[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Interesting Decline Conformation
- From: Terry Cochran <tinky91147@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: David Fritsche <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 22 Feb 2015 07:01:20 -0700
I use to think that until I photographed the Great Dane Specialty here in
Phoenix. Total entry 89. It was the same number of entries they had last
year.
They were worried that I was a GSD photographer. Was I going to be hard to
get along with? Would I make their dog look awful? I am sad to say that we
do have a poor reputation among other dog fanciers. On the bight side, one
of the judges had been to our national and was proud of the fact that he
was mentored by Jim Moses. Was amazed at the size of our ring and said he
would have never been able to see he dogs being shown so far away.
I asked the president of the club how many professional handlers there
were there and she told me three.
Our entries are declining because we are a "Handlers Breed" if you want to
win you need a professional handler. We have done a very poor job of
bringing young folks into the group. The young families go to the German
ring where they have a better chance of winning handling their own dog. And
yes they are there in the German ring, and in the German training classes.
The American specialty ring will soon be a thing of the past as we die out.
We have young handlers but we are running out of young owners and breeders.
Is there a way to turn this around. I really don't think so.
Things change,
Terry
On Sat, Feb 21, 2015 at 8:24 PM, David Fritsche <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
> I’ve stated my opinion on this before, but since it is a current
> discussion, might as well refresh it.
>
>
>
> There are lots of reason advanced that are introspective and blame the
> trends on us. Although we could do better and be more friendly and cook
> better lunches and…. These are not the problem. The problem is cultural.
> Our culture is changing.
>
>
>
> The modular family has declined over the past several decades and will be
> extinct if trends continue.
>
> Those families that do exist have far more draws on their time and
> competition for their attention. There are graded activities for each
> member of the family that keep the family car going 70 different direction
> 8 nights a week.
>
>
>
> Sports and activities have changes also with far more active and dangerous
> activities drawing attention. A dog show you say? How many people will be
> eaten, will fall through the air without a parachute, will do 12 flips in
> the air over a fire pit… ???? What, run around in a circle for a few
> minutes and get pointed to?
>
>
>
> I love it, you love it but you have to understand the details yourself and
> be able to set ringside as judge. Then it is exciting. Otherwise, for the
> current culture – not so much.
>
>
>
> I still love it and do not want to change it and want to be able to get
> out to more shows. But like many of my peers, I am older now and at some
> point I have to make that mark in the sand: No more dogs. My ability to
> handle them and care for them decreases and I do not want to leave a bunch
> of dogs to themselves when I die – and that is an inevitability that is
> slowly chasing me down.
>
> Dave
>
>
>
> *From:* showgsd-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:
> showgsd-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *edwinx@xxxxxxxxxxx
> *Sent:* Saturday, February 21, 2015 9:31 AM
> *To:* dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> *Subject:* [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Interesting Decline Conformation
>
>
>
> So why ( if in fact ) are we slowly going the way of the dinosaur ? Dogs
> are just as popular ( if not more so) in our society as they've ever been!
> I still get chocked up when I see a guide dog, or a police dog taking down
> the bad guy... Why is OUR sport suffering? Is it us? Not blaming, just
> asking! Too many lurkers on this list! Give your opinion, join the
> discussion, or start a new one! Stormy WILL protect you! Look at at all the
> ridiculous things I post! Raiders moving back to LA.... God lets hope so (
> Sorry Zoe..lol) FB
>
> Sent from Xfinity Connect Mobile App
>
>
> ------ Original Message ------
>
> *From: *Evan Ginsburg
> *To: *freelist
> *Sent: *February 21, 2015 at 8:07 AM
> *Subject: *[ SHOWGSD-L ] Interesting Decline Conformation
>
>
> those numbers do not report what is really happening to the core and life
> blood of the Sport, Conformation.
>
>
>
> What do we do? Face the facts. Recognition of the problem with facts is
> the first, easiest, and most obvious step.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Linda brings to us a most interesting issue and study. I printed out two
> lines from the post that set forth the real issue.
>
>
>
> There is a saying, GI, GO. It means, garbage in, garbage out.
>
>
>
> Here is the problem. If you start with the statement that the "life blood
> of the Sport, Conformation", then you have created a problem not based on
> fact. It is clear, Conformation is not the life blood of the sport, any
> longer. Every other facet of dog shows is growing, except Conformation. So,
> is it not time to stop clinging to the theory that the part of the sport we
> on this List love, and keep saying it is the life blood, when it is not?
> Maybe it used to be, but the figures tell us it is not.
>
>
>
> Then, at the end the article says, "Face the facts". So, let's face the
> facts. Conformation has become something less than the driving force for
> dog shows. That is not a good thing, nor is it a bad thing. It is the
> "fact" and we need to face it.
>
>
>
> It is true that we want it to be the "Life Blood", but wanting won't do
> it. We love conformation, but the majority of dog show entries show us
> that what we love is not what is the "life blood" of the sport.
>
>
>
> When we recognize the facts, we can figure out what to do about it. Do we
> want to increase Conformation when the majority of dog show entries don't
> desire that? Maybe so, but if we do that, we need to do it with the
> understanding that we are pushing against the tide. There is nothing wrong
> with "tilting at windmills", so long as you know the windmill is going to
> win.
>
>
>
> Not that there is anything wrong with that, so long as you know what the
> facts are.
>
>
>
> Evan
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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