick and light on his feet. It should stand 21 to 23 inches in height at the withers and weigh anywhere from 45 to 60 pounds. His expression should be keen, but friendly; interested and even mischievous.
Erb and Maulden realize the precise measurements required and the astronomical prices some owners are willing to pay to achieve these looks in the breeding process just screams an activity for high society.
But they would argue that breeding a dog with superior genes isn’t just for show. Better genes means better bone structure, better temperament, or in other words, a healthier and happier dog. And raising happy and healthy dogs is Erb and Maulden’s primary goal to begin with.
Other key aspects are socialization and fitness. A dog’s ability to keep its cool in different environments can play a critical role in how they perform at a show.
“You see what these dogs are used to,” Maulden said as she pointed around at the trees at Borst Park. “Take this dog to New York with all those horns and sirens and all the people and all of that, if these dogs didn’t have good temperament they would have been like, ‘nope.’”
And if the dog doesn’t have adequate stamina to perform at shows, it’s almost guaranteed they won’t place well either.
Once a dog has the right look, the right social skills and the right fitness level, then they can start bringing home ribbons at shows.
For Lizzie and Jack, it took all of 2019 competing at regional events to earn their rankings at No. 5 and No. 2 for their breeds respectively. Because they had such high rankings in their breeds they received automatic bids to Westminster, where two women would get to realize their dreams.
New York, New York
Erb admits there was a lot of crying involved.
Crying because Lizzie had qualified; crying because she was actually heading to New York for Lizzie to compete in the Westminster Dog Show; crying the morning before Westminster because she couldn’t believe this was happening.
“This was our Super Bowl,” Erb said.
But all the tears in the world weren’t going to make a money tree sprout from the ground so Erb and Maulden could finance their trip.
Some owners were simply adding a couple extra thousand dollars onto the annual expenses, but for Erb and Maulden, it was a big deal. Granted, there was no other option than to go.
“Oh we were going,” Erb said. “I don’t care if I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Top Ramen every day for two months, we were going.”
When Erb and Maulden arrived there wasn’t much time to do anything but stay focused on Lizzie and Jack, but they were still looking directly at the pinnacle of dog-owner pretentiousness.
Dogs who were being financially backed were prevalent, and even more so for dogs with professional handlers. Through all of 2019, while Erb and Maulden were working Monday through Friday, these professional handlers were getting more familiar with the dogs they’re employed to handle.
“I’m not saying handlers don’t do a good job because obviously they do, and their dogs love them and they build a rapport with them,” Maulden said. “But we have these dogs 24/7 for their entire lives.”
Maulden estimates that only 10% to 15% of the dogs have owners who are as active in the breeding, owning and handling as she and Erb are.
But they also don’t feel as if they are morally superior to other dog owners who pay their way to Westminster. After all, it would be a little hypocritical of them to stick their nose up at these other dog owners.
Nevertheless, it is hard to deny that Lizzie’s select female ribbon and Jack’s award of merit would be less sweet if it didn’t come from their owners’ passion for their furry friends.
