[ SHOWGSD-L ] Reasons entries are down...
- From: Michelle Wallis <midwall@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 21:29:43 -0700
Just my two cents on why specialties are loosing entries...
1) The cost. Seldom are these in your backyard. Handlers cost $$$. Gas, hotel,
pet sitters, meals, and entries.
2) Judges. Lots of great judges out there, but when I see entries for clusters,
often times the judges and their judging choices are very similar. Most of us
can't afford to play and pay just to support an entry. We have to believe
(however naive) that we have a chance. Varying the judges on cluster weekends
will greatly improve entries.
3) All breeds and boosting entries... local all breeds lower most of the costs
above. Therefore, paying entries for an extra dog or bitch to help make a major
is more affordable. And all breed rings are generally smaller so even gimps
like me can hobble around enough to make the entry count, or you can get
someone else to run in and out for you.
4) Local all breed v. far away specialty club. The local all breed here is
great to GSD people. They have bent over backwards the last three years to keep
us happy. Large rings, late ring times, and this last year they invited us to
provide a list of judges we wanted to have... and they did their best to get
them. Two of the four judges were on our list. This club also provides FREE
training classes in the fall months.
5) Specialties... aren't always fun or social, especially if you are new or
don't know people.
6) Handlers. They are harder and harder to get for specialties. Unless you show
A LOT (and I mean A LOT) or are specialing a dog, you have limited options as
to who is available. This is especially true as you go into the higher class
dogs and specials. At all breeds it is much easier to find a handler, and
depending on who you use, it might be less expensive, as they often have
several breeds and lots of owners to split their expenses.
Bottom line... if I am going to enter a specialty or an all breed that isn't
around the corner, I have to really think the judge is going to REALLY look at
my dog (not necessarily put him/her up, but really look at him/her... give me
my entry money and handler's fees worth of time) and put up the best dog in the
ring... not the popular dog or the dog with most prominent owner.
Michelle Wallis
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