Restoring the Reputation of Purebred Dogs

by Attila Márton

CHAPTER II: DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

THE SHOW MUST GO ON?

Anyone who asserts that breeding and showing dogs is exclusively about dogs and not related to the ego of the human is naive. Competition is a constant and inseparable part of human life. It starts from our early childhood and continues until the grave. Everyone is compared to everyone else; we are ranked and reviewed all the time, and this determines our status within society, often representing our values, and it is often the fuel of self-esteem — which sadly leads to many personality disorders if we ‘fail’. Who sings the best? Who has the best grades in class? Whose profession is the most prestigious? Whose salary is the highest? And who is going to win ‘Best of Breed’ or even ‘Best in Show’?

Dog shows have become the number one platform for presenting breeding success, to the disadvantage of working trials. Beneath the glittery surface of the show—as seen on Facebook, including all the proud, happy smiles of the winners with the comments offering warm-hearted congratulations by fellow exhibitors—there are all those nasty fights and inscrutable phenomena that outsiders will never see or understand. Furthermore, even breeders who have been operating in the professional canine world for a long while have just recently been seen standing around at times, speechless and clueless about what is going on. More and more statements, complaints, and opinions are arising, saying that something has gone wrong.

Corruption inside and outside of the rings; judges complaining about exhibitors being impolite; exhibitors claiming that judges only have a license to judge, but no real knowledge and experience with a particular breed; rumors spreading about which judge prefers which handler; breeders accusing handlers of turning the show into a 100% pure business where the only perspective is to have money rolling in their coffers. These are some of the many, and increasingly common of late, outcries.

Such things have always happened and will always exist, but recently the frequency seems to have increased, triggering more and more dissatisfaction and disappointment in the sport of dog showing.

Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=137634

Posted by Alex on Jan 15 2018. 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.