The problem with the National is that we treat it as a dog show.Period.
What it should be treated as is our biggest PR opportunity and our biggest
EDUCATIONAL opportunity for our breed.
We can now bring a newbie to the event and they get to look at the
historical photos if they are up and then they can go to watch some dogs
racing around a large ring. The dogs do not look that much alike, they sure
as heck do not look like the historical photos they just looked at, and if
there are actually more than just a few dogs in the class, it seems to the
newbie that it seems very subjective. There is nothing available that
actually tells the newbie anything other than "this is a moving breed" and
all other things are less important than faulty gait. OK - "faulty gait"?
some dogs need traffic lights to manage the passing of hocks past each
other. Others drag their rear toes. Some race like there is a banshee after
them. Color obviously does not matter as there is everything from black to
gray to red to cream. Coat does not matter. Ducking from the judge often
doesn't make a difference. OK, so the newbie decides to watch dogs actually
work (this is a herding breed and that is why the gait is so important, he
is told) but there do not seem to be any sheep. So he finds a few dogs over
in the obedience ring. These dogs may or may not look like the racing dogs
but more often they may actually look more like the historical pictures.
Maybe these are the better dogs? They do not look real exciting but they do
what they are told. There are some white dogs here, some floppy eared dogs
and even a blue eyed dog. The newbie gets more confused and wonders why
they are all so impressed by The National.
I know when the show was in Albany our club invited lots of people to our
educational programs held before the show. We explained the breed,
introduced them to herding, agility, obedience as well as explaining
conformation to them. We had people to answer questions. But the parent
club - those newbies were on their own.
Having several large regional shows like they do with Arabians, for
instance, and requiring that dogs enter a regional to be eligible for
National competition, and include performance events, would make certain
that regionals would get a good assortment of dogs. Dogs could go to
several regionals if the owner felt so inclined but if you are going to the
finals at the National you will have to qualify at a Regional.
Unfortunately the AKC would probably have a heart attack. All of these
regionals would be required to host educational programs (doesn't the
parent club offer a speakers' bureau? Yes, the National would be smaller,
but it seems to be slowly shrinking anyway. With serious regionals maybe
we could get together ad actually promote this breed.
OK - I'm done. I am tired of talking about how the PC is failing in its
primary goal of promoting and improving the breed. This is a list for show
exhibitors and while there are fewer and fewer exhibitors all the time, the
PC is never going to do anything to actually educate the public and promote
the breed. (a few meet the breed boths are not enough) We get a lot of
National Specialties (not GSDs, however) out here all of the time and most
of them offer wonderful educational programs. Most of them go out of their
way to promote their breed. But this PC does not have to. After all,
everyone here knows what they feel is best and the rest of the people can
go suck eggs.
Ruth
