CK asked Laurien Berenson:

I have just started "Hot Dog" the first of your books I've read and I wonder how you came by your knowledge of dog shows... Soooo accurate! My husband and I used to show Old English Sheepdogs... a breed requiring as much pre-show grooming as Poodles... so far your descriptions of this are right on the money! Did you used to or do you show dogs?

Laurien Berenson Hi CK, thanks for asking! Yes, I bred and showed Poodles (both Standards and Miniatures) for more than 20 years. I also grew up going to numerous dog shows since my mother bred Norwich Terriers and my grandmother was a Terrier Group judge. I was very familiar with the dog show world when I started writing the series (at that point I was still showing Poodles) which was the reason I chose to give the books a dog show backdrop. And I agree with your assessments--Old English Sheepdogs are just about as hard as Poodles to get ready for the ring!

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