Happiness is Dogs Doing the Job They Were Intended to Do

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by Chris Robinson

There is an old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. To someone who makes their living putting words on paper and takes considerable pride in doing quality work, that is a painful but undeniable truth. But, in keeping with the sentiment of that particular metaphor, this month’s story will be short on words and long on photos.

Have you ever thought about how you could make your dogs really happy? One sure way is to give them an opportunity to do what they were intended to do. A considerable number of show dog owners, including some who owned dogs that were ranked at or near the top of their breed and some in the top ten in their group, often remarked to me during the years that I was judging hunt tests that they had never seen their dogs light up in the show ring the way they did in the field.

With my own dogs, including those that had multiple group wins and placements and even a BIS here and there, I often wished I would see half the animation from them in the show ring as I saw when I picked the whistles off their peg, grabbed a few dummies and headed out the door. If I had a shotgun in hand, their joy knew no bounds. One of my hunting partners often referred to my absolute best show dog as “Dog Astaire” because the minute he saw me with shotgun in hand, he would dance, leaping and pirouetting, jigging and quickstepping around me in his delight at the prospect of going hunting. In all the times he went in the show ring, despite the promise of the most delectable treats imaginable, never once did I see him dance. While he was an arrogant dude in the show ring who, quite frankly, expected to go to the head of the lineup every time he set foot in the ring, he never displayed the same sort of pride nor did I ever see the light dancing in his eyes over a show ring win as he showed whenever he retrieved a bird.

It really makes no sense to have a breed that was developed to do a specific job and then never let the dogs have a chance to do that job. Even the winningest show dogs are way more than just something that’s lovely to look at. Virtually all breeds, including those whose historical purpose is to be a lapdog, have some athletic ability and they are happiest when they get to use that ability in some activity that is part of their heritage even if that just means doing the work expected of a companion dog such as in obedience or rally.

While it may not be an easy task and may not ultimately result in a title as there are simply some show dogs that won’t be able to cut it in the field, or in a performance activity such as obedience, rally or agility for some of the toy and non-sporting breeds, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. With breeds badly split between “show” and “field” where the show people have been totally negligent about selectively breeding for the task the dog was developed to do, there are always a few dogs that retain the necessary instincts. Even among breeds generally viewed as the ultimate in “foo-foodom” there are dogs that are able to do the job they were bred to do. If Poodles can earn hunt test titles, and at least ten conformation champion Standard Poodles, including two Senior Hunters and two Master Hunters, have done so, there’s hope for everyone.

But, giving a dog the opportunity to do what the breed was designed to do can provide a far more significant and, indeed, a critically important answer to a question essential to the future of the breed. How much value can a dog possibly have to the breed, no matter how many ribbons and trophies it has collected from the show ring, if it lacks the most basic instincts or desire to do its real job? Ascertaining whether those instincts and desires are still present should be the number one priority along with health screening before anyone even so much as entertains the possibility of breeding their show champions.

When you look at the photos with this story, it is hard not to notice the sheer joy exhibited by all of these conformation champions as they do their real work. Wouldn’t you love to see some of that pure delight in your champions’ eyes, on their faces and in their body language? Then, give them a chance to do what they were intended to do. Not only will your dogs love it but you’ll be doing right by the breed.

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Posted by Alex on May 16 2014. 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.