Gen X checking in.. born 1971.. I am on the newer side of dog sports and so far just conformation. When I met my wife 15 years ago her Mom has bred and shown Collies for many years, then we had our daughter that is a third generation Collie person that has been around the Conformation side and going to dog shows since she was a baby. She started handling in Pee Wee around 6-7 years old and started Juniors at age 9. She will be 13 this weekend and she eats, sleeps and breathes dog shows. She is working towards becoming a Handler. It was me that introduced the family to Goldens about 4 years ago but we are learning more and more about the breed with a great amount of help and knowledge I have gained here. The nice thing about being around Collies is that we have an endless knowledge base and most of our close friends have been breeding for many years so we can pretty much finish a Collie in a few shows. We have learned that Goldens are so much tougher to finish than a Collie but we are enjoying the challenge so far.
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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I think it depends on the dogs though...
If you show in conformation, you know there will be girlies in full season sometimes at shows. Heck, people have bred dogs at shows too.
The way to handle it is using stuff on the dogs noses to keep them from smelling the girlies, etc...
But otherwise, it's not too crazy from the conformation perspective.
If conformation dog shows can run smoothly with anywhere from 1000 to 2000 intact dogs and you've got little kids handling some of the dogs in juniors, but even regular classes. And so on.... without incident.
And as I've said before - my first obedience trials as a teenager, I remember going out into the obedience ring outside.... which was literally the next outside ring over from the conformation stuff. This was also back when obedience entries were as big or bigger than today.... and there was more crossover from conformation to obedience (back then the obedience instructors would literally tell people to show their obedience dogs in puppy classes (conformation) just to give them positive ring experience + socialization! <= this was before limited registration + before AKC opened the door to mutts, so it was more expected that if you had a purebred dog with papers, they could show AKC conformation.
I get what the ladies are saying above about "AH bad idea!" about having girlies in season at agility or obedience stuff and the moment people try equating dog rights with womens rights, I'm not having any of that. But you could definitely throw it out there that if a dog is aggressive towards other dogs, there should be no excuse for it.
The bitches in season bans annoy me because I have a friend who basically had the club kick her out of classes for a whole month because as long as her girl was in season, there were people using her dog as an excuse for their dog not being trained enough to ignore distractions like that. <= I remember the day and situation, because the person's dog was going after any dogs near him including mine (who was not a conformation dog, but was unfazed by any smells).
There's some HUGE differences between conformation and obedience. All dogs are on lead in conformation. They are right beside their handler the entire time. In obedience, they are being asked to do complex exercises off lead, away from their handler. I'm already asking a lot of my boy without asking him to ignore his instincts. Can he run obedience at a show? Absolutely! But I choose to put him in that situation on that day. You can't just rub some junk on the nose of a Utility dog and expect him to qualify. He NEEDS his nose!I think it depends on the dogs though...
If you show in conformation, you know there will be girlies in full season sometimes at shows. Heck, people have bred dogs at shows too.
The way to handle it is using stuff on the dogs noses to keep them from smelling the girlies, etc...
But otherwise, it's not too crazy from the conformation perspective.
If conformation dog shows can run smoothly with anywhere from 1000 to 2000 intact dogs and you've got little kids handling some of the dogs in juniors, but even regular classes. And so on.... without incident.
And as I've said before - my first obedience trials as a teenager, I remember going out into the obedience ring outside.... which was literally the next outside ring over from the conformation stuff. This was also back when obedience entries were as big or bigger than today.... and there was more crossover from conformation to obedience (back then the obedience instructors would literally tell people to show their obedience dogs in puppy classes (conformation) just to give them positive ring experience + socialization! <= this was before limited registration + before AKC opened the door to mutts, so it was more expected that if you had a purebred dog with papers, they could show AKC conformation.
I get what the ladies are saying above about "AH bad idea!" about having girlies in season at agility or obedience stuff and the moment people try equating dog rights with womens rights, I'm not having any of that. But you could definitely throw it out there that if a dog is aggressive towards other dogs, there should be no excuse for it.
The bitches in season bans annoy me because I have a friend who basically had the club kick her out of classes for a whole month because as long as her girl was in season, there were people using her dog as an excuse for their dog not being trained enough to ignore distractions like that. <= I remember the day and situation, because the person's dog was going after any dogs near him including mine (who was not a conformation dog, but was unfazed by any smells).
All the clubs I've been to have policies about BIS. Yes, It sucks when you have to leave your girl at home for 3 weeks. That's life if you have an intact girl.
BIS is a hard no for me.
I have intact males & intact females. I do sports where the dogs are off lead and as mentioned once in utility, they need their noses do some of the tricks to lessen the scenting ability is a no-go.
As an aside, beyond the distraction of BIS, especially when they are in primetime window, there is an increased potential for fights...male to Male, female to female and female insisting male listen to her NO.
Plus very worst case scenario (remember in obedience, rally & agility the dogs are off lead and potentially at a distance from their handler) a tie happens. Have both dogs had their brucellosis test? Who is responsible for any resulting vet bills either from fights, pregnancy etc.
Having to sit out 3-4 weeks of events is part of having intact girls and something I personally am fine with. It protects my girls and is really a small price to pay..
I rarely to never attend a combined conformation & obedience trial. I just don't need that particular potential conflict & stress
I have intact males & intact females. I do sports where the dogs are off lead and as mentioned once in utility, they need their noses do some of the tricks to lessen the scenting ability is a no-go.
As an aside, beyond the distraction of BIS, especially when they are in primetime window, there is an increased potential for fights...male to Male, female to female and female insisting male listen to her NO.
Plus very worst case scenario (remember in obedience, rally & agility the dogs are off lead and potentially at a distance from their handler) a tie happens. Have both dogs had their brucellosis test? Who is responsible for any resulting vet bills either from fights, pregnancy etc.
Having to sit out 3-4 weeks of events is part of having intact girls and something I personally am fine with. It protects my girls and is really a small price to pay..
I rarely to never attend a combined conformation & obedience trial. I just don't need that particular potential conflict & stress
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