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Originally Posted by jencar98  Thank you Jim for posting what I've thought for some time and exactly what I told my friend when she and I were discussing dyeing dogs. Showing dogs too often has become a beauty and/or popularity/familiarity contest and not really about the best representative of the breed. If that is what is accepted and expected then so be it, but it does come across as hypocritical to hold others to standards one doesn't them self honor. |
I don't mean to imply that the show world is full of sub-standard dogs, but I think the focus has become skewed towards the 'beauty pageant' aspect of it. As a result, you have people enhancing dogs, hiring well-known handlers and shopping for venues to get points. It's called politics, but it really does seem more like a silly game,
If you looked at the part I copied from the Polish K.C., you'll see that a dog can be judged to be excellent and not win a title. This could happen in a field of very strong competition. While the dog may not 'win', consistent 'excellent' gradings would, in my mind, validate a breeding program. It shouldn't be all about the 'win' at any cost. If a dog can't be shown in it's natural state with good competiton and do well, then that owner is only fooling him/her self.
Unfortunately, the American system is set up for one to have to 'play the game' in order to do well. This is sad as I see it as detrimental to any breed. A cynic could say that championships are questionable under a such a system as ours and that is unfair to the truly great dogs being shown.
One other thing...did you notice that, under the FCI system, a health certificate must be presented before showing any dog?