In the immediately preceding issue of this magazine, the subject of breed standards and their central purpose was revisited and broached from various perspectives. Some discussion was offered as to how, and to what extent, we go about interpreting what is meant by the written word and the role which these descriptions play.
In our divisive world, it’s no surprise that the inferno of national politics has jumped across the chasm and landed square in the middle of our sport. For more than a century, we managed to keep our disagreements in the context of the sport with no basis in national politics. Seemingly eternal issues like too many shows, judging approval processes, poor judging, grooming space, and parking had nothing to do with our presumed political affiliation. Opinions were based on our views of the sport itself. Not so much anymore. With COVID-19, one of the sport’s biggest challenges in history, the question of when to resume dog shows has become the core argument.
In these dark and quite frightening times, what we need to hear, more than ever before, are stories of resilience, perseverance and eventual triumph. It is of no surprise that the popular fairy tales, which we were all brought up on, were often also written in times of great fear, challenge and hardship.
by Mary C. Lamphier From the archives of The Canine Chronicle, November, 1993 Many people believe that reality is a black and white thing, and that it never changes. Reality, however, is as much a matter of perception as anything and reality changes in relation to the perceptions through which it is filtered. The Belmont […]
by Dr. Quentin N. La Ham From the archives of The Canine Chronicle, June, 1992 PART 3 More often than not, judging involves trade-offs. This is the basis upon which respected judges interchange the same group of dogs because they rate factors differently in reaching a decision. That is as it should be and one […]
In the not-too-distant past I had occasion to discuss a certain pedigreed-dog breeding program with a very good friend of mine who has been involved with her breed for more years than she probably cares to remember. In this endeavor she has been highly successful and, over time, has managed to establish a lineage of some distinction and prominence.
Why, regardless of the breed in question, do so many judges adopt the position of ‘first pick the type you like and then pick the best mover from among them?’ I do not hesitate to suggest that in many cases the reverse would be preferable if the best interest of the breed is at stake and it should so be. Why not pick your best movers first, if indeed the final test of conformation is in the movement of the dog, and then find the best types among them? The outcome can be very rewarding.
Articles espousing the merits of type occur intermittently but of late there seems to me to be more than the usual number. Whenever I have found these testimonials in my 40-plus years of active involvement in our sport, they are usually lopsidedly promulgated by persons who have great-headed and -coated dogs with little else to brag about. These persons can be very vociferous tending to think of a dog as ever so pretty but seemingly willing to ignore the fact that to be a good dog, pretty is not good enough. The dog should be beautiful and there is a vast difference between the two adjectives.
We need to start using judges that never or rarely get the opportunity to judge so that our judging base has merit. There need to be more judges/breed education seminars and maybe even parent breed clubs need to review and revise their standards to fit what is in the ring today.
It’s been a long time since Louisville was abruptly shut down, mid-cluster. It’s been a long time since those who rely on dog shows for their income have been able to do their work, and it’s been a long time since those who just love dog shows, dog sports, dog people and dog events have had a dog show fix. With the list of cancelled events stretching into September, some people despair that they’ll never see a dog show again.
