Will Alexander Drops Some Knowledge About What’s Happening in the Sport of Dogs. It’s Deep… It’s Humorous… It’s Provocative… It’s Will Unfiltered! Will Alexander has an in-depth conversation with Terry Hundt.
Walking into the exhibition hall of The Big E in Springfield, MA, to meet the handler for the first time, I knew or even understood very little about the sport of purebred dogs. While my dog is currently off traveling with his handler, I still know very little, and yet I know more than I thought I ever would. Until 2018, I knew nothing of the breed ring outside of watching Best in Show which came out in the early 2000s. I wasn’t aware of the prestigious honor it was to be at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Have you ever seen the movie Karate Kid that came out in 1984? Have you heard of the World Open Martial Arts Championship (WOMAC) held each year in New York? I am most comfortable with Martial Arts and the hype of the Karate Kid franchise. Much like the martial arts industry and competitions, more is happening at a dog show behind the scenes that media platforms only sometimes present. Below are five concepts of competing in martial arts that have made the transition into the dog world easier and enhanced my team’s place in the martial arts venue.
Elaine Lessig and Jackie Stacy Are Having Fun Together! They’re choosing outfits and packing them for Jackie’s judging assignment at the International KC of Chicago show next week! Your clothing questions are asked and answered in Closet Confidential. It’s all about putting the power back in your hands by letting you ask questions about current [...]
“Well, honey,” she said excitedly as she exited the ring, “she finally finished. Now, we can breed her and have a litter of puppies.” The husband’s response was, “It only took four years, five months and an odd number of days.” Then he added, “I think that’s a great idea.”
Identity and Restraint: Art of the Dog Collar, is a model exhibit, doing everything museum exhibits should do–entice, astonish, and inform.The exhibition developed through a partnership between the National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) in Middleburg, Virginia, and The AKC Museum of the Dog in New York City. This unique show presents an array of dog collars from the NSLM’s collection–187 collars that were donated in 2015 by Dr. and Mrs. Timothy J. Greenan. And this eye-catching collection is partnered with fine art from The AKC Museum of the Dog and American Kennel Club Collections. Visitors to the exhibit can gain understanding of the collar as both art and utilitarian object and how its design changed in relation to different dog breeds and their uses.
“Why didn’t the club assign more breeds to me?” It’s a common lament I often hear from judges who may have fewer than 100 dogs assigned for the day. Often it’s with a small club that doesn’t have money to burn, yet half their panel is way under-assigned. At the same time, the same club may have one or two judges who are overdrawn. It looks like the Show Chair, or whoever was in charge of making breed assignments, fell down on the job. But as a Show Chair who has grappled year after year with the AKC’s Event Management page, I’m pretty sure I know exactly what happened: They didn’t so much fall down on the job as they simply gave up. And I can’t blame them.
Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV! Your clothing questions answered. It’s all about putting the power back in your hands by letting you ask questions. Should you wear this or that? What should you donate? How do you mix and match? How do you ensure your clothing isn’t wearing you? Elaine answers all [...]
If you’ve ever planned a dinner party for 12 people, you know that event planning involves a lot of moving parts and many, many things that need to be thought out in advance. First, you’ll need a detailed budget that will guide you in the rest of your choices. You need to nail down the menu early so that shopping and cooking schedules can be calendared, and that special dietary needs can be met for the guests you plan to invite. You need to plan your space well for optimum party flow, taking into account where the drink station/bar will be, where guests will dine, what you will use for dinner service and serving pieces, and how to keep them from clogging up the flow in and out of your kitchen. You’ll need to organize getting your home cleaned and polished up, planning the playlist, DJ, or band, getting the invitations out, reminding people to please RSVP, reminding them again; and of course you’ll have to deal with those people you love who miss the deadline, don’t seem to care about the inconvenience to you, and still expect to partake of your food, beverage, and hospitality.
So, your fine conformation champion gun dog has finished his or her show career and has had some field training. (The term “gun dog” is used because not all bird hunting dogs–Airedales and Standard and Miniature Poodles would be prominent exceptions–are included the sporting group; and not all dogs in the sporting group hunt birds as the Lagotto Romagnolo is a truffle hunter.) Maybe your gun dog even owns a hunt test title. Now, you’ve decided, it’s time to find out if your dog can actually do the job the breed was developed to do.
On July 1, 2022, the American Kennel Club launched a pilot program permitting junior handlers to show dogs they do not own in junior showmanship. Originally, it was effective for one year but it recently became a rule and is now a permanent addition to junior showmanship. Its benefits seem to be unending. No more worries when a juniors dog comes in season. No need to fly your dog to a national when you could just show one already there; ring conflicts, dog illnessess–the benefits go on and on. While this pilot program has opened unending doors for some juniors, it also may invite more junior jockeys into the ring. These “jockeys” may be chasing points, ribbons, or wins rather than the experience gained by showing a variety of breeds. I have a concern. Could this new junior showmanship rule create generic juniors?
