[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Realistically.....
- From: DPiagentin@xxxxxxx
- To: Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx, Showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005 09:25:57 EDT
Dear Kathy, what a nice post, and realistically stated. I guess I have
joined the ranks of being around in the old days, when there were 25 - 30 dogs
in
a class and yes a second judge was brought in for bitch judging. Those were
the days also when you brought whole litters of pups to a match show and
everyone pitched in to show them. and yes I did see a lot of dedicated people
in all breeds just making ends meet, raising kids and going to dog shows on
the weekend. I was one of those dedicated people, finished 15 champions, one
gorgeous GV Ceasar and a homebred Select Deb-Mar's Pandora. In order to
accomplish all of this I had to have at least 7 litters a year to finance,
this
expensive hobby, raise two kids, put them through college and insure a future.
Now I guess you can say I am officially retired, from showing german
shepherd dogs, and believe me this was a decision that did not come easy, and
since my dogs live forever, my champion Deb-Mar's Luciano is still going
strong
at 12 yrs of age, I am running an old age home here, and still have 8 german
shepherds, 2 of which I am trying to find good homes for a 6 yr old and a
3yr. old. (not easy to find).
The reality of this hobby is that times do change, we all have gotten
older, don't have the energy to continue the upkeep of having a lot of dogs,
much
less continue to have 5 litters a year to take care of, the expenses of
showing have quadrupled in the last 30 something years.
My pedigrees have been incorporated into one beautiful bitch, so I will not
loose my breeding stock completely and I would like to only have 3 or 4 german
shepherds, and one litter a year for my cliental,who still call for a pup
after 12 yrs. The German Shepherd is a phenomenal breed and I could not be
without one.
I can understand how the number of dogs being shown and bred are on the
decline, and this is not only in shepherds but in many other breeds also, I
have
met quite a number of people at the local all breed shows, that have scaled
down or are no longer showing. these are truly dedicated breeders. The sport
of kings, is no longer a hobby that can enjoyed on the larger scale that we
enjoyed it in the "good old days". Again, Kathy a great post, Diane
Piagentini
"realistically the numbers WILL change. They
will go down eventually."
The above quote is attributed to Mr. Holt and I am not questioning its
accuracy or that he said it. In fact, I'm not debating PAWS at all (tired
of
that, lol!).
I would venture to say, in many cases the numbers HAVE come down. Every so
often, the subject comes up on the list, at club meetings, at shows... of
declining entries, declining regional club members, declining this or that
and
it's sooner or later attributed to cost and time (or lack of).
I'm told that in the glory days (wasn't there!) of having to bring a second
judge in because shows over-filled, you had two parent homes, one stayed
home
and "did the dogs" and on the weekends, parents and kids all jumped into
the
station wagon and went to shows. Sounds like fun, but in this environment
and economy, I just don't see it happening.
Across the spectrum of dog breeds, you have fewer and fewer breeders who
have anything close to the number of dogs that used to be kept. Many, many
that
try are doing it on a shoestring. Gone are the kennel "men". The cost of
land is way up, zoning restrictions are way up, folks move out to more
rural
areas (guilty!) and drive house values and taxes way up, it costs money to
show
dogs, pay handlers and lots of money to pay vets if and when something goes
wrong. And since the "kennel men" are long gone, who takes care of dozens
of
dogs? It's a full time job to keep the ones that I have groomed and happy
and I work from home most days!
Then, not that it's my business, but I was raised by a banker and naturally
I have to wonder when I see so many people, not just GSD people, but across
the spectrum, doing things on such a fragile shoestring, if in fact their
retirement accounts are funded and their children's college accounts are
funded,
if they have good health insurance, or are the robbing Peter to pay Paul
there
too? (I want the house paid for, security and a few good dogs, NOT a few
dozen to have to worry about! You can't eat dog show ribbons!!!!)
I used to see this every so often when I had race horses. You had people
who could afford the freight. I would tell perspective owners to set aside
funds that they could feel comfortable calling "monopoly money". If they
couldn't afford to loose it, they couldn't get in the game, and when it was
gone,
they were done; no fooling with their or their family's security. There was
always some poor soul who didn't phenominal nickels to rub together still
chasing the win though.
Maybe it's a common sight around animals used for hobby or sport. Again,
this isn't directed to GSD people specifically, but don't we all know
someone,
within whatever breed, who is cutting corners and struggling to stay
afloat?
(And don't we worry about them AND their dogs?)
So yes, the numbers WILL change, they WILL go down as the economy evolves,
life styles change people with a little sense cut back when they get in over
their head.
I don't think legislation is the way to go about it. (This isn't about
PAWS or regional zoning, but the truth of a quote taken out of context.).
Instead, the next time I see someone who is over dogged, having trouble
paying their bills and their handler, who has been complaining about
skyrocketing
costs of campaigning a dog bring over an exciting new puppy, I'm going to
speak up and say "why?".
Kathy
three generations of Dual Titled Champions live here!
============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2005. 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 the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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@xxxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org
============================================================================
Other related posts:
