Who is Really the Keeper of the Breeds
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By Brad McDannald
I have been involved in dog shows as an exhibitor and breeder over the past 25+ years and recently was introduced to one of the Miscellaneous breeds. Once I got involved with the Foundation Stock Service, some of the things that have been bothering me for several years all of a sudden came back to me and started making sense. AKC has the responsibility of keeping the records for the breeds, but I have always been under the impression that the breed clubs are the keepers of the breeds. Am I mistaken?
I show one of the breeds that is in the low-entry status with less than 75 different dogs exhibited throughout the country. This does not mean that there are not more dogs of my breed out there, only that this is the number that appears at dog shows. At a show a few years back I was showing to a new judge that had been trying to get approval to judge my breed for over two years and, finally–with me showing my dog to her–it provided her with the last entry to get approval for the Terrier group. She was thankful and after judging she asked if we could talk outside the ring; of course, I always take this opportunity to promote my breed. What she said to me left me shaking my head. She again thanked me for showing to her and explained that, in almost two years of trying, she had finally gotten her last three shows with one of my breed entered. She told me that I had a wonderful dog, in her opinion, but she would never put my breed up in her Group, no matter who was showing it. It shocked me that she would openly tell me this but she explained that she had never had more than one in her ring so how could she compare. I told her that, in my opinion, she was not to compare dog to dog but rather the dog against the standard; you know, the basics of Judging 101. Well, after a lengthy conversation about the finer points of my breed, I left the show feeling like I had just been kicked in the teeth and there was a judge that I could never show under. The name of the judge is not important, but I wondered how many other judges felt the same way.
On my way home, my wife and I were having this discussion and she told me to use my analytical mind and look at the judge’s side of this debate as well as mine. With this in mind, I tried as much as I could and still could not figure it out. This was a long trip home, but one that I would revisit for several years to come.
Fast-forward several years to the point in time that I got involved with one of the Foundation Stock Service breeds; and its progression was moving fast. Some of the requirements to move into the Miscellaneous competition was that you must have a minimum number of households and dogs registered throughout the country. That got me to looking at my original breed (which I still have and promote as much as I can) and the comment that the judge made to me. I then stared thinking back to the “analytical” side of the previous conversation; and this brought up several questions.
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Short URL: https://caninechronicle.com/?p=177840
Posted by AnthonyA
on Mar 7 2021. Filed under Current Articles, Featured.
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