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I bring up this subject, firstly to encourage thought and secondly hopefully to get some feed back. To encourage feed back you have to be a little controversial. So please, I am not having a dig at anyone in particular, just all of us. Honest breeders generally know when they are getting it right or wrong. The showing of a dog is really the "cherry on top", where breeders receive recognition, the ability to compare their progress with others and the opportunity to have fun. But what happens when the best animals stop winning for some reason, who suffers? Only the breed. Not the judges, not the breeders and not individual dogs. Now for the controversial part! It is the judge's responsibility to find the top animals in the ring and to be able to identify the difference between glamour presentation and true worth. By accepting a judging appointment, they have morally undertaken this task. I hear people saying, "you paid for a judges opinion and you got it". What hogwash! I pay for a judge to evaluate my dog in terms of a standard and accordingly compare it to others. Don't you? If the judge cannot do this, they shouldn't be judging. It is that simple. The best animal should always win no matter who owns or shows it. If not, breeders soon lose interest and we find ourselves in a position where top breeders with years of experience and knowledge start to leave our breed. These are the breeders who hold the breed's hope of teaching novices and newcomers and passing on those years of acquired knowledge. Don't kid yourself, a good breeder turns newcomers into good breeders. No matter how intelligent you may be, if your breed learning process is flawed, you have learnt incorrectly and you will in turn teach others incorrectly. This goes for everything not just dogs. Exhibitors and breeders are also to blame to a certain degree, because we accept bad judging and we do not speak up. England, the home of many breeds including the Shih Tzu, continually breed top animals. Have you ever asked yourself why? It is simple, their culture is built on accountability and in dogs particularly, an ageless manifestation of breed interest first - before personal interest. Been in the breed 10 years? Well in the UK you would be considered a baby with lots more still to learn. Just try and take on the dragons of any breed in the UK if you do not have the breed at heart. Judge badly, and you are in for the high jump. How many USA or Canadian judges are allowed to award Shih Tzu cc's in England, and how many English judges are allowed to award cc's in North America? Prove yourself first and then we will consider you, is the English approach, and proving can take decades. For those of you, who have only seen photos of the English Shih Tzu, don't be fooled by their presentation, or the lack of it. I would like to see some of the top American winners prepared the same way as the English dogs are and see how they measure up. The glamour competition is proving to be the deceptive competition. What can you hide and what can you touch up? Oops! Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Well to Hell with it, what is more important the grooming and presentation or the true worth of the animal when compared with the standard. Have we now become the victims of our own stupidity, by putting the desire to win above breed improvement and allowed professional handlers to dominate through presentation alone. Don't get me wrong, presentation is important and the finishing touches should count, but what about the rest of the dog? Maybe if we all caught up with the grooming and presentation, the judges would need to look further to find the top animal. So please judge my dog, the whole dog. Controversial, yes I am, but our breeds are important to us and we are now finding this trend of glamour first, dog second spreading to other parts of the world. If
this doesn't get you going nothing will. Responses welcome and
encouraged. |
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