This is a very personal story. I don’t usually write about Sylvia and me, but the subject of this article jumped into my head last night as I was sitting at the monthly meeting of the all-breed club of which I have been a member for 26 years. I have served this club in several positions, as show chair, judges’ hospitality chair, secretary, president, vice president and long-term delegate to the American Kennel Club.
Today, every parent club grapples with their breed’s relative popularity. Positions at either end of the spectrum present substantial threats to overall genetic integrity. Managing this ongoing challenge/nightmare is tricky business but at least we have some signposts to achieve a happy middle ground. The Airedale’s fluctuating fortunes provided many of those insights. Recapping the ordeal for the ATCA 1960 Yearbook, Airedale breeder/former ATCA president Harold Florsheim said, “In 1925 Airedales reached their peak of popularity, but within a mere five years had slipped from their high point to a very low one.” That low rung on the ladder is never pleasant, but nothing hurts more than a sudden plunge from the top.
Anyone managing a multiple-dog household knows the standard Q&A when asked about their canine housemates. Initial shock is inevitably followed by commiseration about the amount of work it entails. That’s true in some respects – more nails to cut, more dishes to wash. Of course, our dogs repay this in countless intangible ways. A recent experience made me realize this fact, and understand that some of these benefits cease to register on our mental radar.
By the time you read these words, another Morris & Essex Kennel Club show will be in the books. This year’s entry topped 4,100 dogs; a significant increase over the 3,000+ dogs entered in 2005. This quinquennial show has become the hottest ticket in dogs over the past 15 years for many reasons.
When I started in dogs, I was taught that “improving the breed” was a primary reason for breeding. The goal was to always see improvements in the pups on both parents.
As their parent club emphasizes, the Toy Fox Terrier is both a toy and a terrier, small-sized but with a “big dog” attitude. It was developed in the United States using small Smooth Fox Terriers crossed with several other toy breeds, such as the Miniature Pinscher, Chihuahua, and Italian Greyhound. The breed was first recognized by the United Kennel Club in 1936 and achieved full AKC recognition in 2003.
Granted it’s an effort to get your terriers across the Atlantic to compete in the World Dog Show. First you have to find an accredited vet to fill out the USDA paperwork; then have that stamped and finalized within the ten day time limit before departure by APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service). That’s just part of it.
Pack a room full of Chinese Crested and you can expect a giant heap of sleeping dogs. Pack a room full of Crested fanciers and wait for the fireworks. It’s ironic that a breed famed for its sociable, placid nature inevitably sparks such contentious battles. Quite possibly, their single point of agreement is the fact that Crested type is all over the map. Of course, this situation is not unique to the Crested world. But the drastic nature of this case provides a sterling example of the extreme polarities that evolve under the heading of purebred continuity.
Conformation shows and clubs are struggling with declining entries. Exhibitors and club members seem to be older now than they used to be, purebred registrations are a third of what they were 20 years ago, and there are few newcomers to the scene. These are all clear indicators that our culture has changed. Prevailing cultures and societal values generally drift slowly, but sometimes single events or factors at the right time lead to a more sudden paradigm shift. Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book on this phenomenon, The Tipping Point. Was there some single event that turned the tide of change in the public’s attitudes towards purebred dogs?
