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All About The Show Dog
FREE information by pro handlers, kennel clubs, and dog show judges can lead you to a successful hobby, home business, or rewarding career in the $$$$billion sport of purebred dogs. |
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EXTREMES IN PUREBRED DOGSShow Dog ExaggerationTam Cordingley, CSI Instructor, SAAB Member
When Judges award the most extreme (type) features, breeders strive for those extreme physical characteristics, which is why people go to shelters for a "normal" dog.
German Shepherds are shown with frankly crippled rears carried by wonderful shoulders. The bull breeds are so extreme they can't breathe. Setters have so much coat they couldn't hunt in heavy cover and many have lost the instinct.
Gruesome eye abnormalities abound and once-functional short legged breeds are virtually deformed. Purebred dogs are becoming canine caricatures and the public is turning to shelter and designer dogs which are in fact, less extreme.
The public hates the purebred extremes. My friend breeds working German Shepherds and says most people specify up front that they don't want the “sloping backed” German Shepherd.
And what family would want a Pekinese or Bulldog that can't breathe? Nor do they want an insanely aggressive Fox Terrier, or a super hairy Cocker Spaniel.. How many judges today give any thought to what the breeds are bred to do?
The division between show dogs and a real family dog or “using dog” is becoming more pronounced. Even the obedience dog is no longer the most well behaved dog. It is instead the dog that is most focused on the trainer/handler's treat pocket.
The object should not be to make the most spectacular show dog; it should be to create the best dog of their breed.
If I had my way there would be no judging beyond Best of Breed. Other than bragging rights, the Groups and BIS have no purpose. Have you noticed that the public rarely stays for Group? I also feel that no dog should be able to earn a Championship without a performance title of some kind.
Should rankings and advertising decide the future of purebred dogs? Dog shows used to be a celebration of our lives with our dogs. We took our dogs out for friendly weekend competition.
The Best Dog is a sound body, beautiful in soul, has a brilliant mind, and the ability to pass on those qualities, along with impeccable breeding and mothering instincts. This is the type of purebred dog we should idolize, not the extremes, the freaks of nature that are unsound and unable to be companions or protectors or to herd livestock or fill our tables with game. TheDogPlace.org EST 1998 © July 2012-130215062211 https://www.thedogplace.org/ShowPlace/Extreme-Purebreds_Cordingley-127.asp SSI Brought to you by the NetPlaces Network
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