Oh, That Darn Standard!

The written and associated illustrated standard are the guidelines for people involved in Collies whether as breeders, exhibitors or judges.  Merely being able to read what is said or complete an open book test is no indication that a person remotely understands the intent of the standard.  Far too often it seems that the only interest some folks exhibit in this guideline is to change it to  conform to their breeding ideas rather than to breed toward what the standard defines as correct.

Over the years there have been changes made, some which were designed to clarify and others, which may have muddied the waters.  My intent is not to separate these two categories.  Indeed we shall only view some “tips of the iceberg” and explore further at another time.

Each new administration in the CC of A creates a standard committee along with many other such groups.  They will review our standard and make recommendations as to the need for change or clarification.  Some of these committees feel honor bound to change things or feel they have accomplished nothing.  Obviously the makeup of the committee and personal interpretations of the standard will strongly influence their direction.

Some years age, when Doris Werdermann was president of the CC of A, I chaired the standard committee.  We didn’t make any changes in spite of one member who seemed convinced that we should do so.  The rest of the committee, myself included, felt no change was warranted and opted instead for a booklet which simplified some things into a format we felt was an improvement.  After it’s completion and printing in sank into the black hole of CC of A “lost stuff” to be seen no more.

Some of the things noted in our booklet were items which I had gleaned from my early mentor Bill Van Dyck of Honeybrook.  Things such as the resemblance to a can of evaporated milk that the properly rounded muzzle presents.  It is straight on the top, but smooth and without indentation on the sides.  The Collie with proper eye size, shape, and associated chiseling must point it’s nose at what is wishes to see.  Recently I received a similar booklet from the Doberman Pinscher Club of America with the same intent of clarifying the standard and procedure for examining the mouth.

When I was president of the South Jersey Collie Club we devoted one meeting each year to a round table discussion of the Collie Standard.  While its goal may have been to help newcomers, everyone learned from a comparison of various points of view.  Much as a Bible-Study group in church can give us some food for thought even if we think of ourselves as theologians, so can a discussion of the standard  bring some fresh thinking to the mind of even the most experienced fancier.  Knowledge is where you find it and is not limited to dinosaurs.

I remember well lamenting a dog I owned who loved to play in his water bucket and spill same every day.  Many means of securing the buckets had failed when a novice gave me the solution.  Take an old bucket (galvanized) that leaks and can’t be used, secure it in the corner, and set the water bucket in it.  Problem solved!  Knowledge is where you find it .  I’ve known people in dogs for years who couldn’t compare with some who were relative newcomers, but who had the gift.

A background in other animals can be very helpful to one who wants to interpret the standard.  Horse people and breeders of other livestock can unlock some of the keys.  Be honest with yourself and remember that real understanding of the standard is a combination of many things.  Watching puppies develop and observing and handling different dogs are all part of the prerequisites to being comfortable with the Collie Bible.  (I don’t mean to blaspheme but it is just that ( Van Dyck used to ask when I would apply for a judges license and my reply was “when I’m completely comfortable with the task”!  I had been some years in Collies and won my first BB at the National before I filled out an application.

One last note before the dinosaur says “until next time”, we have a bred which many describe as a “head breed.”  Indeed our standard devotes much importance to the head and its various parts.  While I in no way wish to detract from the importance of proper head qualities to a good Collie, there is an observation that seems apropos to this discussion .  The first paragraph of the standard on “general character” paints a picture of the whole dog and it’s hard for me to accept any one part, head or otherwise, as more important than the whole to which it belongs.

Any judge will tell you that before they touch a dog in a class they know which one they like best.  It’s a matter of how all the parts including head, expression, coat, etc., etc.  fit together.  The dogs are examined so that “your hands verify what your eyes think they see.”  (clever grooming tricks abound)  You check movement as a test of structure and condition of muscles, but it’s the whole dog that draws your eyes.

Many moons ago I sat with another dinosaur named Steve Field looking at some puppies.  Two ladies had come to see them as well and were leaning over the fence feeling their heads.  Steve and I were sitting on two bales of straw just watching the pups do their thing.  Later after the gals went on to see some other dogs Steve said, “the way to judge puppies is to just watch!”  Steve was a great observer and a very gifted person in many ways.  His reputation as a breeder and judge was such that when he spoke you listened.

We’ll talk more about the standard, I’m sure.  It does need to be understood not just read.  Meanwhile don’t become so infatuated with any one portion that you fail to remember the significance of the whole dog. 

Think About It!!!

See You Later

Phyllis and I lost a dear friend on Tuesday, we’d known him for fourteen years and shared many good times together.  His name was Sam and he was a mutt.

Now why does a collie person write about a mutt and mourn his loss so greatly?  If you don’t know perhaps you don’t know the responsibilities of dog ownership.  It’s often been said that if you keep animals you should be committed to keeping them well.  That includes knowing when to say, “goodbye.”

Terhune wrote once about a dog that had to be put down.  He didn’t want to put him thru going to the vet and having a stranger in strange surroundings end his life.  He gave the dog his favorite treat, a piece of steak, and while he ate, shot him in the head.  The logic is plain, but the will to follow such a plan does not exist in most of us.

One of the most difficult things about keeping any kind of animal is knowing that you are going to outlive them unless you happen to be a really old dinosaur.  Over the years I can remember saying goodbye to many friends and very few obliged by passing away on their own.  When discussing this topic the gentleman who used to announce for Westminster said, “better a week too soon, than a day too late!”  Basically we don’t wait for animals to suffer serious pain or discomfort to say goodbye. 

In my strange way of thinking I’ve found its much more satisfactory when you lose an animal friend or a human, for that matter, to dwell on the good memories rather than the loss.  We all will feel some sadness at such a time, but a celebration of life is much more satisfying than the mourning of a loss.

Years ago when judging in California Murray Drucker, who published dog magazines, including The Collie Review came to my ringside.  It was obvious that Murray was gravely ill and he told me his doctor had advised him not to come.  In spite of that he came to apologize for not being able to attend the dinner after the show.  The Collie Review was awarding me its outstanding service award and someone else would have to present it.  I was the last recipient of an award that numbered Rudd Weatherwax, Steve Field, Florence Ilch, and Dr. McCain as honorees.  The plaque is one of only two awards that I’ve kept over the years and it means a great deal to me because of the names that I share it with and the man who came to my ring that day to say farewell.

When Murray passed away shortly there after I heard that he left a letter for his wife and daughters.  The reported contents may or may not be accurate.  But they sound like something Murray would write.  It was basically entitled “Don’t Cry For Me” and listed many of the successes and enjoyable things that had been part of his life including the family that he didn’t want to sink into sadness.  True or not the sentiment has stayed with me over the years and become part of what I firmly believe.

Back to Sam, who started this whole thing.  He was about nine months old when we adopted him from the local shelter.  He’d been living near a grocery store and dining on handouts from the employees.  He was a streetwise pup and knew nothing of proper behavior.  I told Phyllis that he must be part collie because of his color and markings (red sable, white collar and feet).  Either she believed me or more likely just liked Sam too.

The first years were a learning experience for Sam and for us.  He chewed anything he could put in his mouth.  He teased the other dogs unmercifully because he was extremely quick and would nip and run.  He had no idea of walking on a lead and would yank and pull until your arm was tired.  The good news was that he was very smart and could be taught.

Over the years Sam did learn a lot and so did we.  Our daughter, Alexandra, loved to deck him out in silly outfits, like some old sneakers and Sam thought that was fine.  When he moved up to be our house dog he quickly learned to jump up on the grooming table to have his feet wiped before he came indoors.  On trips to the vet he jumped onto the counter to get a biscuit that he knew he deserved.

Sam joins a host of others over the years who remain in my memory as pleasant thoughts.  Most are collies with peerless pedigrees, but none were more loved that Sam.  You can be a breeder, exhibitor, writer, or judge, but if you don’t just plain love dogs you’ve missed the whole point.  Each of these old friends are in Heaven  wagging their tails and having a great time as they say, “Don’t Cry For Me!”

Think About It!

Father's Day

Today I celebrated Father’s Day and it’s been a very good day.  I got calls from all three boys and a nifty email card from Alexandra.  Phyllis and I enjoyed lunch at Outback and with discounts and gift cards felt almost as if we robbed them of our meal.

Whenever I think of Father’s Day it makes me recall Ch. Gingeor Bellbrooke’s Choice R.O.M.   “Patrick” as he was called earned the nickname “Daddy of them all” at the kennel because he was a fine sire and many of our winners were his children and grandchildren.

The story of how I bought him for $150 with time payments has been told enough to not need repeating, but the big break he got as a sire is a series of events that were connected in an interesting fashion.

When Patrick came to live at my kennel from John and Ada Giuliano’s Bellbrook Collies he was nine months with very little training.  In those days many clubs had several match shows each year to train puppies and also to raise money to put on an annual point show. The matches also provided a grand training ground for prospective judges.

My first chance to judge Collies came at the Burlington Co. match in New Jersey.  My best Collie puppy was a blond coated bitch with a lovely lean head and beautiful outline.  She belonged to Barbara Woodmancy and would go on to finish with four majors (when majors were tough to get) and took the eastern Collie world by storm  She could have been bred to any dog in the area and his owners would have felt honored.  All this before I acquired Patrick.

Because he was a quality pup, but one who needed some training, Patrick went to his first match soon after I got him at the South Jersey C.C.  He not only took Best In Match, but caught the eye of Barbara Woodmancy who owned The Glamour Girl, Ch. Gregshire’s Little Honeycomb.  Barbara decided to gamble on the quality and pedigree of the young pup and asked me to whelp the litter since her job made puppy care nearly impossible. 

The resulting litter of ten puppies were all sable as the dam was pure sable.  Nine pups would charge to the fence to greet visitors, but the tenth would wait for the commotion to die down, then walk out at his own speed.  Barbara took two puppies and I got the rest and eventually she gave me Honeycomb as well since she was moving to Florida which in those days was very tough on Collies.

I knew she’d take the dignified pup who was drop dead gorgeous and she did.  At about five months she asked me to come see him and asked if I would like to show him since she didn’t want him going to Florida either.  The pup took several all breed Best in Matches and finished before his sire who didn’t like dog shows.  That puppy became Ch. Jadene’s Breezalong B.O.B. at the 1967 CC of A, winner of nine working groups and a B.I.S. all breeds under Alva Rosenberg, arguably the greatest all breed judge who ever lived.

Breezalong launched Patrick’s siring career and was a great winner in east coast competition which was a very competitive area .  The whole situation of how Patrick started down the road to an R.O.M. designation ties in to the lovely winner at the first match I ever judged.

Now the R.O.M. behind a dog or bitch’s name is arbitrary at best.  It was a whole different world when Patrick sired thirty champions than it is now.  You could have top stud dog of the year with four or five champions and breeder of the year with three or four.  We have many more shows now and a much different playing field.

Likewise the approach to licensing judges has changed as well.  We used to list the matches and/or sweepstakes we judged on our applications.  Those stats and how long we’d been breeding and what we’d accomplished went past Len Brumby, AKC Exec. Vice President, who seemed to know all there was to know about everyone.  Today attending a national specialty and taking an open book test seem to be the big requirements.

I’ll let you decide which system produced judges who know their job best.

 Think about it!

p.s.  For those of you who belong to the CC of A you might send an email to Michelle Esch-Brooks who has produced two yearbooks on time when this is unheard of in the CC of A.  She’s made a wonderful transition from talented junior handler to talented young lady.  The apple definitely didn’t fall far from the tree!

Too Much of a Good (??) Thing

Too Much of a Good (??) Thing

How many dog shows are too many?  After increasing the number of show giving clubs to bolster a sagging income, the AKC now allows clubs to band together to make mega-events.  Our local Apple Blossom Cluster is just one example.  It has now increased to five shows on Thursday thru Monday of Memorial Day weekend. All we need to do is add some evening specialties to make it perfect.  God forbid we worry about the dogs!

Back in the days of the dinosaurs when I showed Collies my dogs never saw more than two shows per weekend.  The rest of the time they got to rest up, play and be quite comfortable at home.  Our record was quite competitive and the dogs didn’t get too stressed.  I worried about showing puppies because I guessed that every day at a show was one when they missed growing.  How selfish!

Besides being a strain on the dogs all these shows are breeding other problems.  Specialty shows are fighting hard to stay alive for many reasons.  Finding an affordable site is becoming tougher and many people find showing under all breed judges to their advantage.  When your only acquaintance with a Collie is to take an open book test and attend a national specialty, strange things can happen.

The point scale has gone to heck in a hand basket for many reasons and you can now have a major with a handful of Collies.  In the old dinosaur days a major was a real feat and to be treasured.  Depending on where you showed it took 20 or so dogs and in California it was ridiculous.  Now we have majors with 7 or 8 dogs in some cases and read ads where dogs finished with “all majors!”  Please get a life!

One of my other favorites and another money-making scheme is the Grand Champion.  It helped me decide I no longer needed to judge these things we now call dog shows.  It seems there are various degrees of Grand Champion.  I recently saw a dog advertised as the only Platinum Grand Chump (oops!) in its breed.  Can Diamond Encrusted Grand Champions be far behind?  Anything to get more dogs shown and shown and shown.

When I started to show seriously, Bill Van Dyck told me one day that Reserve Winners meant Best of the Losers.  He promptly gave me reserve when first I showed under him!  Today in addition to Grand Champs the judge has to worry about select, awards of merit (or lack thereof) and, at larger shows, who makes the cut.  People do advertise making the first, second or ad infinitum cuts at the national.  Please get a life?  It’s only a bloody dog show not a nuclear disarmament treaty. 

I might as well get one more pet peeve off my chest while on the subject of shows.    The pictures I see of Collies (and Shelties) at shows often with professional handlers sometimes cause me much anguish.  When I showed dogs grooming was a thing I prided myself on and worked at constantly.  The grooming of a Collie was an effort to make the animal resemble as closely as possible what the standard describes Yes, I did say “standard”, that oft maligned and apparently seldom read document.

The Collie is to be trimmed for showing in a subtle, but definite manner.  Forgive me if I quote that confusing old standard again.  “The forelegs are smooth and well feathered to the back of the pastern.  “(Not to the floor)”  The hind legs are smooth below the hock joints.  Any feathering below the hocks is removed for the show ring.”  If you don’t know how to groom, please learn particularly if you’re paid for your efforts, oh yes, “excessive posing is undesirable. (Had to get that in)

Collies are herding dogs and should appear as though they can do the job whether or not they ever saw a sheep.  In breeding and grooming we should strive for an animal that looks like they could drive livestock to market not pull them in a blasted wagon!  “Cumbersome appearance” is not desirable.  On what planet should a Collie look like a clumsy clod? 

Think About It!!  Please!!

Welcome Sweet Springtime!

I love Springtime when you can see things springing to life all around you.  Birds come back north and do their courting and nesting.  Flowers and trees blossom and grow their leaves.  Of course, you also get to start mowing, trimming edges, and caring for the strawberries.  Here in Michigan Spring, like Fall, is an unfortunately short season sandwiched between a short summer and a seemingly endless winter.

When I still bred Collies I knew that Spring pups were whelped at the most natural time of year.  They grew the best and were ready to show at the best specialties the following year.  Now I look for substitutes because I still love to watch young things grow and guess what they’ll be like at maturity.  My Miniature Silver Appleyard ducks hatched a brood in April and we’re now watching three breeds of baby chicks grow.  Most will go to new homes, but the ones we like best will stay for a while and provide fresh eggs in numbers that allow us to give most away.

I’ve been asked why a Collie person would talk about breed specific legislation.  The answer is quite simple.  Breed specific issues like puppy mill issues reflect on the whole world of dog breeding.  That means all of us and it gives the public a really bad view of the sport.  One of the nice things about this blog is that I write about what interests me and there are no deadlines or censorship to deal with at all.  You get my opinion on what interest me, and also what I think should be thought over by others.

Phyllis and I don’t spend much time on cruises or vacations because we have too many “critters” to care for and can’t seem to train and keep house and livestock watchers.  In addition to the already mentioned chickens and ducks, we have dogs, cats, cage birds and two horses that we board at a stable.  It does keep you busy but that’s okay because we enjoy them all.

Many of my Collie friends have had interests in other types of animals.  Al Forthal was a real master at breeding and racing Homing Pigeons.  Steve Field bred shorthorn cattle and also kept chickens which would fly into the dog pens to pick up leftover feed.  He told me “the ones who fly out fastest, live the longest.”  It was survival of the fittest (or fastest) for sure.

Glen Twiford of Windcall fame, in addition to fine Collies kept a number of exotic birds and bred them in aviaries at his home.  Glen also had livestock on the family ranches which he helped work before moving to California.  The videos of his Collies working sheep, that he showed at one of the CC of A symposiums was a real pleasure to see. This was Collies doing what they were meant to do before it became a “fashionable” thing at herding trials as part of the dog show game.  The Collies were a plus because they found that Border Collies, while fine herders, were too small to intimidate Coyotes.

One of the tings we sometimes forget to do in the dog game and possibly life in general is to give special people an “attaboy” while they’re still here.  As I get older and many old friends are gone, it becomes more of a reality than ever before.  So my hat’s off to Glen Twiford, who I know has been under the weather a bit lately.  A man of many talents over and above Collies , and a very special person.  He judged at the highest level and won at the highest level and did it all with class.

I’ll keep the blog going in spite of mowing, trimming, gardening, and dog grooming but at my pace and about my interests.  Some topics may raise some eyebrows, but that’s ok.  Those muscles need some work.

Think About It!

Breed Specific Legislation-What Price Breeding?

Breed Specific Legislation – What Price Breeding?

Years ago I had a very good vet when I lived in Sturgis, MI.  He handled large animals as well as dogs and cats and bred and raced Standardbred horses.  Besides being a good vet and a cracker-jack surgeon he knew animals and how they behave.

One day he and I were talking and the subject somehow got to Pit Bulls.  He said he had ten in his practice and nine of them were fine, but the tenth one scared him to death every time it came into the office.  He said that lots of dogs had threatened him in the office or on farm visits but most would stop if you faced them and talked them down, but a Pit Bull that comes for you keeps coming.

Some of us have encountered the same trait in other creatures.  I’ve had roosters that were so territorial that you could have beaten them to death before they stopped being on the attack.  They taste delicious, by the way.  Ganders (male geese) can be the same way, particularly when guarding a nest or young.  This quality in chickens is called “gameness” and the Standard Old English Game Chicken exhibits it to an extraordinary degree.  The ugly sport of cock fighting depends on this characteristic.

My vet also mentioned the fact that Pit Bulls had the equipment to do great damage due to their traits of having very powerful jaw muscles.  Neither he nor I were suggesting that they be banned, but were saying that you needed to understand what you were dealing with and that while most might be ok, some are not.

Now we’ll fast-forward a few years to another problem that came up in Michigan when some people decided to breed wolf-dog hybrids.  They were readily available and I even saw them offered at swap meets.  They became a macho symbol and though some may have walked around on lead and seemed calm, they were anything but trustworthy.  Over time there were a number of attacks on people particularly children and some deaths.  Children are particularly prone to attack by some canine species, because of how they behave.  They squeal, they step on toes, they pull ears, they run and they fall.  All these traits can trigger a problem with some canines, wolf-dogs or otherwise.  Finally the public in general as well as many dog breeders had enough.  Legislation was passed to make owning a wolf-dog hybrid virtually impossible and breeding them against the law. The rights of a few people who wanted to profit thru these creatures were outweighed by the public’s wishes.

When I was breeding Collies it was a standard joke that my dogs (which I loved and loved me) would leave me to greet a child they’d never seen.  This is what we expect of most Collies because it’s what they do.  My dogs were used to visitors to the kennel and seeing many people at dog shows and they just loved kids.  Years later I bought a male puppy who was raised without much exposure to strangers or children.  He was a vocal watchdog and while he never threatened a child, he would avoid my grandchildren I suspect because he didn’t know where they fit into his world. He was by the way, a great dog for his owners, but watchful of all others.

So let’s get back to the Pit Bull question.  The AKC and many dog breeders say breed specific legislation is bad because it’s not the dogs, but the owners who cause the problem.  They further say that people have the right to breed whatever kind of dog they choose.  Such freedoms would seem to be very basic in this “land of the free.”

There are a couple of points that bother me greatly in this matter.  In spite of all the friendly Pit Bulls that may be out there, what to do about the ones that kill people, particularly children.  It’s a fact beyond dispute that this breed is the new macho breed and often falls into bad hands.  They are used for dog fighting just as Old English Game Chickens are used for cockfighting, because they have the tools needed to inflict serious injury on an opponent.

We know that dogs of this breed (and several others, too) can with bad handling become a ticking time bomb just waiting for a reason to explode.  Breeding and handling for gameness and aggression can produce a fearsome four legged killing machine.  How do we stop this from being a danger to the public in general and children in particular?  The public in general is not in tune to AKC and dog breeders on the right to breed dangerous dogs.  If it’s just one in ten or twenty, or one hundred and a child is injured or killed, then the cry goes up to bar them just as the wolf-dog hybrids. 

When I was actively breeding the dogs were well cared for and loved by the whole family.  My boys often went to dog shows with me and they loved it as did the dogs.  At the same time I told people that that kennel of dogs was not on a par with what the boys meant.  Some folks want to treat animals like people and perhaps put them on the same level as their children.  Most people do not I assure you.

Meanwhile, though I hate the idea of legislating away people’s rights as breeders, I know the general public who far outweigh dog people at the polls are getting fed up with the issue. They are getting sick of hearing don’t take away our rights to breed, but we haven’t offered an answer on how to control the problem.

There are a lot of breeds out there as the AKC goes on its merry way recognizing new ones to boost the sagging registrations.  Some are good, but some need “intense socialization” according to dog show announcers.  They’re not for everyone.  With some one hundred and fifty breeds available how do we defend the scary ones and what’s our solution to keep them out of the wrong hands?

When is the last time you heard a child’s death blamed on a Collie, a Setter, a King Charles Spaniel or so many other breeds.  How do you weigh a child’s life against out right to breed what we want when so many other breeds exist?  I’m still waiting to hear an answer that makes any sense.  I know what my answer would be if one of my children or grandchildren was attacked and I’ve been a dog person virtually all my life.

Wolf-hybrids needed to be outlawed and so, in my opinion does the keeping of any creature, wild or domestic that poses a danger to humans.  Most start off as cute babies, but end up as dangerous adults that owners dump to get rid of because no one wants them.  Our land of the free has to have some limits and when your pet, canine or otherwise, is a threat to others, it shouldn’t be allowed to exist because you want it.

Think About It!

What's In A Dog Show?

What’s In A Dog Show?

I remember Noel Denton of Georgia doing a talk on dog shows at a seminar.  He was a great guy with a wonderful sense of humor and described the dog show as seen thru the eyes of a southern novice dog show viewer.  Noel dressed for the part in bib overalls and his talk was hysterical to say the least.

Bill Witherspoon of Ohio had a talk he gave of going to his first show with a piece of baling twine for a lead.  Bill was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and along with the dog show story had a number of tales to keep you laughing for hours.  His story about gorilla hunting was the best, but won’t appear here because of delicate terminology.

We know in spite of these fun filled episodes, what a dog show is all about.  It’s where I bring my dog(s) and try to win over your dog(s).  If they happen to be dogs we bred it makes things even sweeter, but as long as you own the winner that may suffice.  You can talk about using the show to pick breeding stock and rightfully so, but it’s all about winning to justify the choice.

Our national specialty has just been held and I’m sure you can check the winners on line if you didn’t attend.  For years people have asked me why I don’t attend the national.  The answer is fairly simple.  I’ve never viewed a dog show as a social event.  My reason for attending a dog show has always been to exhibit or judge.  When I ceased to exhibit I had the good fortune to attend many shows, but never as anything, but a judge.

Generally speaking watching a show is a pursuit I find tedious.  Though I enjoy the occasional outstanding dogs not being able to handle them takes something away from the process.  Long ago I found out that second guessing a judge is generally a fool’s occupation because “your hands must verify what your eyes think they see.”  Most judges will agree they often have the class largely placed before they touch a dog, but touching is how we make sure.

Steve Field, who I consider the consummate Collie fancier, breeder, speaker, writer, and judge, only went to dog shows for a reason.  He attended the Collie Club of Nebraska in his own back yard, but he didn’t go to the national once his career was over.  One year the Quarter Century Group wanted to give him the Right Stuff Award.  The requirement was that you had to be present or it wouldn’t happen.  The show was in Oklahoma, I believe, and they had someone to drive Steve there.  He didn’t go because getting the award was not what dog shows were all about. 

Years ago when I was judging sweepstakes enroute to my judge’s license, I used to groom people’s dogs for the regular classes.  It gave me something to do instead of just sitting.

When I was still showing dogs one of my boys generally went along.  They were my “go-furs” and got coffee, watched the ring and told me which class was in so I could time my grooming accordingly.  Timing was very important to my preparation.  Ideally I took a class dog, class bitch, and a special and recruited friends if I had two dogs at the end.

People used to come and talk as I was grooming and it made me very happy.  If they were watching me, they weren’t getting a dog ready and make no mistake:  I came to beat them.  I always said we can socialize at club meetings, at home, or somewhere else, but not at the show.  Shows have a purpose and I stuck to it.  Perhaps I was too focused in those days, but it worked for me.

As I’ve said before this is just my opinion.  If you like socializing at dog shows that’s fine.  It just has never worked for me.  Decide what your priorities are and act accordingly.

Think About It!