Okay, ladies, if I refer to “LBDs”, I am sure you know precisely what I mean. For the uninitiated, “LBDs” are little black dresses. Our closets have several at any given time. There is often an occasion that requires us to reach into the closet or to run out to shop for one.
It’s that time of year again. Westminster is looming large. So let’s take a look at what’s waiting in the wings. In other words, who’s judging? The headlin- ers really don’t need much of an introduc- tion but here’s a brief rundown just to get us in the mood.
When Bo, my young Chesapeake Bay Retriever, finished his junior hunter title last summer, the conservative cost figure for each of those ribbons, I thought, was probably about a thousand bucks apiece. However, when I took a look at my tax summaries for the past two years, it was clear that I underestimated the cost of each of those ribbons by about one-third!
I have had a lifelong obsession for German Shepherd Dogs and Sighthounds. Now, I would like to share my experiences living with each breed, and, sometimes, both at the same time!
November 4th – Finished two days of judging at a rare breed show. These are kind of like a match show – less formal, lots of people new to the sport, many who’ve been around for years, and a handful who are just after the ribbons, not the learning opportunity or the chance to have fun with their dog. A few observations from the center of the ring:
Since the creation of the German Shepherd Dog breed (GSD) at the turn of the twentieth century, it has become one of the most popular international breeds. Over the years, the function and phenotype of the breed has changed from that of a medium-size dog needed to meet its original farming and herding purposes to a variety of subsequent roles ranging from guarding, detection, police, herding, guide dog, show dog and companion.
It is easy, sometimes, I think, to focus on the bad things that, too often, happen at youth sporting events. Whether it is a focus on winning at the expense of learning good sportsmanship, coaches and parents trading insults (or even punches), and the verbal abuse of young players. Junior Showmanship provides the opportunity to bring a great many positive outcomes to the young people who choose to compete in the juniors’ ring.
We asked experienced AKC judges two questions about current issues affecting our sport. Here’s what they had to say…
Medium-sized, elegant, athletic, and smooth-coated, the Whippet is one of the smaller of the traditional sighthound breeds. While Greyhounds were owned by the aristocracy in earlier times, the Whippet was known as “the poor man’s greyhound” and used for poaching, hunting, and racing. The breed was 61st among AKC’s registrations in 2017, but is often well and successfully represented in dog shows when compared to several other breeds that rank higher.
As we know, this dog expert deal goes far beyond the obvious implications of successfully navigating FiFi around the ring to the purple and gold. For instance, the project won’t go far without some fairly stable knowledge of stuff like travel planning and vehicle maintenance. However, those straightforward nuts and bolts skills are easily mastered in com- parison to the more elusive requirements of this specialized field like, maybe, sex expert.
