A Curious Rule – The Mystery Of The Missing Parts

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160 – September, 2025

By Wayne Cavanaugh

Every sport has its rules. Lots of rules. And our sport is no different. The majority of AKC rules are necessary and quite sensible. Although sometimes it seems that those who write rules for any sport are getting paid by the number of unnecessary words they can squeeze in between the good stuff. But in spite of the time it takes to create rules, no one actually reads them … unless they absolutely have to. Maybe they’ve done something stupid and are looking to confirm their assumptions. Maybe they’re trying to find a rule to get even with someone who they feel has done them wrong. Maybe they enjoy testing their limits by bending a few rules.

There is an audience that takes the reading of rules quite seriously–judges and aspiring judges. Judges must research, read, and memorize the rules because they are required to take tests on the rules and answer each question correctly. I assume there are a few who ask ChatGPT to answer the questions for them. Bad idea. To excel at these tests, you have to learn to read between the lines and decipher the ancient codes of the infernal trick questions. There is nothing quite like tricking someone into getting smarter so they can do a free job for you. (In all seriousness though, AKC staff has done a very good job of eliminating many of the trick test questions of the past).

Rule books are like new-car owner’s manuals. We only read them when common sense doesn’t give us the answers we’re looking for. And that’s too bad because they can be quite entertaining. For example, it’s fun to read a rule and ask the question: who did something dumb enough to create a situation that required a rule to be written in the first place?

Click here to read the complete article
160 – September, 2025

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