I recently got back into show dogs, Labrador Retrievers specifically, after 40 years. Things have changed, and I keep hearing about it being a graying sport with trouble eliciting newcomers. I thought it might be useful with respect to recruiting new people, to share how I got involved in showing dogs in the first place–and how I got re-engaged in the dog show world again.
Just as you never forget your first love, it’s often said you never forget your first Crufts, and I can attest to the truth of this statement–well, the Crufts bit anyway.
In this fast-paced, high-tech world, sometimes we’re zooming so fast we miss seeing everything right under our noses! Any long-time, successful breeder can tell you it takes years to build a foundation from which to breed. The “Powers That Be” understand that and ask for a minimum amount of time required as part of the Judging Application Process as a Breeder /Judge–“X” number of litters and “X” number of Champions bred. Those numbers are mandatory for the first-time applicant applying under the “Breeder/Judge” criteria. Those who apply as a “Breeder/Judge” seldom (if ever) disappoint in preparedness by virtue of “time served” in the whelping box and show ring.
“Positivity also ignites within oneself the desire for success and the setting of higher goals.”
If a breed’s original function is illegal, as a preservation breeder, breed judge, or judge’s mentor, how can you understand and evaluate how form follows function? This dichotomy has to be addressed in many breeds, including the Scottish Deerhound. For some, it may mean function is now irrelevant; who cares? This would ignore, however, the American Kennel Club’s (“AKC”) mission of “promoting the sport of purebred dogs and breeding for type and function” and a breed standard’s purpose, as described by Frank Kane, member of the Kennel Club’s (“KC” (UK)) Breed Standards and Stud Book sub-committee, which is to serve as “the guideline which describes the ideal characteristics, temperament and appearance … and ensures that the breed is fit for function.”
Join Amy Rodrigues in this exciting series, “TIME WILL TELL.” Amy goes back in time with some of the greatest historians in the sport of dogs. They will tell us some of their favorite stories of how they first got started and explain some of the differences between dog shows then and now. Please sit back and enjoy as Jimmy [...]
If I had a million dollars, I’d be advertising my dogs, too. Right now, I have three in the whelping box that I think have launched my breeding program two generations ahead and I’m thrilled. At 64, who knows if I’ll get the chance to breed another ten generations so I have no time to think about the bigger picture of dog show glamor. If I am fortunate, I will finish all three of these pups myself and they will win the coveted Best of Breed ribbon on more than one occasion. That’s my goal. It is a simple one based on my desire to breed the best I can against the standard and be satisfied. But I’ll admit, sometimes I wished my name had been Rockefeller rather than Churchill.
I first heard about the Great American Dog (GAD) show last year, when David Frei mentioned that he was excited to have been asked to be part of a revival. So for a while—and this will embarrass him—I thought of the event as “David’s new show.” Frei was, of course, for many years the broadcast voice of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog show, and now presents The Kennel Club of Philadelphia’s National Dog Show (taped in advance) over the Thanksgiving weekend.
“Dogs don’t run on their ears…” But according to a study that examined factors important to speed, maybe they do…sort of.
You can count on two things happening every year in March. The swallows come home to Capistrano and the Americans come back from Crufts. The Americans come home tired yet invigorated, graced with lighter wallets and heavier luggage. The smart ones also come home with new insights into their breed, most likely regarding the classic points of breed type.
