Historically the conformation sport has been the primary venue used by breeders and exhibitors to observe stud dogs, brood bitches and the results of breedings along with the progress and development of their breed.
By Caroline Coile Ph.D. Meet Jake. He gave up on a dog show career because he won’t let the judge touch him. He’s so afraid of the vet that he has to be held down and muzzled to take blood. But at home he’s a great dog. Too bad nobody else ever gets to see […]
By Caroline Coile Ph.D. “I’m sorry, dogs.” These were my last thoughts right before slamming head-on into a concrete interstate barrier at 65 mph. This being my first try at high speed collisions, I wasn’t sure if I would live, but I was sure my loose dogs would not. Yes, I knew they should have […]
Junior Showmanship is the hardest thing at the dog show to judge! And arguably the most important! It behooves those of us tasked with this responsibility to take it very seriously. We study hard to become licensed to judge the various breeds. Our juniors deserve our best efforts at educating ourselves and pursuing excellent judging.
“Good judges owe their success to those exhibitors who recognize the quality of their work, the way they interact with the entrants… ”
Exhibitors are getting tired of wasting entry dollars, and if something is not done, they will stop entering altogether!
Ah,the inner workings of a judge’s brain – when you’re in the ring, wouldn’t it be nice to know what the judge was thinking? It’s with that premise that a recent survey went out, asking judges to weigh in on newbie exhibitors. Guess what – even those of us who have been around a long time can learn from these survey responses!
Though I can feel the whack of Professor Klukoff’s wooden ruler on my knuckles as I type this, my most cherished book from 1926 is not Sinclair Lewis’ social satire, Elmer Gantry.
I sit in the waiting room with my dog, Luna. She is hyperventilating and shaking. Another dog lunges toward her and she tries to get away, but slips on the floor. We wait. She pants. We wait. She shakes. I question whether she would have been better off had I just tried to treat her at home. And I wonder when she started to be so frantic about going to the vet. Sadly, there are many candidate experiences. Way too many.
By Amy Fernandez No matter what’s crashing down or blowing up here in NYC, dogs always own the headlines. That was apparent last Tuesday night when MTA tweeted a resounding and regrettable remark instructing subway riders to notify police if they spot a dog onboard a train that’s not confined to a carrier. Anyway, here’s […]
