Why The Turnover In Our Sport?

by William Given

Way back when, when I was a novice, the talk was that the average time in the sport for a novice destined to drop out was five to seven years. Re- cently, I have heard it said that the average tenure of a fancier who begins exhibiting in the sport of purebred dogs now is only between three and five years. And, even if we believe that estimate is a bit exaggerated (and I do), we who have been showing dogs for many years know the turnover rate is much higher than it should be.

Newcomers to the Sport

Every show season brings with it a new batch of neo- phytes, and each with his or her own reasons for wanting to show their dog. It would be difficult for any of us to say with any degree of certainty what percentage of these new fanciers will become stalwarts of the sport and become a significant asset to their breed. I cannot help but wonder just how many people who have dropped out of the sport after just a few years might have done a tremendous serv- ice to their breed given sincere encouragement and sound advice along the way, and had they chosen to follow a dif- ferent path.

I think there are a fair number of newcomers who join us after the holidays, do so having watched the National Dog Show, the AKC Championship Show and, of course, West- minster. The dog show must appear a wondrous “bed of roses.” But, little do they know just how many thorns they are likely to step on, both in and out of the ring.

There is Money to be Made

I guess there are some fanciers who come to the sport thinking there is assuredly vast sums of money to be made here. Once you have been in the sport a while, it be- comes abundantly clear that showing dogs is not a money-making proposition, unless maybe you are a pro- fessional handler or a show superintendent. Certainly, I think, most of us just hope that, at the end of the year, we are not too far in the red.

Notwithstanding, there are also those owners who think in terms of stud fees and puppy sales, and give little thought to the other side of the ledger until they have been in the game for some time. I feel it reasonably safe to assume the vast majority of these people are unlikely to ever be a true asset to their breed or the sport. Now, I know there are some who would say, “they are no loss to the sport when they drop out.” However, if they leave and we have not done any- thing to try to bring their motivation back to the breed, it does in some way diminish us and the sport.

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Posted by Alex on Jun 13 2017. 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.