I am a newbie so please take my perspective for what its worth. How about
eliminating the free ticket to Nationals with the Futurity and just have it be
what it was originally attending for…to showcase bloodlines and connect with
GSD lovers. I would also like to see the Futurities all Owner Handled. I think
more people would participate in the GSD show world, in general, if the whole
professional handler thing was lessened. I can’t think of one other breed that
so depends exclusively on professional handlers as does our breed. I would
venture that our breed has the least owner handled dogs of any breed out there.
I know people want to poo-poo this but it actually matters to a lot of people
and effects their decision to participate. I have brought it up before and the
old guard says “if you don’t like it than leave”. I just feel like the GSD show
crowd should, at least, TRY to make an effort to attract new people and that is
not the way.
If the Futurities were all Owner Handled it would return to the idea of
breeders showcasing their own bloodlines. We could change the gait around the
ring rule to just a gait out and back and 1 time across so that most people
could do it. I think a correct moving GSD is easy to spot and they don’t need
to do laps to showcase their good movement. Plus, it would be great to see the
dogs with their owners, less stressed, and just having fun. They don’t have to
be on a long, tight leash to showcase correct movement. Maybe offer a TC test
at the same time so people could, at least, get that out of the way.
I believe that "fun and comrade” do not seem to exist for most people in this
breed in terms of showing conformation. Maybe the Futurities could be a start
to bring back the fun in showing! I picture people bringing items for a pot
luck or cookout; sitting together eating and talking about dogs; and laughing
hysterically as they try to show their own dogs. But, at the end of the
day…people would feel good that they enjoyed their dogs; had excellent company
with new and old friends; and felt like they were part of a greater community.
I don’t know..just a thought.
Sarah
===========================================================================POST
is Copyrighted 2015. All material remains the property of the original author
and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are
permitted without prior permission of both the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its
administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in
any post. POSTS CANNOT BE USED IN A COURT OF LAW.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION: ;
http://showgsd.org/mail.html
NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
==========================================================================
