When Bo, my young Chesapeake Bay Retriever, finished his junior hunter title last summer, the conservative cost figure for each of those ribbons, I thought, was probably about a thousand bucks apiece. However, when I took a look at my tax summaries for the past two years, it was clear that I underestimated the cost of each of those ribbons by about one-third!
I have had a lifelong obsession for German Shepherd Dogs and Sighthounds. Now, I would like to share my experiences living with each breed, and, sometimes, both at the same time!
November 4th – Finished two days of judging at a rare breed show. These are kind of like a match show – less formal, lots of people new to the sport, many who’ve been around for years, and a handful who are just after the ribbons, not the learning opportunity or the chance to have fun with their dog. A few observations from the center of the ring:
The 143rd Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show reached its conformation entry limit, for a total of 2,800 dogs among 203 breeds and varieties representing 2,916 entries which includes 102 junior showmanship qualifiers and 14 obedience teams competing in the 4th Annual Masters Obedience Championship at Westminster on Monday, Feb. 11, 2019. There are also 330 agility teams entered in the 6th Annual Masters Agility Championship at Westminster on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019, part of the Meet & Compete event featuring AKC Meet the Breeds®.
Since the creation of the German Shepherd Dog breed (GSD) at the turn of the twentieth century, it has become one of the most popular international breeds. Over the years, the function and phenotype of the breed has changed from that of a medium-size dog needed to meet its original farming and herding purposes to a variety of subsequent roles ranging from guarding, detection, police, herding, guide dog, show dog and companion.
It is easy, sometimes, I think, to focus on the bad things that, too often, happen at youth sporting events. Whether it is a focus on winning at the expense of learning good sportsmanship, coaches and parents trading insults (or even punches), and the verbal abuse of young players. Junior Showmanship provides the opportunity to bring a great many positive outcomes to the young people who choose to compete in the juniors’ ring.
We asked experienced AKC judges two questions about current issues affecting our sport. Here’s what they had to say…
Which brings us to the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje, one of two new breeds making their Westminster debut this February 2019.
Medium-sized, elegant, athletic, and smooth-coated, the Whippet is one of the smaller of the traditional sighthound breeds. While Greyhounds were owned by the aristocracy in earlier times, the Whippet was known as “the poor man’s greyhound” and used for poaching, hunting, and racing. The breed was 61st among AKC’s registrations in 2017, but is often well and successfully represented in dog shows when compared to several other breeds that rank higher.
We know all about the urban dog lifestyle with its daycare programs, managed weekend activities, nannies, dog walkers, fashion galas etc. As if all that’s not bad enough, we now have weekly doggy hiking excursions. Yes, a professional doggy tour guide will peel lazy, old Fido off of your sofa and for a mere $130 drive him up to Bear Mountain or some similarly rustic environment and, well…do what you are supposed to do when you have a dog;let it off the lead to run around for awhile. Obviously the dogs like it; after all they have been reveling in this exact dog/owner bonding experience forever.
