Westminster, that cornerstone of staid traditionalism, has truly busted out of character in recent years. Remember when even the mildest inquiry about maybe… someday moving the show out of Midtown or possibly to a more amenable season received a swift and unpleasant response? Those heretical ideas got slapped down pronto. But lately, it’s hard to keep pace with the mind bending changes going on with everything from format to location.
Are dog shows fair? Is judging fair? Do dogs that win do so because they’re the best ones in the ring? Ask two populations of people in the dog show world and you’ll get two very different answers.
Lately it’s been interesting reading the AKC Gazette secretary’s pages re:new judges. We will be “blessed” with more judges for just about any breed and/or group than any time in our sport’s history!
I know that many of my American friends are following the great Brexit debacle with interest; a disgraceful episode still rumbling on over here three years after the result of the vote was announced, and many of you are scratching your heads in sheer disbelief at what is happening. So many have asked me, ‘What on earth has happened to your country?’
I cannot give a sensible reply; like a lot of my countrymen (well, those who live outside of London) I am equally baffled and ashamed by the pantomime unfolding all around me.
Purebreddogs are the world’s most diverse species. In a detached sense, they are a spectacular genetics experiment continually unfolding in record time. Think about this tidbit for a minute: the inimitable Betty White is 98 years old. When she was born, most of today’s dog breeds did not exist!
Famed for their seaworthy boats and skilled celestial navigation, the Phoenicians are generally considered the instigators of matchmaking between Asian and North African dogs that resulted in quite a few breeds. Phoenicians colonized much of the Mediterranean by 1200 BC, founded Carthage in 814 BC, and eventually monopolized all major trade routes within this vast territory until the fifth century BC.
Dachshunds were an instant hit from the moment they stepped into a show ring back in 1860. You could also say that’s where the trouble started.
The late great reggae singer, Bob Marley, summed it up most succinctly with these few lines in his iconic song, ‘Buffalo Soldier’; ‘If you know your history, then you would know where you coming from.’
Several years ago, an idea was mooted in the canine press about “compulsory microchipping” of dogs in the UK. The word ‘compulsory’ always makes me immediately suspicious.
