What makes sitting ringside at the dog agility trial different than sitting in the front row at New York Fashion Week.

This is the ringside chair row at a dog show this week. This week also happens to be Fashion Week in New York, when the Fall 2011 collections are previewed. Where you sit at either event is very important. You want a good front row seat. You want to sit by your friends. You want a good chair that folds and unfolds with ease. Whether you are watching strutting teenagers with pony knees walk in straight lines draped in avant garde tweed jumpsuits with unusual headgear, or somewhat older than teenage dog lovers limp around in squiggly lines yelling at their dogs just as they take off over the jump, you want to have a good chair.

Fashion shows and dog shows are both pretty fun to watch. Drama unfolds in real time. For both, you want to get in the front row for the best view. You want to keep your voice down when you're gossiping because who you're gossiping is probably in the second row behind you and, at both events, there is lots of good gossip. You have to move when the chair's real owner comes over and scowls at you and wants to sit down. Sometimes your seat mates will just ignore you, other times they'll tell you about their dog's poo.

Lest we confuse the fashion show with the dog show, let's look at some of the ways the chair rows differ at both events, shall we?

1. Blue EZ Up tents and RV's. They hardly ever have these in fashion shows. At dog shows, you get LOTs of them. If you like blue tents and RV's, you probably are going to prefer dog shows.

2. Spectator outfits. In the front row, people are watching what you wear. You are a trend setter. You will get your photo taken. The front row group here, a well dressed group wearing all the dog agility basics. Scan the front row, you'll see you've got your tie dye, ball cap, fleece, and shorts. In bright colors. These are the trend setters of dog agility, right here. The outfits you see here, mark my words, you will also see at the next dog show.

3. Footwear at dog shows tends to involve gore-tex. There are not a lot of wedges, stillettos or gladiator ankle laces. On a really crazy day, there may be flipper feet.

4. Toys. People are always leaving their dog's toys on the chairs. It's not uncommon to have someone come up and ask you if that's their cow milking udder thing. This doesn't happen at fashion shows too often.