Parent Breed Club National Specialties: Are They Irrelevant Now?

By Lisa Dubé Forman

Parent breed club extravaganzas of the past were the event to attend. It was the social event of the year. Fanciers would prepare for this special attraction all year long. Breeders went so far as to plan matings and subsequent litters around the national schedule so as not to miss the specialty. Grooming schedules on the harsh, wirehaired breeds were carefully planned so dog’s coats would be perfect length and condition for the national show. Endless, zealous telephone conversations would ensue with everyone tossing in their opinion as who would “go up” that year. This was a time when winning the Bred-by Exhibitor class was an enormous honor as it was filled with the ‘best of the best’ from each breeder’s programs. There used to be abundant, high quality choices throughout this distinguished class. There was a time when the exaltation of a national specialty’s Winners Dog and Winners Bitch award meant more than Best of Breed and Best of Opposite Sex. Due to the location of the national show, breed fanciers far and wide would attend staying for several days. Dinners would be planned amongst friends who only saw one another once a year; impromptu gatherings usually were filled with exchanges and debates on breeding programs, merits of certain stud dogs and brood bitches. “Those were the days, my friend, we thought they’d never end”…Oops, I should modify that verse to,“We thought they’d never change?” Well, they have.

In many of the breeds today, we have numerous regional specialties across the lower forty-eight states vying for fanciers entries. In some breeds, there are as many as 10 breed specialty shows per region. At least one breed has 44 regional specialty shows across the United States! With all these regional options for exhibitors, attending the national specialty may almost be irrelevant. Regional specialties may now be taking the top spot accreditation for satisfying the needs of the local fanciers who choose not to drive cross-country, some as many as a week’s drive, to exhibit dogs at their national specialty show.

Distance aside, in some breeds there may also be another reason the national specialties are becoming immaterial. It comes down to overall exhibitor dissatisfaction with the national club, its politics, its board and/or its specialty show. Upon conclusion of their national show, some fanciers have returned home and, as a result of their dissatisfaction, they recruited other local breed fanciers and organized their own regional breed club. The upshot is an organization they control.

Regional specialties offer people the ability to come in and go out the same day. It is within striking distance for them to access, exhibit, and leave without many even staying through to the end of Best of Breed judging. This accessibility also factors in another role, the dumbing down of our breeders. Since they are able to come and go the same day, this accessibility minimizes interaction with other breeders and potential mentors. It limits valuable opportunities for exchanges of ideas, worthwhile debates, and learning occasions with other seasoned veterans of the breed. Alternatively, accessibility lends itself to achieving what appears to be a common objective today: increasing the tally on how many champions one has owned or produced, all the while ignoring reality that any dog can become a champion if enough money is thrown at it.

Due to the large number of regional specialties, exhibitors no longer seem to revere the aforementioned specialty class wins. There seems to be a desensitization and with it comes a lack of satisfaction. Trivializing what was once an illustrious win, now it is looked upon as a stepping stone. During breed judging it appears that, especially now, everyone wants and expects a piece of the action. Not too long ago, we were limited to Awards of Merit, determined by the number of Specials entered. However, now exhibitors expectations have been nurtured by the additional AKC awards of Select Dog, Select Bitch, Best Owner-Handler and Reserve Best in Show.

With the significant number of regional specialties these days, it appears that just about everyone can get a piece of the action.

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Posted by admin on Sep 28 2012. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.