Our judges, I think, have fair expectations of us. They want us to bring them good dogs. They expect us to bring them healthy dogs in good physical condition. They rightly expect our dogs to be clean and properly groomed. Our dogs should be reasonably trained and able to hold a stack long enough for the judge to complete their hands-on exam, and our dogs should be able move on a loose lead.
Frank Sinatra, the crooner of crooners, got it right. We don’t know. This past month took me to some of the most genuine places I have been in a long, long time. The sweet, kind, gentle county fairgrounds shows are disappearing quickly. I can remember pulling onto the wet, green grass to park and unload early on warm summer mornings. If I got there early enough, I could watch the fog drifting off the grounds. I would sit in my car and watch the show come to life in front of me. The vendors setting up the booths, exhibitors bringing equipment to their grooming spaces, and club members putting colorful tablecloths on the ring tables are just a few of the memories of those special days. It had the feeling of watching the sun rise to open the curtains on the soon to come hustle-bustle of the dog show.
Exhibitors are counseled by their mentors to watch judges and try to figure out what they’re looking for in their breed, group or Best In Show. This is a marvelous exercise, but it can often be a confounding one. You see, most exhibitors are focused on faults, while few judges are.
Question of the week: How many teeth does an adult dog have? Check back on Friday when we reveal the correct answer! Do you have a fun dog show trivia question that you would like to share for #TriviaTuesday? Email Amy at showresults@caninechronicle.com.
A Samoyed has been creating big dog show excitement these days recently celebrating his 100th Best in Show. In fact, GCHP CH Vanderbilt ‘N Printemp’s Lucky Strike–“Striker” to his many fans and friends–shown by handler Laura King, is the number 1 dog all breeds. Adding to the excitement, Striker’s handler was recently named Handler of the Year! Some would say that Team Striker has really “struck gold”.
Did you guess the identity of the young dog show Handler in our last #ThrowbackThursday photo?
The importance of a good mentor to any person who is new to a breed or our sport cannot be over-emphasized. Good mentors are those amazing individuals who help instill the values we hold when it comes to breeding, developing our ability to evaluate dogs with a fair and impartial eye, and underpinning our devotion to the breed and not just our own dogs. They contribute significantly and equally to our success in the whelping box and the conformation ring. And, in the long term, they even impact–positively, I think–to the things we ultimately contribute to our breed.
The quintessential “Type vs. Soundness” debate endures. In our sport centered on subjective evaluation, continuing the debate is healthy and necessary for properly assessing the dogs we see. There is, however, another debate that increasingly deserves an active, unbiased, and respectful discussion. That debate is: “Type vs Style.”
In the days (remember those days?) when the Westminster Kennel Club show was held at Madison Square Garden, and subsequently at Piers 92 and 94, did you give a thought, as you plunged across town, from the Hotel Pennsylvania to the edge of the Hudson, or wrangled your breed winner to Group judging, who it was who made all of this possible?
