Who fast-forwarded dog shows past the good ole days when handlers showed for breeders who stuck to the standard by which judges judged?
January 2015 Barbara "BJ" Andrews, Editor-In-Chief
Today it takes a consortium to fund, manage, and successfully promote a dog, even a great one! The list of owners on a Top Ten contender reads like a corporate Board of Directors! Where have the real “dog people” gone?
Before someone turned on the time machine, handlers depended on having one or two dedicated clients who provided their first string dogs. The handler lived close enough to observe the litter and advise the breeder on which pups to “run on”.
There was a time when aspiring handlers apprenticed under master handlers and graduation day came when they were finally allowed to take a dog in the ring. Apprentice handlers picked up poop, X’d the string, and finally, they were taught to show-groom according to the breed and individual dog. The best of them took time to look inside a dog’s head instead of just evaluating side-gait. They learned to motivate and train the dog so that it loved to show. That perfect synchrony and pride in performance wowed ringside and judges.
Back to generational breeders (what a rarity the grown up children of breeders are these days) and maybe one co-owner.
Dog show grounds have sure changed. Another reason entries are shrinking? Once upon a time, we parked close to the building or even at ringside at outdoor shows. I remember everyone complaining about hiking to the rings as Old Dominion grew, and an elderly terrier icon swearing she’d never be back to Montgomery as she struggled through a mile of mud.
But in no time at all, the Cherry Blossom and Tar Heel circuits expanded and handlers started using bicycles, then motor scooters, and finally, everyone had to buy a trailer to haul the golf carts they had to haul to get around the show grounds! Perry (GA) was impossible without show site transportation.
I thought that was just a southern anomaly until I flew out to Del Valle and decided I’d never complain about the GA fairgrounds again.
Thankfully, there were judges like Peter Knoop, Marie Moore, Rex Vandeventer, Roy Ayers, Millie Heald, Ed Bracy, Ginny Hampton, Lou Harris, Connie Bosold, Tom Gately, Eleanor Evers, Joe Heine and others who cared enough to learn about a new breed, which at that time was often un-groomed, untrained and shown by novice owners who lacked control. Add "brave" to the resume of those judges!
If you’re over fifty, you can remember when dog shows weren’t decided before the ink dried on the premium lists. There are still honest, capable judges but like chairs at ringside, they are few and far between.
Junior handlers today find dog shows lots’a fun. A dog is just an accessory, apparently chosen with less care than is their mini-skirt wardrobe and hair stylist.
Times do change. Most can’t even remember a time when handlers were first of all, breeders. Tip Tipton, Roy Ayers, and Peggy Adamson are unfamiliar names to the “canine career managers” of today. There was a time when only the most dedicated-connected-successful handlers were assured of a judgeship. Now anyone can become a judge.
Judging ranks were pretty equally divided between handlers and breeders, lending a perfect balance to the art of judging.
Now, since few people actually do more than dabble as breeders (more owners are in fact "backers" not breeders), that balance is forever gone. We have shifted to another dimension in the sport of dogs. It’s a time warp few of us are old enough to notice. TheDogPress.com EST 2002 © D1811 https://www.thedogpress.com/editorials/time-warped-dog-shows_Andrews-151.asp SSI
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