Oh. Canada.

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74 – November/December, 2023

By Wayne Cavanaugh

I recently returned from St. John’s, Newfoundland. The most eastern point in North America; it’s as close to Shannon, Ireland, as it is to St. Louis, Missouri. Newfoundland is an island made of rock and great people. So is Manhattan, NYC, but Newfoundland is a much different rock. And of course, there are many more people and dogs in Manhattan. We don’t get to see the dogs from Newfoundland often because of its location and the logistics of getting dogs to shows elsewhere.

So, when I heard there would only be local dogs at the Canadian Kennel Club/Canadian Dog Judges Association Annual Conference in St. John’s, I didn’t know quite what to expect. The four live breeds presented were Labrador Retrievers, Pekingese, Shih Tzu, and English Setters. They were all from The Rock. Among them were dogs which came south to the USA and won AKC National Specialties, Westminster BOBs, and more–they were among the best examples of each breed I’ve seen in quite some time. Lesson learned.

It’s not debatable. There are good dogs and good judges on both sides of the Canadian border. And there are not-so-good-judges and not-so-good dogs on both sides as well. That is and always will be true.

As far back as I can recall, when certain parameters were met, CKC judges have judged AKC shows and AKC judges have judged CKC shows without much discussion or debate. No tension, no problem.

Early this year, however, when new rules for visiting judges went into effect, the discussion began to change. Increasingly, we hear whispers of disenchantment and hints of resentment from AKC judges. What happened? More than you’d expect.

Click here to read the complete article
74 – November/December, 2023

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Posted by AnthonyA on Nov 11 2023. 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.