My question is: why does showsight seem to hate millennials???
Generations in Dog Sports
I listened to a new podcast this morning and thought it was an appropriate conversation for this forum. The topic was discussing millennials in dog sports and was at least partially prompted by the Showsight article that really painted millennials in a rather unflattering light. I linked both below:
digital.showsightmagazine.com
So I'll pose the question that the article did "Where is our next generation of dog people coming from"? The article pretty much implied that millennials should be skipped and all efforts should be focused on those younger than us. Thoughts?
Showsight January 2023
Showsight - The Dog Show Magazine: January 2023 Edition, featuring articles, tips, and information provided with help from breeders, owners, handlers, club members, and judges who have agreed to share their expertise with us.
digital.showsightmagazine.com
So I'll pose the question that the article did "Where is our next generation of dog people coming from"? The article pretty much implied that millennials should be skipped and all efforts should be focused on those younger than us. Thoughts?
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Few thoughts...
1. Attend a conformation show today and look around the ring. Majority of the handlers are millennials with some gen x types as well. They've also been in the sport for at least 10 years or more - with many of them growing up in the sport. Or they got into it as preteens or teens. Many of these people are dedicated to the sport almost as much as they are dedicated to their family breeds or the breeds they've gotten into.
2. I obviously am showing my oldest millennial gray roots here (LOL), because I flipped through that link to Showsight and couldn't come across the article referenced.
?But I will say this.
The last show I went to, I sat with somebody who I consider a good friend and she and her mom have been very kind to me this whole time. We were quietly hanging out and she mentioned how much the sport has changed for goldens. She started showing in the 90's and that was about the time my family got our first golden and started shuffling into the sport of obedience.... and she said that things have changed so much locally. We used to have entries of 60-100 goldens and really huge shows for that matter.... and right now, the only time we get those entries is when big handlers from out of state come to town.
Back when I started, you had big breeders like Halltree who had these big famous dogs and they had equal company with all the other breeders throughout southeastern MI, etc. You had people like Meadowpond who had big show dogs + she was top trainer in obedience. One of the oldest golden clubs in the state also has it's roots with people who did both conformation and obedience, as well as field. And what we are running into is the older crowd (people who are in 70's or older) who are retiring or sadly passing away.
There are people who are Generation X who are stepping up a little as far as building up big kennels and becoming the next round of judges, but this group seems to be less multi-tasking than their parents. So let's say they grew up as junior handlers and pro handlers first.... and this is where they focus. It's one direction (conformation) and not so much doing other stuff like their parents did. And you see the effects on sports like obedience where it is a much smaller group than the prior generation competing.
And millennials are a mixed bag in obedience that I've seen. In the drop in classes that I do, there's another person who comes who definitely is either younger millennial or older gen z. And she's literally an exception vs the norm as far as how good she is at training. And she seriously puts her time in (her dog is a CH and she's pursuing MACH and OTCH with her dog as well, not a golden).
But you have got a lot of younger people coming in who have their own pre-conceived ideas of how to train dogs and they set their own limits regardless of how fantastic their dogs are, and they are not going to learn unless they open up to learning or expanding.There's a ton of other people from Gen X and younger who are very much into dog training, but they don't consider formal training + competition in obedience because they have preconceived notions of not enjoying it or how they see the sport or people who do it. It's like a brick wall getting past that. And it sucks because many have the talent and their dogs are fantastic - but unmemorable because they don't go in to get the titles.
3. When I saw this topic first mentioned on FB, I immediately thought about the people who want to get into conformation because they think it's easy. Then when they find out dog training and a lot of hard work (all that bathing and grooming and conditioning (muscle and coat) is involved + getting clearances on the dogs if a breed like goldens, they back out and cover their butts by saying it's political and MEAN out there. But these people have the dogs so they start breeding them and say they can't do conformation because it's too political, can't do obedience because the dog is too bored or "hates" it, can't do field because it's inhumane, etc. And they still claim to breed dogs who can compete in all the sports and are better and healthier than all the others (with spotty or no clearances) - see the cute youtube videos or tiktok or whatever.... 🥴
(I'm pausing here to laugh because my Jovi tried squishing through a tiny space between my chair and the side wall and his hips got stuck - so he turned his head and looked at me for help LOLOL)
When I said previously that putting 10-20 years in is what I probably expect of people before they become stand alone breeders who can turn around and mentor, etc.... it was because of the above group. We have all seen them come and go on this forum. Many of them if they are the types who are in it for the $ are now breeding doodles or trying to get into that market...
4. But assuming that the article was actually about people who are already in the sports, etc.... I believe it's likely a complaint about young people who grew up in the sport not multitasking or stepping it up to fill the shoes left by their parents and grandparents - that's doing multiple sports or becoming judges, etc.
We are going to have a problem someday if we don't get an influx of new judges - meaning breeder judges. People who have been well-established in their own breeds and have built up serious knowledge and that "eye" for other breeds so they could be good judges. <= I felt like a dork last summer when showing to a judge who was my own age. Because I think we are all used to judges who are at least 30 years older than us! I did a double-take because she looked a handler to me. LOL.
The above comment got too long so here's a second one and a vent.
I had been looking forward to a summer show that's up north and discovered too late that the show has been cancelled for this year because the club lost their show site and have to move to a new place next year. That may be mismanagement, but I see some other conformation clubs folding and closing because even though there's a lot of young breeders in the area who could take over the reins and keep things moving and hold it all together.... they aren't present.
Since I've been showing there's been a small handful of other clubs who either merged with another club or just stopped existing or doing anything. Plenty of breeders, handlers, etc... in the area, but people not putting the time in.
In obedience - there's a different frustration. Nearest club to me (15 minutes away) built a big second building on their land which basically is their agility building. It's the same size as the old building which had been dedicated to both agility and obedience. Since building that new expansion, they've changed a lot of things as far as how they do classes. Used to be no limits to classes from open to close... and now most people are complaining they can't get into the higher level classes which are essentially limited to OTCH trainers who are locking into those classes as soon as they open. This is killing the growth of the sport with new trainers (of all ages).
Rather than opening up and having more high level obedience classes being taught, they've cut back on those and increased the number of pet classes which are assembly line go-nowhere. It stinks.
If I could even convince friends who are tight on cash and spare time to take their dogs to IN PERSON and TRAINING THEIR OWN DANG DOG classes, it's embarrassing not being able to recommend a good solid place nearby!
/end off topic rant rant
I had been looking forward to a summer show that's up north and discovered too late that the show has been cancelled for this year because the club lost their show site and have to move to a new place next year. That may be mismanagement, but I see some other conformation clubs folding and closing because even though there's a lot of young breeders in the area who could take over the reins and keep things moving and hold it all together.... they aren't present.
Since I've been showing there's been a small handful of other clubs who either merged with another club or just stopped existing or doing anything. Plenty of breeders, handlers, etc... in the area, but people not putting the time in.
In obedience - there's a different frustration. Nearest club to me (15 minutes away) built a big second building on their land which basically is their agility building. It's the same size as the old building which had been dedicated to both agility and obedience. Since building that new expansion, they've changed a lot of things as far as how they do classes. Used to be no limits to classes from open to close... and now most people are complaining they can't get into the higher level classes which are essentially limited to OTCH trainers who are locking into those classes as soon as they open. This is killing the growth of the sport with new trainers (of all ages).
Rather than opening up and having more high level obedience classes being taught, they've cut back on those and increased the number of pet classes which are assembly line go-nowhere. It stinks.
If I could even convince friends who are tight on cash and spare time to take their dogs to IN PERSON and TRAINING THEIR OWN DANG DOG classes, it's embarrassing not being able to recommend a good solid place nearby!
/end off topic rant rant
So not responding to your entire post here, but Emma and I actually talk about being willing to play the game (grooming, conditioning, etc.) and the struggles that owner handlers sometimes go through in the podcast. 😃 And we definitely didn’t say it’s easy.Few thoughts...
1. Attend a conformation show today and look around the ring. Majority of the handlers are millennials with some gen x types as well. They've also been in the sport for at least 10 years or more - with many of them growing up in the sport. Or they got into it as preteens or teens. Many of these people are dedicated to the sport almost as much as they are dedicated to their family breeds or the breeds they've gotten into.
2. I obviously am showing my oldest millennial gray roots here (LOL), because I flipped through that link to Showsight and couldn't come across the article referenced.
But I will say this.
The last show I went to, I sat with somebody who I consider a good friend and she and her mom have been very kind to me this whole time. We were quietly hanging out and she mentioned how much the sport has changed for goldens. She started showing in the 90's and that was about the time my family got our first golden and started shuffling into the sport of obedience.... and she said that things have changed so much locally. We used to have entries of 60-100 goldens and really huge shows for that matter.... and right now, the only time we get those entries is when big handlers from out of state come to town.
Back when I started, you had big breeders like Halltree who had these big famous dogs and they had equal company with all the other breeders throughout southeastern MI, etc. You had people like Meadowpond who had big show dogs + she was top trainer in obedience. One of the oldest golden clubs in the state also has it's roots with people who did both conformation and obedience, as well as field. And what we are running into is the older crowd (people who are in 70's or older) who are retiring or sadly passing away.
There are people who are Generation X who are stepping up a little as far as building up big kennels and becoming the next round of judges, but this group seems to be less multi-tasking than their parents. So let's say they grew up as junior handlers and pro handlers first.... and this is where they focus. It's one direction (conformation) and not so much doing other stuff like their parents did. And you see the effects on sports like obedience where it is a much smaller group than the prior generation competing.
And millennials are a mixed bag in obedience that I've seen. In the drop in classes that I do, there's another person who comes who definitely is either younger millennial or older gen z. And she's literally an exception vs the norm as far as how good she is at training. And she seriously puts her time in (her dog is a CH and she's pursuing MACH and OTCH with her dog as well, not a golden).
There's a ton of other people from Gen X and younger who are very much into dog training, but they don't consider formal training + competition in obedience because they have preconceived notions of not enjoying it or how they see the sport or people who do it. It's like a brick wall getting past that. And it sucks because many have the talent and their dogs are fantastic - but unmemorable because they don't go in to get the titles.
3. When I saw this topic first mentioned on FB, I immediately thought about the people who want to get into conformation because they think it's easy. Then when they find out dog training and a lot of hard work (all that bathing and grooming and conditioning (muscle and coat) is involved + getting clearances on the dogs if a breed like goldens, they back out and cover their butts by saying it's political and MEAN out there. But these people have the dogs so they start breeding them and say they can't do conformation because it's too political, can't do obedience because the dog is too bored or "hates" it, can't do field because it's inhumane, etc. And they still claim to breed dogs who can compete in all the sports and are better and healthier than all the others (with spotty or no clearances) - see the cute youtube videos or tiktok or whatever.... 🥴
(I'm pausing here to laugh because my Jovi tried squishing through a tiny space between my chair and the side wall and his hips got stuck - so he turned his head and looked at me for help LOLOL)
When I said previously that putting 10-20 years in is what I probably expect of people before they become stand alone breeders who can turn around and mentor, etc.... it was because of the above group. We have all seen them come and go on this forum. Many of them if they are the types who are in it for the $ are now breeding doodles or trying to get into that market...
4. But assuming that the article was actually about people who are already in the sports, etc.... I believe it's likely a complaint about young people who grew up in the sport not multitasking or stepping it up to fill the shoes left by their parents and grandparents - that's doing multiple sports or becoming judges, etc.
We are going to have a problem someday if we don't get an influx of new judges - meaning breeder judges. People who have been well-established in their own breeds and have built up serious knowledge and that "eye" for other breeds so they could be good judges. <= I felt like a dork last summer when showing to a judge who was my own age. Because I think we are all used to judges who are at least 30 years older than us! I did a double-take because she looked a handler to me. LOL.
Heck, I had 1 'well respected' breeder coming after me demanding to know why I was helping someone wanting to get into breeding & looking for help on this forum.
That is an attitude that simply should not exist, or if it does exist should be kept to oneself ... no way does that type of attitude promote younger folks learning about and growing into breeding & dog sports.
Rant over.
ETA : Boomer generation person here
and yep, I think the younger generations deserve our support & encouragement...
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