Our Hobby

Why do we exhibit? Years gone by, shows were the obvious place to meet up with fellow enthusiasts, talk with and learn from the senior, experienced breeders or exhibitors. In that way, we were able to become aware of the good or undesirable points that we were to take into consideration when selecting stock for both breeding and showing. And then, later on, when we came to start judging, this knowledge was extremely helpful. The operative word was ‘apprenticeship’ – which should surely still apply nowadays? If breeding of future generations depended solely on the number of wins achieved, then some breeds would be in a considerably bigger mess than they currently are!

We should look to thoroughly examine and fault our own stock. When we have bred the perfect specimen, there is nothing else to achieve so we may as well pack up! Aware of any shortcomings, caring breeders will seek out and use lines that are particularly strong in such points, in an attempt to improve future generations. You can’t just learn that from books or the Internet! When starting to show OES in 1962, one of the doyennes of the breed told me, “We are the guardians of a breed in our lifetime, and should always seek to maintain, if not improve, the quality, so that when we leave, it’s still in as good, if not a better start than when we began”. I’ve quoted her many times over the last 45 years and believe it still applies. We plan a litter and hope it will result in quality stock. Sometimes it works, but not always. The attitude of “I only breed top quality show stock” is still held by folk but thank goodness, there remain a few in all breeds who will evaluate with total honesty and place pet stock in loving homes and with Registration endorsements to ensure they are not bred from and pass on faults to future generations.

With the advent of the Official Health Monitoring Schemes, so much has been done to help breeders with information of any genetic problems. Yet quarterly publications of the Kennel Club’s Breed Record Supplement carry very few animals which have been checked out under their relevant schemes. Look at the number of puppies bred and registered, and then look at health monitoring, and in many breeds there will be few, if any, listed in the latter category. Several breeds also have their own particular test scheme. When it comes to jumping over the fence from exhibiting and starting to judge, we all hope that by giving an honest appraisal of the exhibits and placing them accordingly, in time we may accrue sufficient classes and dogs to be put on the A3 list, whereby the Breed Club confirms their support for judging at Championship level and to award CCs

We must all remember that we are being trusted when judging, to honestly place the exhibits in the order that their qualities, (and shortcomings), deserve. A favourite saying is, “Friendships and Prize Cards do not go hand in hand”. That should apply at all levels of shows, and in numerically smaller breeds, it’s inevitable that we may one week be exhibiting alongside someone, and next exhibiting under them as a judge, or indeed judging their dog! Always remember there is an “experienced” ringside at all levels of shows, quite a few of which may be interested in your breed but never likely to own one. However, they could perhaps be likely judges for Open Show level and these people need to be helped.

Therefore, we need to encourage the open shows to schedule our breeds and then our owners to support the classes, to ensure that the breed remains scheduled at their future events. If we don’t encourage the right sort of breed specialists, a minority breed could easily be on a downwards slope towards forever being judged by “Jack of All Trades”, and let’s hope it will never happen. Many years ago, the late Bobby James and I debated the importance of Breed Specialists versus All-Rounders, when it came to maintaining so many points in a breed – type, size, soundness, etc. We always agreed that both were important, especially when the non-specialist was themself a really experienced person who cared about the dog as a whole package, still able to do the work for which it was originally kept and bred. We always came to the same conclusion – 51% versus 49% - but could never agree which of the judges was meant to carry which percentage!