10.26.11
Posted in AKC, Animal Activists, Animal Ownership, Pet Laws, Pet Owner Bill of Rights, Showing and Owner Handling at 10:09 pm by Administrator
What will become of the dog fancy in the future? As other, more eloquent writers have noted, we have the “perfect storm” brewing that could mean the end of purebred dogs as we know it.
Years ago, quality dog breeders were viewed with respect and admiration. Large, elegant, fully-staffed kennels boasted fit, healthy, and happy dogs. The proprietors of these kennels were considered to be knowledgeable, responsible dog men and women.
Enter the Animal Rights Agenda. Suddenly, dog breeders as a whole became evil puppy millers, out to make a buck, indifferent to a dog’s health and happiness. Pet limit laws, bandied about by the Animal Rights agenda, were put into motion, severely limiting a breeder’s ability to continue producing the happy, healthy, sound dogs that had been so sought after in the past. Fearful of being branded a “puppy mill,” established kennels curtailed their breeding operations, downsized, and as a result, made puppies of quality less available to the general public. Even so, the Animal Rights Agenda continues to seek to restrict the breeding of purebred dogs even further, using their very deep pockets (a result of misguided donor support) to lobby legislators to pass their anti-breeding agenda. In many areas of the country, restrictions on breeding are so burdensome and costly that only the very wealthy or the very corporate breeders continue to breed dogs.
The American Kennel Club, perhaps in an attempt to reverse the declining number of dog registrations (which is likely a direct result of the onslaught by the Animal Rights Agenda) designed the Breeder of Merit program. This program was intended to offset those breeders who strive to produce healthy puppies from those who do not provide health testing or gain breed or working titles on their dogs. Breeders of Merit must agree to provide health testing as recommended by their Parent Clubs on all dogs used in their breeding program, and must have a history of obtaining breed or working titles on their dogs. In addition, Breeders of Merit must be “demonstrate a commitment to ensuring 100% of the puppies produced are AKC registered.”
The response to this program has been mixed, with some breeders not willing to be identified as Breeders of Merit simply because of the threat from the Animal Rights Agenda; others signed on willingly thinking the distinction might assist in the fight against the Animal Rights Agenda. Unfortunately, after many breeders achieved the Breeder of Merit distinction, AKC chose to increase its litter registration fees, locking Breeders of Merit into a nearly 100% increase in their registration fees.
The fancy is quickly becoming a privilege accorded to only those wealthy enough to afford it. The Animal Rights Agenda continues to push for ridiculous legislation that would force unrealistic engineering standards on small breeders, continues to lobby for additional licensing for breeders, and continues to paint all breeders into the same dim light as the substandard breeders (who do exist, but not in the enormous numbers touted by the Animal Rights Agenda). Those few hardy breeders who intend to continue with their passion find that compliance with the ridiculous engineering standards and the cost of multiple licenses (city, county, state, breeding, foster, rescue) has become prohibitive. The cost of showing a dog to its championship, essential to an excellent breeding program, has far exceeded what the average family is able to spend. And now litter registrations will become prohibitively expensive.
Truly, the dog fancy is fast becoming a sport that only the wealthy can afford. At a recent regional specialty, the youngest active breeder was 40. This, unfortunately, makes sense, in that young couples or individuals just starting out on their own don’t have the financial resources to take part in the fancy. Space requirements implemented by many municipalities are out of reach for many people (such as the requirement for at least an acre of land in order to have a kennel of 3 dogs – even if they are Chihuahuas). Multiple licensing requirements (city, county, state, federal, and in some cases, foster home licenses), and unfathomable housing requirements (which are so prohibitive that the raising of a litter in the home is impractical – and in the home is where they SHOULD be raised) all contribute to the nearly insurmountable expenses involved in the breeding of dogs. And even the AKC, our friend and ally, has shifted the burden of expense onto us, the responsible breeders, by implementing higher registration fees.
The Internet has made the names and locations of breeders readily available to the Animal Rights Agenda. While the Internet is a valuable tool, it has also been shown to work against the dog fancy – including rescue groups. In fact, this author overheard a conversation in which a community officer told a shelter worker that he wanted to use Facebook to track down people who he could ticket for having dogs “running at large” – in other words, he wanted to use “lost” postings on Facebook to issue citations to people who have lost their dogs. In Wisconsin, a dog that was posted multiple times by a rescue as adoptable was “counted” in their total each time it was listed, and as a result the rescue organization was fined for not complying with their local limit laws.
The sport of purebred dogs has reached a precipitous fork. We who hold our hobby and fancy dear to us must make a choice. We either run away from this awful storm, or we batten down our hatches and prepare to fight it.
We need to welcome and nurture new breeders into our fold. We need to communicate with our registry when their increased fees threaten our own financial ability to continue to breed and show our dogs. And we need to fight the Animal Rights Agenda, as a united front. Not as piecemeal, “oh, someone else will do it.” We need to fight it as an army united in our quest to continue our hobby and passion.
We should not feel the need to unload our dog food in the dark of night lest we be branded puppy mills. We should not feel the need to defend our decision to have a litter of puppies. We should not hang our heads in shame when someone asks us if we are breeders.
We should not apologize for who we are and what we do.
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08.20.10
Posted in AKC, Showing and Owner Handling at 10:07 pm by Administrator
AKC has forgotten the primary constituents of its member clubs. That would be we, the breeders, owners, and exhibitors. AKC has forgotten us in so many ways.
Most of us don’t make nice six-figure salaries. In this economy, many of us are lucky to even have a job. We allocate our resources so that we may feed ourselves and our dogs, provide care for ourselves and our dogs, and hopefully have cash enough left over to show or trial our dogs.
We have kids, or grandkids, or elderly parents who require our care and our time. We juggle our jobs, our kids, our parents, and our dogs, and hopefully have enough time left over to show or trial our dogs.
A recent AKC survey questioned selected recipients about an associate membership in AKC. Apparently, one would have to “belong” to AKC in order to show in AKC events. Most of us cannot afford additional fees. We already belong to breed clubs (who, in turn, are AKC members) and local clubs. We already have to carve entry fees, club membership fees, litter registration fees, licensing fees, and kennel permit fees out of our every-day incomes. Worse, with the increasingly restrictive legislation, our licensing, intact dog, and kennel permit fees grow every day. We cannot afford another fee just to be able to enter our dogs in AKC shows.
Many of us are spending what little extra income we have actively fighting the ever-expanding breeder licensing and regulation legislation.
AKC is also trying to implement a sort of judge’s tax or fee, whereby judges would have to pay for the privilege of being a judge. Since judges don’t generally make money from judging, they would have to pass this fee onto the clubs…thereby increasing the cost to exhibitors.
Even the rapid explosion of “cluster” shows can work against the hobbyist. The hobbyist often cannot attend all shows during a cluster. We have responsibilities to our day jobs. Yet, it seems difficult, if not impossible, to get a dog noticed if it is not exhibited all four (or five) days of a cluster. Judges seem to increasingly give the nod to dogs on handlers that are seen more often than owner-handled dogs who are only out on occasion, even though the owner-handled dog may be a better dog.
Is it any wonder we don’t have a lot of young faces in the fancy? Is it any wonder we don’t have more judging applicants? What young person, in their twenties or early thirties, with a child or two, a mortgage, a car payment, and little seniority in their job, could possibly afford to enter the fancy? Who would want to even try to finish a dog, knowing that since they can only attend a few shows their chances of winning are stacked high against them?
Most of us have had to cut back on our luxuries during this economic recession. Perhaps it is time that AKC recognized this as well. Cut back on some of the extravagances. Remind your judges that every exhibitor deserves equal attention, and that just because a dog isn’t at a show every weekend, it still might be a good – or even great – dog. Remind your obedience judges that some people compete more for companionship than perfection. Get more involved in the fight against bad legislation.
Help us, the little guys, continue to do what we do – breed, exhibit, and trial our chosen and beloved breeds, and provide healthy, sound puppies for future owners to do the same.
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05.25.10
Posted in Showing and Owner Handling, What is HSUS? at 5:54 pm by Administrator
David Martosko, who blogs for the watchdog group, HumaneWatch, visited the Myrtle Beach KC show and blogged about it here:
http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/what_i_learned_at_the_dog_show/
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02.12.10
Posted in Showing and Owner Handling at 9:39 pm by Administrator
For owner/handlers who show their own dogs in the conformation ring, it can be frustrating to know that your dog was the best he could be the ring, and you still end up with a second or third place ribbon. What was missing? What could the owner/handler do differently next time?
Let’s assume a few things, first. Your dog is a healthy, structurally sound, specimen of his/her breed. The grooming part is covered, every hair is in place,toenails are clipped, ears and teath are clean. Your dog is well behaved and shows no aggression towards the judge or the other dogs in the ring. What else is necessary to win? What are the judges looking for?
It starts from the moment that special show puppy is able to stand on its own. The breeder entices the puppy with a morsel of food, while stacking the puppy in the proper position for showing. When the puppy holds that stack, even for a few seconds, praise that pup with the best smiley voice you’ve got. Make the puppy feel that “Yes, I’m the best!!!!!” When the pup realizes that not only does he get a little morsel, he is, at the same time, pleasing the one human that means the most to him, well, he’ll keep right on doing it, and have fun at it, too.
This takes us to the next secret, which is to have fun. Both of you. Make it interesting. When you’re happy, the dog is happy. If you have any experience in the ring at all, you know that if the handler is nervous, or unsure, that the lead and collar connects those feelings, and transmits them directly to the dog, who in turn, is nervous and unsure. The way to overcome that nervousness and tension is to play with that special puppy or that show dog. At home, in the kennel area, outside the ring, and yes, inside the ring, too. Of course, when you’re in the ring you do have to control the exuberance, but if the dog is having a great time, a sparkle is introduced to the team. The judge cannot help but notice. Teaching the dog to love its job, is not always easy, a lot depends on how much fun the dog and you are having.
When inside the ring, the handler should remember that a dog that can stack himself, who can show himself off without human intervention, is more impressive to a judge, than the dog who is constantly being handled and manipulated by the handler. These dogs are not dolls with movable parts, most of the time the dogs already know what’s expected. Let them be, as long as they have been trained, which leads us to the next subject.
Individualizing the training techniques to the dog involved is very important. Each dog is an individual, some are easily trained, while others are so “alpha,” they believe that they are in charge of the world. Training begins at puppyhood, conditioning to build stamina must not be neglected, and making the show dog a pet in the home, this last is to teach the dog to compete for attention. Yes, I said to compete for attention. That way in the ring, the dog wants the attention of the judge, and will compete with the others to get it.
Imagine an athlete with a beer belly competing in the Mr Olympia contest. Don’t send your dog into a conformation ring without conditioning. I don’t mean hair conditioning either. Your show dog is not a couch potato, he is a competitor. He needs exercise, and lots of it. It’s good for you, too, even if you watch your dog from the sidelines. Muscle tone will not occur overnight. It requires months of work, dedication and effort, as well as ingenuity. The dog that starts out liking to chase tennis balls, will not keep chasing tennis balls for six months. You have to be creative in thinking of ways to work the dog, exercise the dog, without you covering 100 miles per day, unless you’re considering the Mr. Olympia contest.
It has to remain FUN! Working, showing, or playing, the dog is with you, looking for approval, praise and rewards from you. He is the center of your universe, you are the center of his.
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