GROOMING RULE VIOLATIONS
Background, Rule,
and Letters
Should
the AKC RULE against altering and
foreign substances be rescinded or
enforced?
We
covered AKC rules in
Rules
Enforced
and
Rules
Ignored.
We asked
readers to vote
YES
or
NO
and by a
4 to 1 majority, you said enforce the
rule. We’ve selected a sampling of
interesting comments but first; the AKC
rule:
Entering/exhibiting altered dog
(temporary alteration) Mitigated
Reprimand/$500; Standard 6 mo
suspension/$1000; Aggravated 1 yr
suspension/$2500
Staff
©
TheDogPress
09|24|09
-
Santiago Pinto was published in the June
2009 AKC Gazette as “Suspended of AKC
Privileges” pending appeal. We asked if
it is unusual for a person suspended by
a bench committee to continue exhibiting
for the remainder of the show or while
the person goes through the “appeal”
process. No one could find an AKC rule
covering that situation but as pointed
out by one reader, if a handler could
not continue to show while their case
was on appeal, it would be a hardship to
other clients.
Several readers also asked about handler
Mary Wild (story here) wondering if
AKC suspended her based on irrefutable
evidence of having caused the death of
seven dogs? If so, it has not been
published as of this date so can she
continue to potentially risk other dogs
while appealing and/or waiting for her
court appearance? We interviewed
Andrew Green about his 30 day suspension
for cursing a lady judge. It wasn’t
published until after “time served” so
what does that mean? There are many
unanswered questions regarding grooming
rule violations and suspensions but
here’s what some of you said about
grooming practices today.
Pinto Case:
Recently at Langley KC, the handler
Santiago Pinto used a product called
“black magic” on a dog while showing in
the best of breed ring at a National
Specialty. This product dyes the hair on
the dog black temporarily. He did this
in front of several other exhibitors and
spectators. Two ladies brought this to
the clubs attention and a bench show
hearing was filed. I myself witnessed
this as Mr. Pinto was at the inside
corner of the ring and I was at the same
outside corner of the ring taking
pictures.
I was a witness at the bench show
hearing. Mr. Pinto admitted to the bench
show hearing that he did this and he was
found guilty of exhibiting an altered
dog. So what was his penalty? He did not
receive the “standard” penalty
recommended by AKC of 6 months
suspension and a $1000 fine. He received
NO suspension and a $500 fine. He
continued to handle dogs for the
remaining 3 days of the circuit. Was the
dog's win stripped? Of course not. Even
though rules state dogs cannot be
altered and Mr. Pinto admitted to
altering the dog. Sandra Goose Allen
said she would have put her up anyway so
the Best of Opposite Sex win stands and
nothing was done to the owner of the dog
who was there watching! I was told that
he accepted responsibility for his
actions and absolved his client of any
wrongdoing. It appears that if one
confesses to breaking rules, that makes
it okay. Janet Maas
Santiago Pinto did not receive "no
suspension." In fact, he is in the
middle of serving a 6-month suspension.
As to whether it's unusual to wait until
the end of the weekend to begin serving
the sentence, I can't say. But as the
owner of another dog he occasionally
handles, I will say it would have been
extremely unfair to his other clients if
the suspension had begun immediately. I
stand by my statements, communicated
directly to an Australian Terrier Club
of America member, that they really seem
out for blood on this guy. Everybody
knows that pro handlers temporarily
alter their dogs' appearance in all
kinds of ways (e.g. chalk, dye, hair
extensions for poodles, etc.. I wish
they didn't, why not enforce the rule
against everybody? Santiago's mistake
was to get excited, rush to get a dog
into the ring on short notice, and to
assume that a rule that is rarely
enforced is never enforced. I'm not
saying no punishment, just that 6 months
of no income is WAY strong enough,
rather than inadequate as the ATCA
member suggests. Santiago Pinto did NOT
receive preferential treatment! His
offence was putting chalk on a
terrier...This is something that almost
all terrier handlers do, he was just
careless enough to get caught. He
admitted it, apologized, and still
received a 6 month suspension. Patty
Harbison
Dog shows were NOT originally set up to
be 'Beauty contests'. They were started
so Breeders can see what other Breeders
had to offer, now it has become a
business to win win win, maybe if we go
back to why we show dogs in the first
place, much of the controversy
surrounding shows now-a-days would
disappear. Julie Seaton
As a judge, since I am not always able
to discern when, or if, an exhibit’s
color or appearance has been
artificially changed (unless the changes
were made by an inexperienced exhibitor
or a groomer of modest ability) I’d
prefer to not be obliged to pass
judgment on whether or not an illegal
change has been made. Wm. D. (Sandy)
Gunn
Let's start enforcing the rule. Hair
spray can be felt - wiglets can be
detected. Let's get back to why the
dog's breed was developed, and how well
that particular dog meets the breed
standard. Ann Jensen
The Dog Press is the best dog paper
out. Real Facts and true stories. Very
interesting and informative. Keep up
the good work and I vote YES, rescind
the rule. Ruth Prehn
Why, then, the requirement for tail and
ear docking is not apparently considered
an alteration under this rule. To
remove a dog's title for color touch up
is unconscionable if at the same time
you require tails and ears to be cropped
in certain breeds. Patricia McCann
I firmly believe that the rule against
altering or using color should be kept
and enforced. I also believe that all
breeds should be shown as natural as
possible and that the groomers for show
dogs should drastically reduce the
grooming aids used. Mary Carter
I think it is disgusting and cheating to
change a dog's natural hair color. Even
worse is the practice of adding false
hair in the form of hair pieces to
poodles' top knots. Then there are
braces to change bad bites, leather glue
to get and maintain the correct ear drop
in a puppy, tattooing eyelids to get the
correct dark color. What you see is NOT
what you get when you buy a puppy from a
Conformation Champion line. The fact is
that with these rules not being enforced
you have no idea of what the ultimate
appearance of your puppy will be. With
the complete indifference to following
and enforcing the rule against changing
the dog's appearance it is impossible to
breed the best to the best, because you
have no idea of how much altering has
been done to the so called "best." It's
a very sad state of affairs and damaging
to those who do follow the rules,
because who knows whose dog has been
altered artificially. Ursula M.
Walsh
I had a beautiful boxer bitch… dark
brindle and her white came up the
outside of the show side leg but was not
on her body. She was not over the
third, but someone who had been in
showing for many years came to me and
said she could 'fix' the problem and
proceeded to show me how! I did not
show my bitch for two weekends while her
'fix' washed off and I told her to never
touch her again. So, no don't change
the rule! She became a Am/C Ch and had
6 other titles including a BOB from the
Am Bred class so apparently it didn't
hurt her in conformation, did it?
Lois Buchanan
When I am looking at a dog I want to
know that what shown in the ring is
related to reality. One doesn't want
any more surprises in the whelping box
than necessary. Judi Wilson
Until there is random testing for
product on coats by AKC how can this be
enforced fairly? Is hairspray and fake
top knots OK in Poodles but not in other
breeds? It is obvious outside of those
rings what goes on routinely. It is the
same rule for all breeds but rarely
enforced. I was told years ago it was a
judges discretion whether to enforce,
but how can they tell if the dog was
dyed or not? At least you know it is
temporary if it came out of a can at
ringside. And what about all the fixed
tails in Terriers, Goldens and German
Shepherds, etc. It is a very difficult
rule to apply fairly. And who said life
would be fair anyway? Linda Guihen
The whole "no altering of apperance"
rule is treated like a joke by many
exhibitors - terriers and poodles are
dyed, missing eye rims are filled in,
white dogs chalked, coated breeds have
hairspray, gel etc, to make their coat
stick out more... turning a blind eye to
rule breakers contributes to the AKC's
poor reputation. I realize it would
hurt the sales of dog grooming products
and upset prominent breeders/handlers,
but I think the AKC and its reps should
police this more seriously. When a
sheltie in the rain becomes a wet sticky
gooey mess, it's obvious. If the point
is to pick the best breeding stock,
covering up 'flaws' does not achieve
this goal. No dog is perfect. Let them
ALL show with their flaws. – Leanne
By altering a dog, prospective buyers of
puppies are not getting an honest
assessment or picture of the real dog.
If that judge would have awarded the dog
the BOS with or without the product, why
use it? Gini Addamo
Just because there is a bit of larceny
in each of us does not make it correct
to not bring consequences to those who
falsify their exhibits. The rule should
be more closely monitored and enforced
with dogs that enter the ring full of
chalk, spray, trimmed coats when the
breed standard says "to be shown
naturally" being excused along with
their handlers. Anne Copeland
What good is having a rule that is
virtually never enforced? If it were
enforced most all the standard poodles
would be ineligible to be shown and
everyone knows it. Same with the black
Chow Chows. Lynette White
The standard for my breed uses wording
from the AKC rule against altering in
the standard itself yet coats are
altered by trimming off part of the
color and color is altered with
substances like magic marker and hair
dye. In presenting breed seminars to
judges, our presenters address this
issue by asking judges if they like to
be made fools of by handlers violating
not only AKC rules but the wording of
the breed standard itself. As long as
judges reward altered dogs, and it is
frequently very obvious that color has
been changed, handlers will continue the
practice. Removing the rule would give
them free reign to do even more
altering. Where would it stop? With
bites? Ear sets? Surgery to remove
spots? No boundaries; no limits.
Karen Elvin
http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/09093-Grooming-Violations.asp
Related Articles
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Rules Enforced,
AKC Rule Against Alterations and
Rules Ignored
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