Who are the people who show dogs? Are they lunatics or fanatics? The dog people have a favorite joke about themselves. They say you don’t have to be crazy to enjoy shows, but it certainly helps! This is because they actually go through many hardships and disappointments but still enjoy it and call it fun. It is one of the fascinating peculiarities of the dog game that the people who are thrown together in the pursuit of this sport are from so many different walks of life: dentists, carpenters, teachers, bankers, housewives, farmers, musicians, engineers, artists, industrialists, young and old, rich and poor. All have the same desire—to take home a blue ribbon.
Perhaps you wonder why they show dogs. I take it you are interested in showing or you wouldn’t be reading this book. I warn you, however, that the day may come when you will
wonder why you ever decided to go in for something involving so much hard work and heartaches but so much sheer enjoyment! Well, why do they show dogs? There are many reasons, and here are a few. First, we have the serious dog breeder. He makes a promise to himself to improve the breed in which he is interested, and he is anxious to compare his dogs with good competition, for it shows him if he is on the right track in his breeding program. This is important. Many dogs look very good at home and only when they are compared with other good dogs can you see if they are better. Comparison is the material of which dog shows are made. Every dog looks good in the back yard, but how does he look in the ring ? To the serious breeder showing is important for another reason. It gives him a chance to let other breeders and fanciers see what he has accomplished. He may own an excellent specimen of the breed, one which would be very valuable particularly for his ability to sire exceptional puppies—but no one would know about him if he were not shown.
Then we have a group of people who look at the dog shows as a competitive and active sport. The dog game affords plenty of action but is not so strenuous as, let us say, skiing or tennis. As a matter of fact, there are a great many physically handicapped persons who show dogs successfully.
We have another group. A man buys as a pet or receives as a gift a puppy which turns out exceptionally well, and he is advised to show it. He does so—makes some nice wins, and the dog becomes a Champion. (I’ll explain Champion a bit later on.) Very frequently this man is “bitten by the bug,” he succumbs, he dreams about breeding his own Champion—he stays
The Brussels Griffon (a toy breed), “Champion Barnumtown Penneywise Gala” shown to her championship by her amateur breeders and owners, Edgar and Ruby W. Klein of Bethel, Conn. around and often becomes an important member of the first group, the serious breeder.
Then we have the person looking for a hobby or perhaps a weekend activity. What better hobby than one which offers you some traveling, some outdoor activity, and a great deal of pleasure and good fellowship while also keeping you fairly active and very much interested ? I remember being at an outdoor show rather early one very beautiful Sunday morning talking to Mr. Percy Roberts. Percy was then a top professional handler—one who shows other people’s dogs for pay; he is now a well-known professional all-round judge—one who is eligible to judge all breeds of dogs. Percy told me that one of his relatives had chided him earlier that morning for being in a profession which occupied all his weekends. He looked around the beautiful show grounds, at Long Island Sound sparkling in the background and dotted with a few sailboats, at the clear blue sky overhead, and as he lovingly patted his dog he began to laugh, and he said to me, “And to think I get paid for this!” Yes, there is much enjoyment to be had in the dog game.
Finally on our list of those who exhibit dogs we have the “show-off,” the exhibitionist. If you like to be in the public eye, here is your chance. Go ahead, show a good dog, you’ll really enjoy it! But I’ll tell you something. One of two things will happen: either you’ll fall in love with the sport and become serious about it and a part of it, giving you an interest which will lessen your need of the spotlight; or you’ll look elsewhere for that spotlight, for without a genuine love for and interest in dogs and the dog game you can’t last, you will become bored, you’ll be forced to find a new spotlight.
If you have thought that you might like to get into dogs, but
have not yet purchased your first one, let me give you a word of advice. There are so many wonderful breeds, each with its own particular charm, that I’m sure you can find just the right breed for you. However, decide on one whose size and temperament fit into your life. Don’t get a Great Dane if you live in a tiny apartment, and don’t get a tiny dog if a high-pitched bark grates on your nerves. Once you have decided which breed you want, please do some studying about what is right and what is wrong for a dog of that particular breed. Read a book on your chosen breed, go to shows, watch the judging, talk to the breeders. Be sure you don’t buy a dog which has a disqualification for his breed and, too, you will be ever so much happier in the show game if you at least start out with a dog which has no serious faults. I cannot tell you here what the disqualifications or faults are, as there are more than one hundred breeds for you to choose from and each breed has its own particular faults. When you are ready to buy, go to a reliable breeder and tell him that you intend to show. A sincere breeder would not sell you an inferior animal if he knew he was to be shown. Many people when they are buying a dog ask for “just a pet,” thinking they will get the animal cheaper. A good breeder wants his stock shown and does not want to be embarrassed by having a dog of his breeding with a serious fault show up at a show, and by the same token he does not want to sell a top dog to someone who will never show him as for all practical purposes he would be lost to the show and breeding world. He would rather sell you a good dog for less money if you promised he would be shown. If he is a big breeder, he cannot possibly get all the dogs he raises to the shows under his own name, and he is always looking for someone to come along who is interested
HOW TO SHOW YOUR OWN DOG
in showing. He will not give the dog away, because experience has taught him that the dog receives better care if he has been purchased and he has a much better chance of actually getting into the show ring when the new owner has paid something for the dog.
