Showsight October 2018

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

the leap to show dogs, they are instantly, at their first show met with this realization. Shows need to refocus and priori- tize the dogs and the people who show them—all the people not just the handlers. Too many times in my 25 years of show- ing, the wants of the spectators have taken priority over the dogs safety. Examples are outdoor shows and not allowing dogs in crates under the tents but hundreds of spectators are allowed to sit under to watch—what? Parking and camping, those who are the well-known faces and club members seem to get priority for the prime spaces, if they paid extra for that then fine, but that is not generally the case because that would have to be made open to anyone to pay and it is not. Too many times at shows people with multiple dogs who have to have crates just for their ring time are told “Nope, no crates” but again even in indoor shows, hundreds of chairs are lined up. Special exceptions for people swapping handlers at the last minute or running up basically late for the ring and allowed in because of who they are when others are told, “Too bad, you’re late.” Special exceptions for people based on who you are and who you know for grooming spaces. All premiums say the same thing, no saving space, stack crates, first come first serve and not before x time. I know of one show that I attend that used to actually follows some of these rules and that rule was no set up before x time. They do enforce the stacking somewhat but again it depends on who you are. Last year, this show allowed one individual to choose her space and go in early due to a “handicap”. These are the things that I see and what the new people see and hear about. These are not encouraging things for people to want to invest their time and money in. Let’s face it, showing dogs is not a money mak- ing hobby, we do it for the love of doing it. Not the handlers, not the club members and not the spectators but the dogs and the comfort and safety of them. Until we has a whole start addressing all of these things that are clearly seen by spectators and potential newbies, this sport will not pull in the newbies. If I was thinking about getting involved today, I would not just based on the observations I have seen in the last ten years. I stay because I have so many years invested and I do love it and I try to let the other stuff wash off my back and sometimes I choose to not attend a show based on how the show treats everyone. —Anonymous Have an info session at a show to explain to new people how to get involved with the sport and publicize it in the local community. —Anonymous Make it about dogs and stop being so damn picky and snooty with new folks. We all know the reason as to why. No one is truly interested in fixing the age old problems in the dog world. —Anonymous Entry fees add up. There’s nothing you can do about travel/ housing expenses, so that would leave what it cost to be able to exhibit our dogs. Adding nonsense classes does nothing for me but maybe something that for each dog/class entered you get a reduction. And it wouldn’t matter how many dogs, the first entered in the first class is full price, second dog/ class is a little less, the third dog, less. On and on. Showing a willingness to help the exhibitor is a major PR effort that all will appreciate. We’d be apt to bring that puppy or help build

and two concurrent specialties and 16 supported entry clubs. —Jill Bregy

AKC is shooting themselves in the foot with Corporate money. I was blindsided by the association with MARS Vet- erinary and Royal Canin. As an active participant and State coordinator for Protect the Pets and also a liason for Embark vet in my breed I see collusion. Because I spoke to several hundred breeder/exhibitors the last year they know what is going on and how to care for their animals. We can wink and say, okay I don’t feed Pedigree and let them do their marketing. However when MARS bought Opti- mal Selection it becomes a factor as they don’t want any com- petitors at their sponsored functions. Politics have their place but free choice, taken away is going too far. The paradigm shift in how Americans see pets is radically changing. Play with the big boys or stick to the basics. Alternatives to dog shows could be sponsored as well. Not everyone has the time or the money to devote to dog showing but still can produce decent, health tested dogs. Get behind that kind of evaluation as an alternative. AKC at this point is not linking to Embark. We have to do our own database to track health. AKC sees everything from profit perspective and in my opinion, is not really support- ing the health and future of our lovely breeds. Why I went with Embark after years of tracking was because number one the dog owner owns their DNA sample and gives permission for researchers to use it. Number two They platform allows breed clubs to prioritize and work to eradicate even complex disease at no cost or financial risk to the clubs. So they are a research partner not one of many entities begging for DNA samples. C’mon, this is a no brainer! —Anonymous

Have the breed clubs promote participation. —Anony- mous

Go back to judging dogs and not just putting up faces. It has disengaged so many people that they are on to other dog sports, or out all together. —Anonymous Judges have to stop putting up inferior dogs, just because they like the professional handler at the end of the lead. Seri- ously! Breeders and their buyers are the true backbone of the sport. Dog shows can not survive based on Pro handler entries. It cost a ton of money to enter and get to shows and to witness, some of these judging nightmares, makes a person think more than twice about continuing on. —Anonymous Have a mentor booth set up at the shows. There are a num- ber of vendors selling dog stuff and some of the bigger shows like Royal Canin have “meet the breed booths” but no one has ever set up a “so you want to show dogs” booth. There you could have experienced breeders and handlers volunteer to operate it and answer the questions. The booth would not have to be manned by only club members. I am sure people would be willing to volunteer a couple of hours to sit down and talk to people about the sport and such. The biggest hur- dle I see for new people, and I say this because I have experi- ence still after 25 years of showing, is the shows do not seem to be about the dogs anymore. And once a new person takes

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

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