We are rapidly approaching the back-to-school season, and it comes at the same time that many of our young people are looking forward to their favorite fall show circuits. This is a time for new opportunities to compete in the juniors’ ring, and a renewed focus on academics.
Shaun Usher’s website: https://shaunusher.com/, describes him as “Professional Letter Nerd.” He has earned that title honorably. In 2009, he established a “Letters of Note” website to explore and share his fascination with other people’s letters which, he explained, consisted of “correspondence deserving of a wider audience.” And he gave them one—the site has been visited over 100 million times. This was a period in which much of life was still material, not digital, and Usher obtained letters from families, archives, books, museums, and other collections. Then he lovingly posted facsimiles to his site.
The ‘aristocrats’ of dogdom, Afghan Hounds have a distinguished history at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, with the breed’s first and most notable Best In Show victory coming in 1957. They are known for their elegance, aloofness, exquisiteness, and wildness. Throughout history, they have been a significant status symbol, captivated aristocracy, and have been not only a pet, but a muse to the painter Pablo Picasso. If a specimen of another breed is to take on one in the show ring, it indeed takes a truly outstanding dog to be a worthy peer.
After finishing my assignment in Ring 4, I walked over to my next ring, Ring 8. The judge in Ring 8 finished his last breed for the day, marked his book, and on the way out, saw me waiting and started a conversation. Quite excitedly, he asked if I agreed with his breed winner. I did. Well done.
There was one weekend when I drove nearly across the country for a big dog show. I was excited. Optimistic. I thought we had a real shot. I had imagined how it might feel if everything came together after a dry spell.
The hot topic around the rings these days seems to be, as usual, the quality of judging. Big surprise, huh? Unfortunately, this subject has been beaten to death for longer than I have been alive and it seems to be a problem that just won’t go away. However, the lack of quality judging seems to have become a bigger problem as of late.
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Click here to read the complete article 258 – April, 2026 By Jessica Braatz This issue marks the beginning of what we hope will become a new tradition at The Canine Chronicle: taking traditional judges’ critiques a step further and going inside the minds of breed judges at the Westminster Kennel Club. These features will […]
The Sussex Spaniel was among the first ten breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club when it was formed. The breed was developed in the 1700s in Suffolk County, England, as a long, low, rather massive dog to hunt in dense cover.
Click here to read the complete article 233 – April, 2026 Click here to read the complete article 233 – April, 2026
