EDITOR ’ S PAGE
Visiting Dog Shows Abroad and Tackling Issues at Home
Anew year is upon us , and we ’ re celebrating with a big double issue covering two newsworthy themes .
The first is the AKC National Championship , which partnered with Royal Canin and surpassed its 2015 entries to make it the biggest show by far of last year . Thanks to our bi-monthly columnist Susi Szeremy for providing her fresh take on the extravaganza in Orlando .
This is also our International Issue , and we ’ re pleased to be giving you reports that span the globe : India , Australia , Korea , Brazil ,
Great Britain and Scandinavia . Paula Heikkinen-Lehkonen has a feature on the FCI European Dog Show in Brussels . And augmenting our world content is an interview with the Chairman of The Kennel Club , Simon Luxmoore , conducted by Bo Bengtson .
Reading the columns when they first arrived , several of our contributors really made me sit up and take notice as they challenged the status quo . Gretchen Bernardi wonders “ why we cling so strongly to the idea that dog shows are all about evaluating breeding stock , when everything points otherwise ? Does anyone really believe that the campaigning of dogs , many of them with four or more owners in order to spread the cost of the endeavor over more wallets , is about choosing breeding stock ? Does any true breeder seek the opinion of a judge of 100 or more breeds as validation of his or her dogs ? Is it just painful to admit that most of us show dogs ( excluding the professionals ) because we like the competition and the companionship of like-minded people ? And isn ’ t just the public companionship of the dogs we love enough ? Does admitting this make the pursuit , so time-consuming , energy-draining and expensive , seem frivolous ?” Wow ! That provided me with an aha moment . If we accept Gretchen ’ s premise , there is much more food for thought in her column . You ’ ll find it on page 14 , and it ’ s a must read .
Bo Bengtson can ’ t help but bring an international perspective to his writing . In this issue , he writes about an aspect of our sport that we are losing and another that is taking hold , for better or for worse . Bo laments the passing of our stock men and women ; those with a long background of involvement in livestock of all kinds , who can discuss dogs , horses , cattle , poultry and pigeons with equal expertise . Bo observes that “ they feel more at home on a farm than in the city , and they are pretty much a dying species at dog shows .”
He also addresses “ type drift .” That ’ s what happens when influential breeders “ focus so much on one or a few characteristics of a breed that the result after a number of generations is that breed doesn ’ t look quite like it used to .” That represents progress for some , but aren ’ t we supposed to be preserving a breed for the future ? You ’ ll find Bo ’ s stimulating column on page 30 .
We are also happy to be launching a new law column by Robert Newman , “ Let ’ s Make It Legal ” ( page 34 ), which will be running bi-monthly , and welcoming professional handler Arvind DeBraganca to “ Point / Counterpoint ,” taking over from David Fitzpatrick who did such a grand job last year . Thank you , David .
Allan Reznik , Editor areznik @ luminamedia . com
JULIE LYNN MUELLER
10 DOGSinREVIEW . com