Pondering Success

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306 – November/December, 2022

By Nancy Talbott

Someone can be a roaring success in their business (wealth). A musical can be a critical success, and perhaps the star of the show is a success story if they have risen through adversity (fame). In the dog game, the campaign of a top ranked animal can be a complete success (status); or, if the odds did not go favorably, the campaign could meet with little success (outcome).

What, then, does success in the sport of dogs really mean? Is it exclusively a word that applies to final outcomes? A common agreement of success among dog show enthusiasts might lead to announcements that sound something like this:

• Highest number of Pura Vida Spaniel champions in the history of the breed

• Youngest champion MADV bitch, all points under highly esteemed breeder-judges

• First tricolor male Egohund to finish from BBE Puppy in the Southwest

Please understand that this tongue in cheek list is not meant to denigrate these goals. Far from it, they are all absolutely valid accomplishments to seek, and they are often what drive our passion as breeders and the continued involvement of most exhibitors–on a basic level. Specialing a dog raises the bar even higher for what is considered success, measured by quantifiable data. What I want to do is look beyond the basic level of obvious data points into what the word success could also mean, and to propose that there is good reason for us to bring an alternative definition into our discussions and, more importantly, into our plans and practices.

Click here to read the complete article
306 – November/December, 2022

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Posted by AnthonyA on Nov 23 2022. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.