05/28/2026
At the NIPPO North America Expo, Hime won 2nd place in the Soken female group. That means she didn't proceed into the next category, but she did get a cool ribbon and the female that beat her ended up winning Best of Breed so that must count for something!
Hime was also judged individually. The judges liked her temperament, especially when she was tolerant of her teeth being examined. However, they said her forehead is too wide, her tail is wrong and her pasterns (wrists) are weak. As experts I expect them to be picky! I told Hime she's still pretty even with her flaws.
What I was most impressed about was her behavior throughout the trip. She was subjected to a lot of new experiences and did very well. She was a perfect road trip companion, adapted well to scary motel rooms after the first night, had to stand still for extended periods of time and wasn't allowed to greet most of the dogs she saw. She was whiny and restless the first day of the show but the second day she did much better and stayed pretty still in the ring. And this was despite being in heat and OBSESSED with males that she saw.
Unfortunately that obsession didn't pay out because our attempts to have her breed were unsuccessful. We'll try again in November when she's in heat again.
