Originally Posted by gemy  Outdoor shows are another cup of tea altogether. In some ways I love them more, we usually have bbqès at night with our friends, and sometimes the grounds are set in a beautifull park, with lots of hiking trails and even water for the dogs to swim in.
But for us they are an equipment heavy. We need to take fans, and a generator, particularly if there is no electrical on site, and if weève had problems in the past with electricity at that show site. We need awnings, and solar blankets, ice, and coolers of water for the dogs. Because of wider open spaces at least here in Ontario, exhibitors spread out more, so it can be difficult to make sure someone is watching over your set up.
We usually chain our generator to a nearby tree, and remove all water food and grooming tools to our van. We do tend to leave our crates in situ, and travel back to the motel in our van. We have two sets of crates for all our dogs. So one set is always in our van.
It is also harder to know all the exhibitors as they are dispersed throughout the show grounds, and sometimes there is a high public attendance at the shows. With outdoor shows you need to be prepared for rain, hot hot temperatures, or conversly cold temperatures, high winds, etc, whatever Mother Nature decides to throw at you today.
Bathing dogs, particulary large dogs is problematic at best, so our best friend is the waterless bath, raincoats, booties, etc.
Having said all that my hubby and I love the outdoor shows, we love to camp and hike and be outdoors. Razzle is also a good hiker as he showed us last summer on vacation. That little man, went with us as we built up to hikes of 5 hours per day over 2 weeks. I had set up a back pack on our bigger male to take the little one if he tired out. He never did! While our big dogs carried their water, I carried water for Razz so that he didnèt have to. |