When Meagan Holloway walks her dogs, it isn’t a typical stroll around the park. There is no barking, running, or noise making. Everyone watches and judges with beady eyes.
About ten years ago when a family friend and dog breeder offered Meagan a new collie friend named Sammy, she had no idea that she had just begun her blossoming new interest in dog shows. For Meagan dogs are a hobby rather than pets.
“We didn’t plan on starting to show him but then we went to one or two shows and found out that he was actually a pretty good dog,” Meagan said.
After Sammy’s successful beginning of his dog showing career, Meagan got Zoe, a dalmatian, and Oscar, a black lab.
“Yeah, I am definitely a dog person,” Meagan said confidently.
Meagan’s family supports the ever-growing “collection” of dogs in the Holloway house.
“There are dogs running around everywhere, but that’s how we like it around here,” Donna Holloway, Meagan’s mother, said. “It’s a nice role shift because Meagan is the mom to them. She has to get tough with them in training while I am the softy that gets to play with them all the time.”
Meagan was able to combine her love of dogs with an aspect of competition through her partaking in dog shows.
At events there are two categories that Meagan and her dogs participate in. Zoe and Sammy are entered into an event known as confirmation, which Matt Holloway, Meagan’s brother, defines as when judges are “looking at the dog to see if he or she is the perfect representation of that specific breed.”
The other event is called lead, or obedience which Meagan defines as “when they’re judging you and your ability of how to train your dog.”
The two events involve training, but the process is different.
Confirmation just involves the assessment of a dog. “You’ll do heel patterns and see if the dog sits by you when you stop its like he has to do a bunch of commands and there are a bunch of different rules to follow,” Meagan explained.
Despite the difficulty and competition, Meagan, along with her canine friends, has championed in many areas. Dog shows run on a points system, and depending on the amount of wins, the more points you collect over time per each dog.
Currently, she has 55 total points for just Sammy alone. The champ received 15 for small achievements, as well as 15 points for a championship and 25 points for a grand championship. Over the years, Meagan has been gradually collecting more and more points for her furry friends, earning her countless ribbons and certificates. Meagan can see the time she spends training her dogs pay off with the rewards! There are also ceritifcates and money prizes possible for achievement at dog shows.
The shows are a very big time commitment, as they involve out-of-town travel. However, Meagan definitely has the commitment to compete at least once a month. Sometimes she is even doing them every single weekend.
As a soon-to-be senior in high school, Meagan has one year left with her dogs before she goes to college.
“I definitely want to continue doing dog shows in the future,” Meagan said. She hopes that she will also continue to get more dogs to compete with, even if that means continuing after college.
Unsure of what the future will bring for her, Meagan is looking forward to more outings with her dogs. She will continue to train her dogs, especially her newest, Oscar.
“I see big things for Oscar and Meagan in the future,” Matt Holloway said. “She’s doing a pretty good job with the dogs, I didn’t know Meagan had this much potential.”