Peter Oxford

Peter was born into an extended family of animal lovers and came by his great love of animals naturally, especially his love for all dogs. He is the third generation in his family to handle Pekingese in the conformation ring. Two of his great Uncles and great Grandfather, in England, all trained dogsfor obedience work, and in fact one of his great Uncles owned one of the top Obedience dogs, a Border Collie, in the United Kingdom.

Peter has been involved with dogs all of his life, mostly Pekingese but also Standard Poodles, two Yorkshire Terriers and one German Shepherd. The love for animals is in his genes, as it is in those of his sister Sheilah who also showed Pekingese quite successfully as a child . Sheilah is now a Veterinary Assistant, working for our own vet, but she plans on becoming a Veterinarian herself..

When Peter was a baby we owned the Standard Poodle, Champion Ali Kai Alabama. Alabama had never been around such a small baby before as Peter's brother and sister were older when we purchased Alabama but she knew instinctively that this was "her" baby. Alabama was an old lady by this time but it was obvious she considered herself his "Nanny" and she took her duties very seriously.She rarely left his side and would lie alongside of him while he slept and as he got older she would sit by his play pen as he played. As a toddler he learned how to stand by taking hold of Alabama's fur and pulling himself up into a standing position while she stood there quietly. When he took his first steps she was right there, walking slowly and carefully beside him. No stranger would dare to come close to Peter. Alabama simply did not allow it and said so in no uncertain terms.

The sport of exhibiting purebred dogs has always been considered a family affair for us and the children were at the shows with us from early childhood. Peter handled a Pekingese in the ring for the very first time when he was six years old and took the puppy, Duff-Orah's Bobbi of Toimanor into the ring. Peter put a point on Bobbi that day and from then on the bug had bitten and he could not wait to go in the ring and show Bobbi again. However, Bobbi hated shows and we decided not to show him again and promised Peter a puppy of his own as soon as we had one. When he was eight years old we gave him a son of Bobbi' s, 'Toimanor Promises to Keep" (now Champion Toimanor Promises to Keep.(call name Redford)

Peter took him in the ring for the very first time at the Rotating Specialty in Houston. But, Redford, like his sire before him really did not like to show and was difficult, usually dropping his tail, and Peter had to work very hard with him to get him to show at all. Peter worked diligently and patiently with Redford and thanks to his persistence we finished Redford with a five point major at the Pekingese Club of Texas and a four point major that same weekend.

Peter takes showing Pekingese very seriously and he observed and studied carefully other exhibitors and especially the Professional handlers, particularlyMs. Jackie Brazeal and Ms. Tammy White. He has learned, from observing their actions in the ring, to pay attention to detail.

These two ladies are Peter's mentors. They have taken him under their wings and he has great respect for them and listens to what they tell him .When he is in the ring he will look over to them for approval or disapproval of how he is handling. They have taught him a great deal and have been so patient with him and given him much encouragement. It is most important to Peter that he has their approval as he realizes that while it is great to win it is more important to do a job well.

There is a very special bond between Redford, now Champion Toimanor Promises to Keep, and Peter who has learned to be responsible for another living creature. He takes care of Redford completely, hebrushes him daily, he exercises him, feeds him, plays with him and above all loves him dearly. When Redford finished his championship we decided not to Special him because of his dislike of dog shows, and once again Peter was left with no Pekingese to show. He begged to be allowed to show Bobbi again but by this time Bobbi was seven years old and had never liked shows and so we really did not want to. Peter gave us no peace about it. Reluctantly, we agreed to enter Bobbi at two shows only. To our utter amazement this time Bobbi decided that dog shows were fun and not only did Peter and Bobbi take the Breed at both shows that weekend, but a Group Two and a Group Four.

To the best of our knowledge this makes Peter, at one month turned eleven years old, to be the youngest handler in the breed ever to take back to back group placements with a Pekingese. We decided we were not going to show Bobbi again and once more promised Peter another puppy that would be his very own to show.

Peter has an excellent eye for a good dog, not only Pekingese but other breeds too. From the time he was about six years old he has sat patiently at ringside waiting for the Group judging to start. He would go to ringside early so he could get a front row seat and would sit and watch the groups, applauding only for the dogs he liked. Again, he carefully observed both handlers and dogs and he talked with professional handlers and would ask questions and soon we found he was learning about other breeds too.

The promise of a new puppy has now been fulfilled and Peter and Quigley, (Toimanor Limited Edition, another son of Bobbi's out of Ch. Chu Lai Sweet Victoria) are a new team of a boy and his dog.

Peter and Quigley taking a Group 4 th from the classes.

Peter finishing Quigley's championship with a 5 pt major at the Pekingese Club of Texas. Judge: Vicki Abbot.

We firmly believe that being so involved with the sport of showing dogs has given Peter this self confidence and has also taught him good sportsmanship. We have always instilled in Peter, in regards to dog shows and any activity in which he takes part that, in the words of the Eton School Song, "It is not whether you win or lose but how you play the game". Peter has learned that well and wins or loses with the same grace. As he says, he just loves to go into the ring with a Pekingese and have fun. That, to Peter, is the name of the game.

Mr. John French awarding a Special Award at the Pekingese Club of America for the Most Promising Handler to Peter (age 8 at this time the picture was taken), showing Redford for the very first time.