This topic usually gets top airplay around Christmastime when cats are industriously gobbling up tinsel and dogs; well they’re having a total food orgy with everything else. The thing is we all know better, even without those detailed, annoying holiday lists of unsafe food items.
So, you are sitting at ringside with your special watching the class dogs compete. As they trot around the ring, you are thinking about the rapidly approaching retirement from life in the conformation ring for the great show dog sitting beside you or snoozing at your feet. You hate the thought of consigning him/her to the boredom of being a couch potato whose days are only occasionally enlivened by some lady dog seeking a tryst, or by motherhood. But, there are so many different dog sports to choose from that it’s difficult to make a decision for a possible “second career.”
We asked experienced AKC judges two questions about current issues affecting our sport. Here’s what they had to say…What positive suggestions can you offer to show chairs from your perspective as a judge?
Sometimes we need multiple life lessons to teach us a valuable skill. In Dogdom, this is particularly true. I do not mean the best way to trim a Pomeranian, to use a Dremel for toenails, or to keep self-rinse in your grooming box. Nor, am I referencing which lead to use in the ring, where to make entries, or how to find a professional handler. What I am addressing is the etiquette that will take each of us so much further in our world than you could ever imagine. I have learned that it is easier to be kind.
AKC has reigned at the top tier of dog breeding excellence for over a century. I’m pretty sure nobody reading this will disagree. It therefore stands to reason that our dogs are build to last. They come with an ironclad warranty and we are rightfully proud of that. Also needless to point out, the level of skilled craftsmanship backing up that assurance doesn’t come easy.
The American Kennel Club offers 35 different kinds of competition through a network of more than 5,000 clubs, 130,000 breeders and 23,000 events. Some venues garner more attention, interest and support than others and, historically, the most popular of these competitions has been the conformation dog show which unfortunately is now is in its 15th year of declining entries. The declines occurring can be understood by a number of factors.
The term illusory superiority was coined by social psychologists Van Yperen and Buunk in 1991. It’s also known as the “above-average effect”, the “superiority bias”, and my personal favorite, “The Lake Wobegon effect” where all the children are above average. The premise is that people overestimate their own abilities in relation to the same abilities of others. It’s not about boasting; it’s a sincere belief that we are better at some tasks than most people.
The other day, a friend of mine sent me a t-shirt that gets to the nub of my relationship with my dogs. It says, “The dog is in charge. I just pay the bills.” It’s true that the dogs, over the years, have created a very well-trained human. I buy their food and serve it to them on their schedule. I provide their recreation, frequently at their insistence when I’m most busy trying to meet a deadline or, during the months when the area where I live is ruled by King Boreas, in the most godawful cold imaginable. There is NO clothing that both allows you to throw bumpers and stay warm when the wind chill is at minus-57. If you live south of I-70 you’ll have to trust me on that because I have had a considerable amount of experience trying to do both and failing. At the slightest hint that all might not be beer and skittles in their lives physically, they are rushed immediately to the best medical care available.
Ordinarily, my monthly contribution to The Canine Chronicle contains some element of humor, is reflective or rueful, and occasionally it expresses outrage. In a major departure from the usual, this one’s going to contain some practical information–since this is the Sporting Dog issue–for those of you who are planning to take your champion sporting dogs into the field and will deal with what the well-equipped hunter and his/her dog need for field work.
A few years ago, I went out to dinner with a group of breeders I did not know well. I love talking with people from other breeds: sharing thoughts on type, whelping tips, or the excitement of their young special. Unfortunately, that night’s dinner conversation revolved around petty vendettas, passive aggressive Facebook posts, and unkind comments about people and their pets.
