It all began with a 10 year-old boy practicing handling techniques in his family’s yard after school. Most junior handlers probably would have focused on their own skills – taking even strides, mastering the smooth transfer of the lead from hand to hand. For Charles “Corky” Vroom, the practice sessions had a deeper purpose. He wanted to understand the dogs – their structure, how they moved, and how their minds worked.
- Grants Matched Through Adopt A K-9 Cop Program -
Fanciers who were planning to attend the Colorado Kennel Club cluster February 18-20 in Denver should make alternative plans since, unfortunately, the cluster has been cancelled for this year.
Stats, statistics, or rankings–whatever you want to call them–tend to create excitement and anxiety for those in our sport. Exhibitors, owners, breeders and handlers attempt to calculate points every month. They keep spread sheets, notes, and check for updates to their dog’s record. In the end, they wait at the computer around the middle of each month waiting for the new stats to post.
Will Alexander Drops Some Knowledge About What’s Happening in the Sport of Dogs. It’s Deep… It’s Humorous… It’s Provocative… It’s Will Unfiltered! This week Will gives us Top 10 Habits I Have Prefected. Click here to watch on Canine Chronicle TV!
As a wise man from north of the border once said: “judging is not a matter of sharing our opinions, it’s a matter of sharing our knowledge.” When those of us who have been in the sport all or most of our lives take on the responsibility to judge, we don’t take it lightly. There is an expectation that judges have decades of knowledge stored in their mind and reflected in their eyes. They should have serious experience and the willingness to continually learn. Their knowledge should be earned, processed, and ready to impart. I believe that to a reasonable human extent, all of that is true. Moreover, it is a wonderful goal. How we are allowed to share that knowledge and learn more is, in my opinion, a growing concern.
There was a grand opening to the festivities at Palm Springs today. A bagpiper in full regalia opened the show to the delight of many who are attending.
Some judges are notorious for their prickly ring demeanor. Yes, judging is a demanding task, but it also requires a modicum of empathy for the exhibitors paying for that expert opinion. Unfortunately, more than a few novice exhibitors leave the ring, the sport, and the entire world of purebred dogs thanks to one mortifying experience in that realm. That brings me to Jerry Weiss. A casual glance at Col. Jerry H. Weiss, U.S.M.C. presiding over his ring would instantly brace anyone for the worst. He ran his ring with military precision, which was true to character. But that’s where any semblance of intimidating formality ended. Jerry greeted every exhibitor like a friend and every dog received his patient attention. Win or lose, showing to Jerry was a positive experience.
From 1968 Can you name the 3 men from this pictured in this week’s The Great Ones?
