HOW I SEE IT
Things I Wonder About
GRETCHEN BERNARDI
It ’ s late in 2016 as I write this , and our dog world is abuzz about the upcoming AKC National Championship show in Orlando . The entry is up , and everyone is looking forward to another great event . But this time of year calls for an assessment of the year behind us and hopefulness for what lies ahead . All of that serious thinking inevitably leads me to wondering ...
Is it Really All About Breeding Stock ?
I wonder why we cling so strongly to the idea that dog shows are all about evaluating breeding stock . Does anyone really believe that campaigning dogs , many of them with four or more owners in order to spread the cost 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 ? Is it just too 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 ?
Surely dog shows began with this intent , but if it were still valid today , we wouldn ’ t only seem to value the Group placements and Best in Shows as important wins . Why does exhibiting and judging in the breed rings get so little attention ? Why do the ranking systems , so important to some participants , give so little emphasis to breed wins ?
Continuing to believe in this notion is not only outdated but harmful because it keeps us from modernizing the sport in at least one important way , and that is by refusing to allow neutered and spayed dogs to be shown . We ’ ve heard the reasons against this idea — coat issues in some breeds , some obscure thing having to do with animal rights — but the loudest objection is always that we are evaluating breeding stock . If I sell a show-quality dog to a new owner who does not want to breed or bother with intact animals but wants to show and does so successfully , my breeding program , albeit not that particular animal , is being evaluated and is done so for my benefit , if , and only if , I believe that the judging is competent and fair .
In looking at the quality of the dogs being shown in many breeds today , the idea of evaluating breeding stock is not working too well in any case . If the majority of the dogs being
I wonder why we make everything so complicated . It has always been difficult to explain some show rules to newcomers .
shown today are the end result of this evaluation program , we are in serious trouble .
Why Is Everything So Complicated ?
I wonder why we make everything so complicated . It has always been difficult to explain some show rules to newcomers , and even long-time exhibitors have trouble figuring out how many points are awarded to a class dog winning Best of Opposite Sex . And then there is the problem of what dog goes in for Reserve and how to explain the Bred-by- Exhibitor class , which is really not for the dogs bred by the exhibitors , but actually the dog bred and owned by the exhibitor . Well-meaning and honest exhibitors are punished for breaking rules that had been enacted or changed without much notice . When can a person judge a sweepstakes and also show , or judge NOHS classes and show on the weekend ? Then there are the differences between rules , regulations and policies .
And the same problem exists for show committees that not only struggle to keep the club afloat financially , but must keep abreast of ever-changing rules and demands , such as who can judge the NOHS classes , when they should be scheduled and how much free grooming space should be provided .
Why Are Registrations So Secretive ?
I wonder why we are so secretive , especially about registrations . The registration numbers ( individual dogs and litters ) were widely published and distributed in the past and published in the AKC Gazette in March or April . Those numbers became harder to find until they became impossible to find . The Annual Reports were usually the most reliable source for the total registration numbers , but the 2010 issue was the last one to give us those numbers : 563,611 dogs and 273,240 litters . Subsequent issues reported that registrations were rising , though slowly .
The 2015 issue is the most recent Annual Report available . It listed the top five most popular breeds and ended with this statement : “ Thanks to an increase in dog and litter registrations , and the roll-out of innovative new programs and products , AKC Registrations will report 7 percent revenue growth in 2015 .” The report did announce $ 27,609 in registration income .
I have been registering dogs with the AKC since 1969 and
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