Several comments I have read in social media circles about the Reserve Best In Show have been very negative. Some have written: it is like “kissing your sister”, meaningless, lost in the shuffle of awarding BIS, superfluous. As the process is currently designed and implemented, I believe awarding RBIS is paramount to an “afterthought”. I will try to highlight my opinion in this article.
I hope I haven’t let the cat out of the bag, but as I retired from handling 15 years ago, maybe things have changed, and that saying is no longer their mantra. If it is still relevant, I am sure the problems would be multiplied; with syndicates now owning some top winning dogs, how does a handler please them all?
On occasion it is surely an appropriate and salutary exercise for us, as connoisseurs and self-appointed guardians of the pedigreed dog, to reflect upon the prevailing condition of our animals from a long-term and multidimensional perspective. The aim in doing so may be viewed as potentially remedial and possibly even curative.
Unfortunately, there is a perception that all professional handlers are more skilled than owner-handlers. They forget that many amateur-owner-handlers have become superstars in the dog world. When I gave handling clinics, I tried to emphasize that the owner-handlers are the ones who have many of the advantages.
August, 2012 by Dr. Gareth Morgan-Jones In show after show it is oftentimes rather obvious that there are judges, particularly some of the newer ones, out there who are operating well outside their comfort zone and, as a result, are not always performing in what one might choose to call a fully satisfactory and [...]
August 2012 by Chris Robinson When you decide to take your sporting dog into the field, there is only one rule that it is absolutely essential to engrave upon your brain: Always expect the unexpected. If you do, you’ll never be disappointed and every now and then, if you can keep your perspective, while it [...]
August 2012 by Lisa Dubé Forman In Part One of this article we discussed the greyhound and its genre breeds. I emphasized the importance of their having flexible, curvaceous toplines. Further, the amalgamation of length, shape and curvature of vertebrae in the spinal column, with the hard, smooth muscling encapsulating and supporting the loin area, [...]
by Amy Fernandez Among the most controversial dq’s at Crufts was Britain’s national breed, last year’s top Bulldog, Ch. Mellowmood One In A Million. Her show career has included notable success in Europe and 22 CCs in Britain. This story took another interesting turn on April 7 when she won the Contest of Champions. Since [...]
by Dr. Bob G. Smith Alan Kalter, AKC?Chairman The new Chairman of the American Kennel Board of Directors, Alan Kalter of Ann Arbor, Michigan brings a unique combination of experience in the world of purebred dogs, business, and marketing to the AKC Board. As an active breeder/exhibitor of Bullmastiffs for over 20 years, he has [...]
by Gretchen Bernardi Faddism, a fashion or cause that is taken up enthusiastically for a time and then abandoned for the “next big thing,” is part of human culture and has existed across the ages. We in the world of purebred dogs are not exempt, including breeders and judges, as our emphasis on various aspects [...]
