IMHO – Questions Answered by Those Who Know

BY ELAINE LESSIG

DO YOU THINK THERE ARE TOO MANY DOG SHOWS BEING HELD ON WEEKDAYS?

Elaine Lessig – AKC Judge

If we look at the situation logically, weekday shows are here to stay. After checking with AKC, I am told there are approximately 6000 licensed clubs. While many are not conformation clubs, the ones that are include all breed clubs, national specialty clubs, group clubs, single breed specialty clubs, and multi-breed clubs. All breed clubs may hold two shows each year.

There are not enough weekends to begin to meet the need for weekend dates. Big national specialties require a full week for their shows. Specialties often get better entries and have fewer expenses when they are held on the day or days before all breed shows. The truth is licensed clubs need dates. That means Saturdays and Sundays are simply not enough.

Kitten Rodwell – Breeder/Owner/Handler & Professional Photographer

Yes, I definitely think there are too many shows. When I started in dogs, there was just a Sunday show, or maybe, whoopie, Saturday and Sunday, and not even every weekend. The other weekends you found a match where both you and your dog got experience or just en- joyed your dog being a dog. It is the second weekend in December, and out here in the West there have been five weekends straight of four-day circuits. When does a dog being campaigned get a couple of days off to lay in the sun, not spend 3/4 of the day in a crate, have quiet restful sleep without hearing dogs barking, blow dryers going and be able to stretch out and roll in the grass or dirt? Exhibitors with “semi-rare” breeds used to plan on getting together at a show to make points up; now look at the judging schedule where you’ll see an entry of 1- 1-1. If people put out enough entry money for basically no gain, they are going to find something else to spend their hard-earned money on than dog shows.

Ryan Wolfe – Professional Handler

There are too many dog shows altogether. So it’s obvious my answer is, yes, there are too many on weekdays.

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Posted by Alex on Jan 4 2018. 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.