Showsight - July 2018

World Dog Show: World Dog Shows: History, Facts and Figures

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY KARL DONVIL continued

2015 Italy WDS

2016 Russia WDS

2017 Germany WDS

2019 China WDS

should stand for the wellbeing of dogs, purebred dogs in particular. On the other hand, the Chinese Kennel Club is probably one of the best promoters for a better treatment of dogs and show- ing the people that dogs are a lot more than just food and the political impact can result in significant improvement for the benefit of dogs. Boycotting the Chinese Kennel Club is taking away one of the very few opportunities to show the people that treating the dogs well, keeping them as pets and doing sports with them, is a much better alternative than to just eat them. The FCI is still growing and the ques- tion is if they will be able to cope with all the international problems, national security issues, religious impact and traditions. All its shows are open to participants from the American and British Kennel Club. But political prob- lems, international hostilities and crises make it often balancing on a tight rope like with Russia and Ukraine. A critique often made is that too often are the very same judges that officiate at World Dog Shows and European Dog Shows. Of course, as most officials are judges and they need to attend the General Assemble that is normally organized in the days prior or right after the show, it offers the organizers of the show to save lots of money inviting them in the meantime to judge at the show. Another critique is that often the composition of the judges panel consists of local judges and is not international enough. While not always the case, I think indeed that there should be a rule that a World

Show judging panel should have a mini- mum quota and covering the whole FCI as much as possible. And why not imply that a judge can be invited to judge only once in three or five years on a world show? That would result in more unpredictable results as one often sees. It is after all a World Dog Show open to all dogs from all over the world. If we compare the judges lists of the last 20 years, it is surprising how often we see the same names show up year after year. In certain countries it is easily tolerated but in other countries there is much opposition like in the Scandinavian countries. There is, however, a big difference with the Olympic Games way of work- ing and that is that candidate countries don’t have to prove financial soundness and minimum requirements. In real- ity, of course it is taken into account in most cases, but it leaves doors open to corruption if there are no strict rules. Things like the show in Brazil would not be possible. Minimum standards should be made with regard to accom- modation, halls with airco, financial sta- bility and open bookkeeping and candi- dates should make a financial guarantee deposit. It is important that people make a fair chance of winning a title, know in advance what can be expected and face a minimum of possible problems. The FCI should have trained officers with lots of experience who can study candi- datures and give advice with regard to minimum requirements. There should be an FCI Press Officer that takes care of the Press organization, something

that could be a task for the World Dog Press Association that has now around 165 professional members worldwide and that is recognized by the Ameri- can and British Kennel Club as a reli- able partner. Very often we still see big differences in the way the main ring is organized with bad lights, inefficient podia, chaotic presentations without guidance by the ring stewards, changes during the main ring or from day to day, etc. Uniformity based on experiences in the past is the only way to make improvements. Unlike Westminster or Crufts, it will always be the first time for an organization. There is no fixed screenplay that can be used year after year with slight improvements here and there. The World Shows and FCI section shows will always face new and unpre- dictable difficulties, hence the impor- tance of officers who can reduce them by experience. Since air travel is possible at very democratic prizes it can be expected that World Dog Shows will still grow and that international attendance will become more prevalent than ever. Will the FCI be able to overcome all these difficulties? Probably yes, but it will be of utmost importance to listen to all the member countries and break up the close circle of the ruling few who always seem to be everywhere, enjoying the privileges that some deserve and others don’t and keeping an eye open for the common interest of all the members and put aside the personal ones.

S how S ight M agazine , J uly 2018 • 157

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