| To SHOW OR NOT To SHOW -- THAT
Is THE QUESTION written in 1990
Since most people do not really
understand what actually happens at conformation dog shows, my mom asked me to write this
article, hoping it would encourage some people into coming out and participating at our
future shows. She has explained to me that there are basically three kinds of dog owners.
One, the pet owner that does not realize the full potential of his/her dog, so, therefore,
does not even attempt to have the dog evaluated for his/her possible show potential. I
also have a pet female that my mom gave me three years ago. Megan was originally the runt
pup out of Stormy's litter. She was tested as a pup and evaluated as a good Search and
Rescue prospect. My mom sold her to a lady in Virginia that took her to a trainer in
Maryland. The trainer said that Megan was mentally retarded and a very poor quality, lousy
looking runt. The lady was very upset and said a lot of nasty things to my mother. She
told her that the dog would never even resemble any kind of decent Shepherd and was
totally untrainable. So, she wanted her money back. When Megan arrived at the airport, she
was five months old, and she weighed only 36 pounds!! She looked terrible!! My mom took
her to the vet and found out she had Giardia, hook, and whip worms. My mom was so angry at that
lady that she told me that if I trained Megan to a Schutzhund, she would let me keep her.
By the time Megan was one year old, she was impressing everyone that came to visit the
kennel. I would hide things and Megan would find them. She knew the difference between her
ball, stick, kong, sleeve, and other toys. People could not believe how intelligent she
was. She worked in training classes and would do brace routines with Pats’ and
Erics’ dogs. Even though I spoiled her
sometimes a little bit, when my mom wanted me to demonstrate her to customers, she would
always do her best (well almost always). Megan loves to do all kinds of work. My mom even
uses her to teach the younger pups to go swimming and hiking in the woods, because she
takes care of them like a good herding dog should. I think everyone who has come to the
kennel in the last two years and met Megan has loved her. When we started going to these
shows in June, I always had to leave Megan at home for four or five days, because we never
had enough room in the Bronco. I did get to take her with me to the Palmyra show and enter
her in Obedience, but my mom would not let me show her in conformation, because I was busy
handling other people's dogs. I kept begging my mom to let me show her and finally last
month, she agreed to let me. She warned me not to be disappointed if I lost because there
would be two champion pointed bitches at the show. My mom gave me a long lecture about
Megan being only a good pet and not a show dog. Well, guess what -- WE WON!! I was so
proud of her! So, you see, your pet may be better than you think. The second type of dog owner
buys top quality breeding stock, because they want to breed the best possible pups, at
least that is what they say. My mom says that if they are really serious about breeding
the best possible pups, they should not be afraid to ask for advice and show their dogs
under a lot of different judges. She says that the breeders that do not want to spend the
time and money to go to the shows are nothing more than puppy mills and that all they want
to do is make money selling pups. Some of those people only have one or two females just
so they can pump out a bunch of pups every year. If they cared about the future of the
Shiloh Shepherd breed, they would join the club and go to the shows. The third type of dog owners
are those who own excellent quality dogs, but will not go to the shows because they think
they are too political. My mom used to show in AKC many, many years ago, and she swore
(before I was born) that she was fed up with all the politics involved with these shows.
She has told me many stories of how great things used to be in the early 60's and how by
the 70's it had all turned into a nightmare. Many people that tried to show their dogs
would be quickly discouraged by the "pros." My mom calls it the "organized
insanity." I can tell you only that the rare breed shows are not like that. My mom is
so excited about these shows that she says they make her feel like the clock has turned
back 30 years. The judges are all fair and honest and take their time to explain things to
the new handlers. I had several judges at different shows show me what I was doing wrong.
A really nice lady judge even went with me to help me pick out a better show lead for Lex.
Everybody has been very nice to me, and I am learning so much from all those wonderful
judges. People at the rare breed shows are very friendly and helpful. In New Jersey, I
made friends with a lady that breeds the most adorable Sheba dogs, and I also helped a boy
with his Pit Bull. My mom fell in love with a huge Anatolian Shepherd. There is always so
much to do at these shows! If you haven't been to one, you really have to go and do not
forget to bring you pet, breeding, or show dog. In September, Pat brought her pet
"Korcha" to the show and now he is a Champion!!! Could your pet become one
too??!! See ya at the Show!!! PS The last show in New Jersey. Megan finished
her Championship!!! This Article has been reprinted
from the Shiloh Shepherd (Kennel) Newsletter, published in 1991. |