My parents wouldn't let me have a dog when I was a kid. I tell them they should have let me have one back then–I wouldn't have so many now.

And we encourage parents to come with them.

It wasn't worth putting him through that stress of being on display for eight hours. He needs to be at 100 percent for a show like Westminster. But he's ready and he's healthy. That's all that matters.

He's got a nice head and good ear placement. They look for a dog that can move well, too–a dog that can go out and do what it was bred to do, what a farmer would ask him to do. He is very agile and he has great color, judges really like him. But he's not just a pretty face, he can work, too.

I went to my first Westminster in 1989. It put that dream in my head to one day show there. In the U.S. it's certainly the most prestigious. But he'll have other shows, in fact some are coming up this weekend and there's always next year.

I'm a breeder but he's my pet first so we just couldn't go. But the fact he is healthy is a big relief.