| To SHOW OR NOT To SHOW -- THAT Is THE
QUESTION
written in 1990
by Lisa J. Barber
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 Eric's 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!!!
P.S. The last show in
New Jersey. Megan finished her Championship!!!
This Article has been reprinted from the Shiloh
Shepherd™ (Kennel)
Newsletter, published in 1991.
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