[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Interesting Decline Conformation
- From: "cinosamgsd" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "cinosamgsd@xxxxxxxxx" for DMARC)
- To: "tinky91147@xxxxxxxxx" <tinky91147@xxxxxxxxx>, David Fritsche <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 01:34:39 +0000 (UTC)
Conformation entries are on the decline in all breeds.....this is a fact. All
breed clubs/shows are folding left and right. There are many causes which I
think everyone has touched on, but the bottom line is that people are just not
breeding dogs any more. The big kennels are gone. The breeders are gone.
Conformation is primarily a place for breeders to showcase their breeding
stock. It is not something that the single pet owner generally gets involved
in and if they do they almost always bring a single animal to a show and only
do so periodically. Lose the breeders and you lose the entries.
Cindy From: Terry Cochran <tinky91147@xxxxxxxxx>
To: David Fritsche <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "edwinx@xxxxxxxxxxx" <edwinx@xxxxxxxxxxx>; Showlist
<showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2015 8:01 AM
Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Interesting Decline Conformation
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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