Showsight October 2018

says WHAT’S ONE WAY DOG SHOWS CAN ATTRACT NEW PARTICIPANTS?

continuum the entrant is in the opinion of the judge, with the center representing the quality of the average champion in that breed when it applies to breed type and minimal accept- able structure when it comes to running gear. I know the old saying “even a mongrel can be sound” but In my opinion, if it isn’t reasonably functionally sound it doesn’t belong in a conformation show. The sliding scale prevents someone from complaining that the dog was awarded a seven out of ten in one outing under a judge and an eight on another occasion. Judges big argument against critiques is that it would eat up too much time and be too generic. The method I propose could be limited to six-nine categories (ideally selected by the parent club, which could serve to make judges pay attention to characteristics in a breed most in need of improvement). Most people start out in breeding with a first dog that usu- ally gets bred. Showing and receiving these critiques would provide a blueprint for improving on that foundation dog. And if nine out of ten judges score the dog below average in, say, shoulder assembly and the tenth judge scores it well above average, the dog owner will not only learn something about his dog, he will learn something about that tenth judge! AKC dog shows are way too far in the direction of beauty contests. Move back in the direction of livestock judging and I think people would be more likely to be attracted to participate. AKC has rules that are openly flaunted and AKC representa- tives openly tell judges they can ignore them. That’s a slap in the face to breeders to do follow the rules. UKC manages to put on shows with no chalk, no wigs, no “product” in the coats. It is very tempting for principled individuals to aban- don AKC. I find I get more enjoyment out of attending a state fair and watching judging of sheep, goats, cattle, etc. and lis- tening to the judges’ oral critiques than I do watching dog show judging. —Anonymous This is hard. It need to be more balanced, the new peo- ple get quickly discouraged when a professional in all ways winning in their ring. CKC need to offer something to encourage owner handled dogs, discount of separate class. —Donna LaChance The clustering of shows outside of a club’s immediate area, I believe, has really hurt the ability to attract new people. If you have a slight interest in purebred dogs and there’s a show within a 30 minute drive, you are more likely to attend than if the shows is two hours away. That horse has been out of the barn too long to put back, I’m afraid, so things are left to the kennel clubs to host more activities that will inspire local people to check them out and get a feel for dog shows. Standalone fun matches and fun days need to make a comeback; there needs to be an active outreach to pet owners to give them a reason to come and participate. —Vicki DeGruy Offering supported entries and encouraging designated and concurrent specialties with all breed shows will encour- age entries and accomplish what our mission is in education in purebred dogs. This is something that I did while Show Chair at Longshore/Southport Kennel Club years ago and currently do at Trap Falls Kennel Club with three designated

turned into majors sure makes entering shows futile when a major is only needed and when a major isn’t needed why penalize a entrant when someone pulls their dog because it didn’t turned into a major thus hurting those who want single points the cost of everything has gone up with entering of dogs. Also have more prizes for wins! What happened to the big shows? There would be many more if things could be done to make sure that a dog doesn’t have to travel many miles in search of a major and when things go wrong some- one pulls their dog and the major was lost but the thousands of dollars spent on a worthless show not ever recovered! Someone doesn’t show up for Best of Winners so no cross over for the dog needing a major. I have been showing since the 1976 and seen the drop off of entries because we need more owners to handle their own dog they give up because of the cost of professional handlers is too much and their chances of winning too low along with all the other costs in showing a Special dog. —Anonymous

Would love to see more events for Bred-By. —Anonymous

Puppies 4-6 Fee $5.00. N I C E Ribbons Club pays for photos of Group Winners. I would Judge for free! —James A Zarifis I think the AKC has priced themselves into a corner on entries. Usually $32 per entry. If you have two or three dogs, you are looking at an easy $100 per day in entries alone. Start adding in gas, hotels, eating out and parking fees and you can see why people think twice before making that entry. Lowering the price of entry fees, would be a huge help! —Anonymous Unfortunately I believe this sport is getting expensive. We are doing a lot to introduce new people via mixed breed activities. But money still gets in the way. —Anonymous Go to schools and take some popular dogs people show now days, bring all those ribbons and trophies, it impresses kids. Tell them even if they have a mixed breed, they can show in performance and take some performance dogs and showcase how smart they are. More TV coverage of dog shows with some stories about some of the participants and show them in the ring. Local TV here only show a few dogs going around the ring or a few being shown, but real stories like they do at Westminster would be really more humaniz- ing. People tend to think show dog people are stuck up— most aren’t. Advertise to come to the show if your interest- ed in showing dogs and tell them all the ways they can be shown, it’s not all about conformation. But if that sparks and interest they could be told it’s usually better to find a show dog breeder at the show (after they’ve shown). Most are more than happy to educate the public. —Anonymous

Have friendlier people on the dog show club members. Lower the price for the entries and parking. —Anonymous

At some levels (such as specialties or supported entries) provide critiques. This can be done on a sliding scale (exam- ple: head and expression using a dot to represent where on a

128 • S how S ight M agazine , O ctober 2018

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