Dog News, June 11, 2010

Dog NewsThe Digest Of American Dogs Volume 26, Issue 23 $5.00 June 11, 2010

Dog News 3

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OwnerMrs. Zoila TruesdaleHi-Tech Kennels

Breeder & Co-OwnerMieke Cooymans

HandlerErnesto Lara

What A Month for

Since coming to America

• American Championship• Best In Show Winner

• Multiple Group Winnerfrom the classes

and now• National Specialty WinnerJudge Mr. Chuck Winslow

CH. BANANA JOE V.TANI KAZARIWe’re Bananas!

This is Hi-Tech’s Fifth Affenpinscher

National Specialty Winner

10 ♦ Editorial

14 ♦ Inside Out

18 ♦ Inside The Sport

22 ♦ Question Of The Week

26 ♦ The Chairman’s Report

30 ♦ Why Don’t We Just Stop Breeding Altogether?

34 ♦ Bests Of The Week

38 ♦ Ten Questions

42 ♦ Brace Yourself

46 ♦ Berndt Offerings

50 ♦ The British Scene

54 ♦ What I Learned At The Dog Show

58 ♦ A Two-Show-A-Day Proposal

62 ♦ Remembering Lorraine Groshans

66 ♦ Thank You!

70 ♦ What A Waste, Dog Woman Of The Year And More

74 ♦ Central Oklahoma Toy Dog Show Weekend

78 ♦ Tibetan Terrier Club Of America National Specialty

80 ♦ Standard Schnauzer Club Of America – 2010 National Specialty

82 ♦ The Gossip Column

86 ♦ Off The Leash

90 ♦ All In The Family

92 ♦ A Gold(en) Star For Versatility

94 ♦ The Juniors Speak

96 ♦ Click – Greater Philadelphia DFA, Huntington VKC & Burlington KC

108 ♦ Click – The Way We Were

119 ♦ Letters To The Editor

BY JOHN MANDEVILLE

BY PAT TROTTER

BY MATTHEW H. STANDER

BY RON MENAKER

BY PEKKA HANNULA, KARI JÄRVINEN AND MARJO NYGÅRD

BY LESLEY BOYES

BY ANDREW BRACE

BY ROBERT BERNDT

BY GEOFF CORISH

BY HUMANEWATCH

BY THE DOG SHOW SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

COMPILED BY MAUREEN LUCAS

BY JOE WATERMAN


BY DR. RICHARD S. PRITCHARD

BY SUSAN CARR & JO-ANN GATZEN

BY ARDEN HOLST

BY EUGENE Z. ZAPHIRIS

BY SHAUN COEN

BY CHARLES C. ROBEY

BY M.J. NELSON

BY KIMBERLY SILVA

BY PERRY PHILLIPS


114 dog show calendar • 118 handlers directory • 120 subscription rates • 122 classified advertising • 124 advertising rates

All advertisements are copyrighted andowned by DOG NEWS, Harris Publications,unless received camera-ready. Permission toreprint must be requested in writing.

DOG NEWS (ISSN 0886-2133) is publishedweekly except the last two weeks inDecember by Harris Publications,1115 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010.Periodical Postage paid at New York.

CONTENTSJune 11, 2010

POSTMASTER:Send address changes toDOG NEWS,1115 Broadway,New York, N.Y. 10010

4 Dog News

10 ♦ Editorial

14 ♦ Inside Out

18 ♦ Inside The Sport

22 ♦ Question Of The Week

26 ♦ The Chairman’s Report

30 ♦ Why Don’t We Just Stop Breeding Altogether?

34 ♦ Bests Of The Week

38 ♦ Ten Questions

42 ♦ Brace Yourself

46 ♦ Berndt Offerings

50 ♦ The British Scene

54 ♦ What I Learned At The Dog Show

58 ♦ A Two-Show-A-Day Proposal

62 ♦ Remembering Lorraine Groshans

66 ♦ Thank You!

70 ♦ What A Waste, Dog Woman Of The Year And More

74 ♦ Central Oklahoma Toy Dog Show Weekend

78 ♦ Tibetan Terrier Club Of America National Specialty

80 ♦ Standard Schnauzer Club Of America – 2010 National Specialty

82 ♦ The Gossip Column

86 ♦ Off The Leash

90 ♦ All In The Family

92 ♦ A Gold(en) Star For Versatility

94 ♦ The Juniors Speak

96 ♦ Click – Greater Philadelphia DFA, Huntington VKC & Burlington KC

108 ♦ Click – The Way We Were

119 ♦ Letters To The Editor

BY JOHN MANDEVILLE

BY PAT TROTTER


BY RON MENAKER

BY PEKKA HANNULA, KARI JÄRVINEN AND MARJO NYGÅRD

BY LESLEY BOYES

BY ANDREW BRACE

BY ROBERT BERNDT

BY GEOFF CORISH

BY HUMANEWATCH

BY THE DOG SHOW SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

COMPILED BY MAUREEN LUCAS

BY JOE WATERMAN


BY DR. RICHARD S. PRITCHARD

BY SUSAN CARR & JO-ANN GATZEN

BY ARDEN HOLST


BY SHAUN COEN

BY CHARLES C. ROBEY

BY M.J. NELSON

BY KIMBERLY SILVA

BY PERRY PHILLIPS


114 dog show calendar • 118 handlers directory • 120 subscription rates • 122 classified advertising • 124 advertising rates

All advertisements are copyrighted andowned by DOG NEWS, Harris Publications,unless received camera-ready. Permission toreprint must be requested in writing.

DOG NEWS (ISSN 0886-2133) is publishedweekly except the last two weeks inDecember by Harris Publications,1115 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010.Periodical Postage paid at New York.

CONTENTSJune 11, 2010

POSTMASTER:Send address changes toDOG NEWS,1115 Broadway,New York, N.Y. 10010

4 Dog News

Dog News 5

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DOG NEWS is sent to all AKC approved judg-es every week on a complimentary basis. Nopart of this publication can be reproduced inany form without written permission from theeditor. The opinions expressed by this pub-lication do not necessarily express the opin-ions of the publisher. The editor reserves theright to edit all copy submitted.

PUBLISHER

STANLEY R. HARRIS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

EUGENE Z. ZAPHIRIS

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

SEAN KEVIN GAFFNEY

ADVERTISING EDITORS

SHAUN COENY. CHRISTOPHER KING

EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS

COLIN KENNEDY

ACCOUNTING

STEPHANIE BONILLA

GENERAL TELEPHONE

212 807.7100 x588FAX NUMBER

212 675.5994

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212 243.6799

EMAIL ADDRESS

[email protected]

WEB ADDRESS: www.dognews.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS

IAN MILLER212 462.9624

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSSharon Anderson

Lesley Boyes

Andrew Brace

Shaun Coen

Carlotta Cooper

Geoff Corish

Allison Foley

Denise Flaim

Yossi Guy

Mary Jung

John Mandeville

Billy Miller

Desmond J. Murphy

M. J. Nelson

Sharon Newcombe

Robert Paust

Lenora Riddle

Sharon Sakson

Gerald Schwartz

Kim Silva

Frances O. Smith, DVM

Matthew H. Stander

Sari Brewster Tietjen

Patricia Trotter

Connie Vanacore

Carla Viggiano

Nick Waters

Seymour Weiss

Minta (Mike) Williquette

DOG NEWS PHOTOGRAPHERSChet Jezierski

Perry Phillips

Kitten Rodwell

Leslie Simis

Paddy Spear

JUNE 11, 2010JUNE 11,, 2010

Dog News Cover StoryDog News Cover Story

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What a ConundrumOne of the current tempests in the olde proverbialteapot at AKC involves the debates surrounding“term limits.” The proposal which was read inAtlanta and will be voted upon at the SeptemberDelegate meeting specifically endorses the existingone year term limit or does away with term limitstotally. The one year term limit initially adoptedby the Delegates has proven to be farcical for anumber of obvious reasons. First of all the termof office a Board Member serves is four years notone––so that strictly interpreted the term limit,presuming one believes in term limits at all, shouldhave been for four years and not one year. That’sa philosophical point. Practically the very peoplemeant to be affected by the ban run after oneyear and usually are immediately re-elected backto the Board from which they have been pushedoff. Now there is a contingent of Delegates, mostof whom have eyes on future runs for the Boardled by Dan Smyth among others who are pushingfor the four year term limit. From a parliamentarypoint of view they cannot substitute the four yearterm for the one year term without publications inthe GAZETTE and readings before the DelegateBody and probably a myriad of other outdatedAKC constitutional requirements. This wouldmean the substitute four years could not be votedupon until after the next Board election in March.What to do is the problem facing those powerseekers. Shall they vote for continuing the one yearfarce and then go back again to the august bodyof representatives and ask for a four year termlimit and then another vote! What to do, is theirquandry. These pages stand four square againstany term limits whatsoever. Do the Delegateshave term limits? Of course not––why should theBoard? Most everyone dislikes both the idea andthe results of the one year term limit. Keep in mindwhy the people pushing the one year or four yearterm limits are really trying to do. Open the door forseats for themselves. They have created their ownbind, however, and now are faced with unhappyresults for them in either event. Our advice is tothink AKC and not encourage power plays whichenhance your own personal situations. Rememberhow a sitting director cast the deciding vote whichmade her president? “Remember the Maine!”Never again. Vote for the proposal which bestbenefits AKC and that is the total elimination of theterm limit philosophy.

The Deaf Dog DebateOur understanding is that in the aisles andcorridors where the Delegates hang out the undercurrent of discussion revolved round the showingof deaf dogs in Agility. Whether this will beofficially reported as having been discussed at theofficial meeting is unknown but doubtful since theofficial meeting took all of one and a half hours. Itseems the meat of what really goes on at theseso-called happenings occurs unofficially the daybefore the meeting at both the Caucus which isopen ONLY to Delegates and which is unrecordedand unreported upon and/or at the DelegateCommittees themselves. At least some of theDelegate Committee reports are publicly reported––eventually. The Co-ordinating Committee whichsort of oversees all the other Committees seemsto act as an entity unto itself and as far as thesepages know reports its findings to God alone. Yearsago when these committees were originally formed,conceived by David Merriam and introduced byJohn Ronald these pages and many writers onour Staff vehemently opposed their creation––tono avail and still feel the same way today as they

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DOGNEWSEDITORIALdid then. Their activities still seem basically unnecessary tothese pages and certainly the expense of running them hasgrown to proportions never imagined by its founders. But wedigress––this thought was to have been about the alleged deafdog discussions. As reported to these pages most people areagreement that no dogs should be exhibited in conformationwith any type of hereditary impairment including deafness.Whether this should apply to neutered or spayed exhibits inAgility seems to be the point of contention. The Dalmatianpeople are pretty adamant against deaf dog being admittedto Agility officially. Even though some seem to be willing toadopt the “don’t ask, don’t tell” position being all but rejectedby most Americans today with regard to gays in the military.In the long run these pages agree with those willing to admitdeaf dogs which are neutered and or spayed to compete inAgility––what’s the problem? We really do not see one.

College PetsAt Stevens College in Columbia Missouri 30 incoming freshmanhave asked to bring a family pet to campus when they arrivethis fall. The college is renovating a dormitory for the studentsand their companions most of which are dogs and cats. Thedorm, dubbed Pet Central, will have a makeshift kennel onthe first floor, staffed by work-study students who will offertemporary boarding. Stephens joins a growing number ofschools putting out a welcome mat for pets. These includeMIT, the State University of New York at Canton, EckerdCollege in South Florida and Washington and Jefferson Collegein Pennsylvania all of which set aside rooms for students withdogs or cats and others who love animals so much they wantto live them them. The policies for keeping pets differs at allthese schools but certainly the Washington and Jeffersonadministrators need a lesson in basic dog understanding whenthey state, “Pit bulls, Rottweilers and wolf breeds, or any mixcombining these, are not allowed on campus at any time. Dogsmay not exceed 40 pounds in weight when fully grown.” Nowthen there is no problem with a weight limit but to restrictbecause of breed is down right unacceptable. It should be thedeed and not the breed which is under consideration. Whatkind of lesson is learned by discriminating on any level for thecollege student––breed discrimination should enjoy no formof positive recognition whatsoever on any level of society andcertainly not be endorsed by college authorities.

6 Grand A DogThe MTA recently approved the purchase of six GermanShepherd dogs at a cost of $35,800 for its elite, highly trained,bomb-sniffing, crime-fighting units. The transportationauthority police, who patrol the region’s buses and rails have45 dogs (a few labs) while the NYPD has 86 dogs and the PortAuthority 46 on hand. “They’re the best technology that’s outthere, and they’re worth every penny,” said Mr. Morange, theTA’s director of security. The male GSD’s went for the abovequoted $6,000––the bitches for $5,800. Most come from theConnecticut Canine Services, a training center with dozens ofmunicipal clients along the Eastern Seaboard. The Web siteof CCS advertises, “Police dogs, personal protection dogs,boarding and training.” Each German Shepherd undergoesthree months of rigorous training with the officer with whomit will be working. While the dogs sound expensive they seemwell worth the expense as they travel round the mass transitsystem ensuring some degree of personal safety in what is oftdescribed at best as trying times these days.

Thought For The WeekThe rules in the U.K. clearly state that a breeder cannot judgeany dog they have bred EVER in a breed competition. No onecan enter a dog directly under its breeder! However should anexhibit appear in a group or BIS competition under its breederit may be exhibited. The usual procedure is to withdraw theexhibit––the Brits truly love their “LAPS OF HONOR.” Tothe best of the recollection of those contacted in the UK noone can recall such a dog not being withdrawn on the oddoccasion it has happened. Of course our Rules make no suchproviso––indeed in the breed it may be shown with certaintime restrictions. Oh well, vive la différence is easy enough tosay, isn’t it.•

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I can’t catch a break.I complain to the point of harping AKC

must do research. Then they do some – ormore accurately hire a market research firmto do some – and my reaction to the point ofserious annoyance is who at AKC blessed thequestionnaire used to gather data?

Always au courant as they are a fewweeks ago we received an email from AKCwith a link to their survey. I don’t knowhow many people were sent the survey linkor where their email addresses came from,although apparently the addresses came fromAKC registrations. That’s the only place AKCcould’ve gotten our address because of howwe do email.

A major goal of this column – asidefrom snide, but always insightful or funny,comments about the powers that be – isproviding useful info. Here is one suchpotentially invaluable tip:

You know you need to be careful usingyour personal email address, even if you’renot as careful as you should be. Always haveone or more other email addresses – anduse them – for everything except personalcommunications. This most definitely meanseven something as seemingly innocuous as,say, AKC registration applications.

Getting a bunch of additional emailaddresses is a snap. And, as long as we’rewasting time with asides about email: Onceagain, for god’s sake, DO NOT, never, notonce, no how, no way, no time put in an emailanything that would do more than make yousquirm were it to appear on the front pageof The New York Times…or DOG NEWS, ofcourse.

You won’t do that. But you should.I started this column citing my “serious

annoyance” about AKC’s survey.Let’s not go overboard. The survey is more

than respectable.Still this survey question drives me nuts,

“In the past year how much did you spend intotal on AKC EVENT registrations?” (AKC’sunderlining).” One can’t even presume mostpeople getting the survey – since it may havegone to mostly pet registrants – understandwhat’s meant is “entries” not “registrations.”That is annoying.

Here’s the deal. There’s no chance“Directions Research, Inc” the Cincinnaticompany… hmmm, that screams for anotheraside: How does AKC with its slavishcommitment to New York City justify using anOhio firm for marketing research?

InsideInsideInsideInsideInsideOutOutOutOutOutOutOutInsideInsideOutInsideOutInsideInsideOutInsideby John Mandeville

Credit Card Research

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For the same obvious reasons everyone else would. Itcosts less – be real, it probably costs a lot less – for every bitas good work as a New York City firm would’ve provided.

Explain to me again what benefits a nationalorganization concerned with purebred dogs derives frombeing headquartered in New York City… with most ofits employees located elsewhere? Oh, right, there areconsultants who can justify anything… but only the twisted,politically charged, narrow-minded, self-serving wouldn’thave long since built a permanent headquarters suitable forhosting national specialties and educational activities of alltypes.

That AKC didn’t complete the plan to do that is a joke.That it continues not to do it is a disgrace.

There’s no way Directions Research or any othercompany would’ve done the survey without having someoneat AKC responsible for approving the questions. Wouldthey? Somewhere between the would-be credit cardprovider, Directions Research, and AKC something fellthrough the cracks.

If someone from AKC approved the survey’s questionsthey were either asleep at the switch or more likelydon’t know squat about events. I find it one tick short ofimpossible thinking someone knowledgeable about eventswouldn’t have said, “It’s event entries. Not ‘registrations.’”

Like it or not that means a combination of ignoranceand arrogance chose not to have the survey reviewed bysomeone event knowledgeable. That annoys me.

AKC does not need dog knowledgeable people in everyposition, but they can’t afford to have anyone drawing acheck who does not know when they should have somethingreviewed by the people with dog knowledge.

As for the survey in its entirety: It obviously appearsto have been driven by the credit card company with AKCinput… without enough of the latter.

The powers that be at AKC had better take that to heart.This time the survey isn’t as good as it should have been,but it won’t cause big problems. Another day, a differentproject and the results might be unpleasant and costly…remember the admiral’s Complete Dog Book fiasco.

Being fair – as we always are, to say nothing aboutbalanced – the survey’s fine. It concerns AKC loyaltyprogram concepts. Two are offered: 1.) Free sign up onAKC’s site and get, I guess, a number you use in some wayon AKC’s site, including for registrations and – what’s veryinteresting – “Entering a dog in an AKC event” or 2.) Anaffinity credit card that provides rewards – like the MC/VISAcards most of us use for airline miles – for all purchases with“double” points for vet charges and “pet store” purchases.

Bottom line: There’s every reason for AKC to have aloyalty/affinity credit card. AKC can use the income and lordknows the fancy and everyone else charges plenty.

So, what percentage of the fancy is like us, willing toswitch to AKC’s card, when we’re given as good a miles dealas we currently get? Well maybe we’ll need some thousandsof bonus miles to switch. •

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California’s famous MissionCircuit held at the Los AngelesCounty Fairgrounds has alwaysbeen a memorable one for thisexhibitor. However, I hadn’tbeen there for almost 20 yearsand although I knew the layoutof the cluster was entirely

different, I had no idea what to expect.Well, the long-time cluster movers and shakers

knew exactly what they were doing when theywent to this new format. Arlene and Lowell Davisand Joe Waterman have worked successfullytogether on this project for decades. Along withTony Vasquez, the event planning resulted in asuper user-friendly cluster of shows.

One could drive to the loading zone and unloaddogs to air-conditioned comfort in a reservedgrooming area and take advantage of valetparking in the vast Fairplex layout. Two groomingbuildings provided plenty of space for exhibitorsto prepare their dogs and take a short walk tothe vast building that held the rings. Day of showgrooming was also available to all so that no oneneed worry that there would be no space for themupon arrival. A designated grass exercise areawas in close proximity. Fairground personnel keptall buildings and rest rooms very clean. And thehost hotel was right next door. Judges voicedappreciation for this accessibility, as they couldretreat to their rooms upon completion of theirassignment should they so desire. And the clubsprofiled a very competent slate of judges whomade all exhibitors feel welcome.

With this inviting venue, it’s no wonderthat entries were solidly in the 2000 range andkeen competition resulted in four different dogswinning the red, white and blue over a greatAmerican weekend celebrating those whosepatriotism was the ultimate sacrifice. The SmoothFox Terrier of Eddie Boyes won the last BIS andwas the only group winner to take all four grouphonors. Amy Rutherford’s Portuguese WaterDog bitch captured the first best followed byBill McFadden’s Pomeranian and Larry Fenner’sBouvier in the next two shows. These wereoutstanding lineups that did the show organizersproud.

To see Joe Waterman so on the road to totalrecovery after his devastating episode earlierthis year was a real upper, and he still shares hisrepertoire of jokes and stories. He and Arleneand Lowell Davis truly know how to work withthe clubs (Antelope Valley, San Fernando, SanGabriel Valley and Los Encinos) to assure smoothexecution of all activities. Lowell says they arealways tweaking the shows and consideringchanges to make for the good of the order in thefuture. The well-planned and successful agilityand obedience activities were in separate areasand one change under consideration is to movethem into the air-conditioned buildings available.The weather was so wonderful this year thatall of the show would have been comfortableoutside. However, one can’t always depend on theweatherman and that venue has been brutally hotin the past.

Good to see Los Encinos President Carol

by Pat Trotter

InsideTHESPORT

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A Memorial Weekend To Remember

Esterkin and V-P Irving Bonios on the job on Saturday. Long-time hound breeders and enthusiasts, they are both part ofthe cluster cooperation that makes for good club compatibility.With so many downsides to life in general and dog shows inparticular these days, it is truly refreshing to see a positiveclimate amongst dog clubs, their shared shows and theirpersonnel.

The overall upbeat attitude of all was marred only by thedeath the previous week of Corky Vroom, long time MissionCircuit stalwart competitor and winner. The Memorial weekendbrought attention to losses of loved ones over the years, and therecent loss of Corky was in our minds and hearts. In my recentarticle commemorating him, I accidentally left out the nameof Van Pusey as amongst Corky’s many assistants over theyears. Van was with Corky during some of his greatest years,including the glory days of the Bouvier Iron Eyes. He was a hardworking, loyal assistant now on his own for a number of years,and I hope he’ll forgive my lapse. The lovely Tiffany Saxon cameinto Sue and Corky’s life during the 14 years I lived in Nashvilleand was his last assistant before his retirement. Now on herown, she is carrying the dedicated lessons learned at his sideinto the future.

It was the second weekend of the pursuit ofthe Grand Champion title, and both judges andexhibitors seem comfortable with the process.One complaint of the judges that exhibitors needto keep in mind has to do with condition. If youare going to bring a dog back out of retirementto seek this Grand Champion title, make sure theanimal is in shape and proper coat befitting itsbreed. A big plus is the opportunity for dogs to beseen that have been out of the ring for a few years.And it is amazing how happy they are to be back!However, keep in mind they must be champions

of record with AKC to qualify for the title. So one can enter anolder champion in veterans or any other non-regular class suchas field dog and compete for Best of Breed and the “select”designation. Shows that have special veteran’s classes thatare judged after BOB are exceptions to this general rule. If aclass dog goes Best of Breed over champions, those defeatedchampions are eligible for “select” designation. Judges mustremember to write the numbers of all select dogs in theappropriate places in their books. In the event that an ineligibledog is awarded “select” and isn’t qualified for the title, theoffice of AKC will pick up on it and act accordingly.

AKC President Dennis Sprung seemed happy about thefancy’s reception of this new program while visiting at ringsidewith a lovely lady––none other than the delightful Lil Schwartz.Son Bruce and Mom Lil are enduring supporters of the MissionCircuit and other Southern California shows and are excitedabout breeding their lovely imported Welsh Terrier bitch again.No wonder, as Noraly epitomizes the blockiness throughouthead and body so desired by breeders.

Matt Stander and Gene Zaphiris were also in from theEast, and always bring laughter and excitement with them.Socializing with them was Lesley Boyes whose recovery fromher accident over Montgomery County weekend is nothingshort of miraculous. No doubt about it-dog show people aremore resilient than the average person and have hiddenstrengths and courage.

With majors in a lot of breeds including my own, the MissionCircuit still stands as one of the “must make” weekends inthe Golden State. It’s fun. It’s California “laid back” and it’sa chance to visit with those you don’t get to see on a regularbasis. With all due apologies to Mr. Wolfe, you can go homeagain.•

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Celeste GonzalezI have to ask what theimpact on the dogs willbe? What if two clubs goto four shows in oneweekend? How will thataffect the dogs? I haveto ask what the impactwill be on the individualclub? What will be thecost-benefit, if any?(Human resources,increase/decreasein rental site fees, judgesfees and expenses, etc.)Will this lead to theproliferation of MOREshows? Something wecertainly don’t need.There are manyquestions eachindividual club must askitself before taking onthe proposed scheme.Ultimately, it mustbenefit the dogsand the clubs, notranking systems.

Pam GoldmanIt could work well for thesmall shows.

Terry GoldmanI feel that in remoteareas to hold back-to-backs in one day with alimit of 600 dogs wouldwork to the benefit ofthe Club. I really neededmore time to study thepros and cons. Show mein black and white how

WeekT heT he

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of theof theBY MATTHEW STANDER

How do you feelabout the Dog ShowSuperintendentsproposal to AKC topermit shows withentries of lessthan 600 dogs (andpossibly up to800 entries) to holdtheir two eventson the same day?They note this isNOT adding eventsto the calendar buttaking events heldover two days andpermitting them tobe held in one day.(See page 58 for theproposal and theSuperintendent’srationale.)

this can work. However,in my opinion, for anyClub holding 1200 ormore dogs certainlythis would need a lotof research. This is toomuch too soon with outthe right figures andtime allotted.

Sue GoldbergHaving recently judgedin Canada wheretwo shows a day arecommonplace, andjust returning from a450 dog show here inthe US where judgingstarted at 9 a.m. anddespite lengthy delaysbetween groups dueto an unevenly loadedjudging panel, endedby around 4 p.m., Ican see where twosmall shows in one daycould be beneficial. Itwould save the clubsconsiderable expenseas they could condensesite rental, tentingcosts, judges’ hotel andmeal expenses, etc.As for the argumentthat this would betoo stressful for thedogs, I checked breedstandards in all sevengroups. Statementslike, “Must go andkeep going,” “robust....strongly built...

powerful,” “athelticdog, capable of greatendurance,” “greatstability, vigor andstrength,” “substanceand stamina,” “herderof the family poultryflock,” “agility,”“graceful, alert, swift-moving,” would deflatethat easily. Dogswho are expectedto work, to hunt, toherd, to catch vermin,etc. should hardly beoverstressed by twostints on the groomingtable and in the ringtwice for a short timein one day . As always,those owners who feelthat this would overtaxtheir dogs are free toenter only one of theday’s events. Assumingcareful attention todetail on the part of theshow committee andthe superintendents,this idea woulddefinintely be worthpursuing.

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Ch Kismet Special Edition

Get carriedaway!

Handled by Katie ShepardAssisted by Lexie Ditlow

Owned by Bonnie Miller DVM &Katie Shepard

Bred by John and Libby Naimo &Katie Shepard

A special thank you tothe judges who haverecognized Carrie’s

Quality and Breed-type.

Ms. Linda More

Mrs. Christine E. Calcinari

Mr. HowardYost

(and not pictured: )

Ms. Bonnie Linnell Clarke

Ms. BonnieThrelfall

Col. Joe Purkhiser

Dr. Richard Hilderman

Ms. Rita Bell

Carrie™™

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AKC Adds New Titles In Conformation,Companion and Performance Events

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TheChairman’sReport

Since the start of the year, eachevent type – conformation, companionand performance – now offers itsexhibitors a brand new AKC title. Theconformation and performance titleswill appeal to the long-time exhibitorwhile the companion title will helpbring along the novice handler orinexperienced dog.

Last month, Conformation addedthe Grand Champion title. Judgesnow have the opportunity of awardingGrand Championship points to theirBest of Breed and Best of Oppositewinners as well as to additional AKCChampions with the Select Dog andSelect Bitch award. We believe thistitle gives breeders and owners a newway to showcase the quality of theirbreeding stock to judges and otherbreeders and exhibitors alike. Weencourage you to take advantage ofthe enhanced conformation title.

We are proud to announce thatwe already have the first AKC GrandChampion in history - a 4-year oldWeimaraner named GCH Monterra’sBest Bet, MH – who finished histitle in six consecutive shows. As anadditional recognition for dogs thatcomplete their Grand Champion title,they will also receive an invitationto the AKC / Eukanuba NationalChampionship.

Starting this summer, Companionevents will offer a new BeginnerNovice obedience title. This title is anexcellent competitive event for boththe novice handler and dog. Mostexercises, a blend from Rally andCompanion Dog, are completed on-leash.

In the Performance area,Earthdog competitors now havethe opportunity to earn a new title- the Endurance Earthdog - thefirst addition since the program’sinception in 1993. This EE titleprovides a new challenge for dogsthat have earned their MasterEarthdog title by requiring them toearn five double qualifications inmaster and senior. A Border Terriernamed “Rosemary” recently earnedthe first ever EE title.

As you know, Parent Clubs alsohave a variety of breed specificsports and events. The Boardrecently approved a program toallow the recording of parentclub performance event titles ifAKC does not provide a test forthese breed-specific skills. TheBloodhound Club of America is thefirst to apply for acknowledgmentof its titles with their “man-trailing event”. If your parentclub would like to participate inthis new program please contactPerformance Events AVP DougLjungren at [email protected].

As you can see, it’s an excitingtime for AKC exhibitors. Whetheryou want to compete further, addmore titles or participate in parentclub events, we hope these newAKC titles will inspire you to reachhigher goals, remain longer on thecompetitive trail, and provide youwith more ways to bond with yourdog.

Sincerely,Ron MenakerChairman•

June 7, 2010

Dog News 27Number Two overall

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In Crufts, a lady was loudly demanding an end to dogbreeding. What if we did exactly that? What actuallydoes dog breeding mean, and what would there be

without it?In effect we are “breeding” dogs every time when

we select which dogs get to mate with each other, evenwhen the mating partners themselves are of mixedbreeds. “Your Spot and our Fluffy might have lovelypuppies together,” is selective breeding, too. But if webanned all dog breeding, our canine friends would haveto be given free rein in choosing who they mate with.Just go to the park, let the bitch free and watch whichmale gets lucky.

When dogs are allowed to choose for themselves,it doesn’t take very long before there forms a “villagedog” population. These dogs would have no other taskthan to be pets. There’d be plenty of Tramps but noLadies. No doubt these perhaps peculiar-looking muttswould be loved and cherished nonetheless, but whatcould we do with them? Dog sports would turn intopet-keeping.

Dog breeds as we know them would soon disap-pear. What would be the harm in that––are they reallyneeded? Just think: each and every breed has a pur-pose. They have all been developed to fulfil some taskin a certain environment. One example is the Finnish

30 Dog News

WhyDon’tWeJustStopDogBreedingAltogether?

by Pekka Hannula, Kari Järvinen and Marjo Nygård

When trying to fully comprehend what some phenomenon or concept

means, it is sometimes easier to approach it negatively, from its oppo-

site. What would it mean if things weren’t as they are; what if the con-

cept we’re trying to understand didn’t exist? What if you had no friends?

What would it be like if you couldn’t read? What if there were no speed

limits and we relied instead on people’s good sense?

The Finnish Spitz has been developed to work as abarking bird dog, aiding the hunter to catch tree-dwelling small game (birds, squirrels). This is whythis breed is compact and relatively light and small,quick-footed and agile, with a clear, loud bark. Thethick, dense coat is very much needed, particularlyduring the cold season. Already a photo reveals theessence of the Finnish Spitz: its keenness and stami-na. It looks exactly like it is––a fearless, energetic dog. CONTINUED ON PAGE 98

Dog News 31

32 Dog News

Dog News 33

Southern Indiana Kennel ClubSiberian HuskyCh Topaz T.R.O.U.B.L.EJudge Mrs. Patti A. Long SmithOwners Kiki Courtelis, J. & H. Witt, J. WilkinsonHandler Frank Murphy

Huntingdon Valley Kennel Club - SaturdayToy PoodleCh. Smash JP Moon WalkJudge Ms. Arlene CzechOwners Ron Scott and Debbie BurkeHandler Kaz Hosaka

Olive Branch Kennel Club - SundayBasset HoundCh. Topsfield-Sanchu American ExpressJudge Mrs. Francine SchwartzOwners Claudia Orlandi, Claire Steidel &Sue FrischmannHandler Bryan Martin

Toledo Kennel Club - SaturdayStandard PoodleCh. Dassin Hillwood Dierks BentleyJudge Mr. Robert SturmOwners Ellen M Charles and Joseph VergnettiHandler Joseph Vergnetti

Southern Indiana Kennel ClubChinese Shar-PeiCh. Chaoyang Take It To The Limit at NuStarJudge Mrs. Judy English MurrayOwners Deborah and Robert Cooper andLinda TeitelbaumHandler Nina Fetter

Charlottesville-Albemarle Kennel Club I & IIGreyhoundCh. GrandCru Clos ErasmusJudge Mr. Peter A BaynesJudge Dr. Bernard McGivernOwners Melanie S Steele & Rindi GaudetHandler Rindi Gaudet

Greater Philadelphia Dog FanciersBurlington County Kennel ClubWhippetStarline’s ChanelJudge Dr. Eric LiebesJudge Mrs. Judith GoodinOwners Lori and Carey LawrenceHandler Lori Wilson

Toledo Kennel Cub - Sunday15” beagleCh. Torquay Midnight ConfessionJudge Mrs. Susan St. John BrownOwners Mr. and Mrs. Marco Flavio Botelho andMarcelo ChagasHandler Marcelo Chagas

MIssissippi Valley Kennel ClubPortuguese Water DogCh. Aviator’s Luck Be A LadyJudge Mr. Bruce SchwartzOwners Victor Malzoni, Cathy Dugan & Joseph ValleHandler Amy Rutherford

Gateway Sporting Dog Association - FridayMississippi Valley Kennel Club - SundayGordon SetterCh. Firethorn & Sandpiper’s Easy on the EyesJudge Dr. Robert A. IndegliaJudge Mr. Michael J. DoughertyOwners Don & Pat Coller, Mary A. McLoughlin DVM,Christina KirbyHandler Eileen Hackett

Kennel Club Of Pasadena - SaturdayRhodesian RidgebackCh. Pupukea Ridge Ikaika O Spring ValleyJudge Dr. James D. SillersOwners Tom and Barbara Peach , Pam LambieHandler Pam Lambie

Fox River Valley Kennel Club - SaturdayBorder TerrierCh. Tyrolian Eight Belles at MeadowlakeJudge Mr. Douglas R. Holloway Jr.Owners Thomas H Bradley III and Karen E. FitzpatrickHandler Karen Fitzpatrick

St. Lawrence Valley Dog Club - SaturdayBorder TerrierCh. Meadowlake Overnight CelebrityJudge Mr. Lester MapesOwners Ray and Ginger Scott, Tom Bradley andKaren FitzpatrickHandled by Ginger Scott

Ladies Kennel ClubAfghan HoundCh. Thaon’s MowgliJudge Mrs. Jacqueline StacyOwners Jay T Hafford, James Blanchard, andAnn SternerHandler Jay T Hafford

Flatirons Kennel Club - Saturday & SundayPugCh. Kenshei And That’sThe Way It IsJudgeJudgeOwners Sheila Kessler, Kent Meyer, Doug HuffmanHandler Doug Huffman

Fox Valley Kennel Club - SundayBoxerCh. Jokar’s Blonde Ambitions Of Happy TailsJudge Miss Sandra WeeksOwners Carrin Cole, Amy Bieri & Vera KollarHandler Amy Bieri

To report an AKC All Breed Best In Showor National Specialty Win Call, Fax orEmail before 12:00 Noon TuesdayFax: 212 675-5994Phone: 212 462-9588Email: [email protected]

JUNE 11, 2010JUNE 11, 2010

TheTheoftheoftheBestsBestsWeekWeek

34 Dog News

Dog News 35

36 Dog News

*

*

*The Dog News Top Ten List - All Breed

Dog News 37

1010988776655

44332211

questionsquestions

What is yourfavorite dogshow momentexclusive ofa win?

Whichtalentwouldyou mostlike tohave?

Whichwords orphrases doyou mostoveruse?

Who isyourreal lifehero orheroine?

If you couldchange onething aboutyourselfwhatwould it be?

OtherpeoplethinkI am:

How wouldyou describeyourself in apersonal ad?

What was yourmost embarrassingmoment at adog show?

Which judge, no longer alive orjudging, do you miss the most?

What do you miss the mostat dog shows?

It is not just one. I enjoy watching new com-ers accomplish their goals.

Ballroom dancing

“Sorry”

My grandmother

To be healthier.

Always willing to helpothers Workaholic

Being taken away in anambulance after steppingwrong on some steps andspraining my ankle.

Annie Clark

I miss the depth of quality we hadin our dogs in years past.

Asked ofChris Ann Moore

Born: St. Charles, MissouriResides: Lavaca, ArkansasMarital Status: Married

By Lesley Boyes38 Dog News

Dog News 39

40 Dog News

#1 RHODESIAN RIDGEBACKALL SYSTEMS 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Winner of 11All Breed Best In Shows

MULTIPLE BEST IN SHOW AND MULTIPLE BEST IN SPECIALTY SHOW WINNING

CH. PUPUKEARIDGE IKAIKA O SPRING VALLEY CGC TDI

Kennel Club of Pasadena - SaturdayJudge: Dr. James D. Sillers

Kennel Club Of Pasadena - SaturdayJudge: Dr. James D. Sillers

Dog News 41

by Andrew Brace

BRACEYOURSELF

42 Dog News

Statistics seem to be painfully absent to prove the allegations. Onething is for sure, and that is the fact that many of the pure-breds seen byveterinarians for treatment are produced by commercial breeders whohave little regard for their dogs’ welfare or future, and certainly do notbecome involved in any of the health schemes that are recommendedby the Kennel Club and utilised by all serious breeders who show theirdogs.

Unfortunately it is these very dogs that help create the profile of thepure-bred, many of whom live long and healthy lives, only seeing theirlocal vet for regular inoculations and nothing else.

Breeders who produce dogs for the show ring tend to have differentattitudes and approaches towards close breeding. (The term “in breed-ing” is generally accepted by the sport to mean breeding parents to chil-dren or siblings to each other; other forms of close breedings are usuallyreferred to as “line breeding”.) In recent months the Kennel Club in theUK has outlawed registering puppies from these very close breedingsbut at present, for example, it is still possible to breed a bitch to hergrandsire and register the progeny. How long that luxury remains inplace remains to be seen.

If we examine the whole concept of close breeding we need to ac-cept that when breeds were being developed the stockmen who weredoing so were involved in breeds that were bred to perform a specificfunction. To that end they needed breeding stock that was capable ofperforming their job, and furthermore that were hale and hearty andvery much “fit for purpose”. As dog shows got organised their func-tion was for stockmen to compare their breeding animals. They were avehicle for like-minded sportsmen to see what was being produced intheir own breed and what was available for them to introduce into theirown breeding programs. In the early days dogs were bred together ona like-to-like basis, and seldom would there be any great thought givento paperwork and pedigrees. Logically as subsequent generations wereproduced, common characteristics would appear in dogs from the samefamily, especially when a dog emerged that proved dominant for pass-ing on specific virtues.

Of course in these days we had not invented political correctnessand the stockmen approach to breeding dog was to allow bitches towhelp without any interference. Weaklings and runts perished natu-rally and puppies that were reared but exhibited physical failings thatwould prevent them from doing the job they were intended to were hu-manely euthanized. Consequently dogs that were lacking in fundamen-tal strength were removed from the gene pool and only the strongestprospered.

Gradually the concept of “breed type” came into being and BreedStandards were written. Individual breeds had their desirable character-istics listed in the Standards, many being based on a scale of points.

In a desire to emphasise particular characteristics in their own

Setting Type

stock, the early breeders were clearly tempted to use close relationsof their bitches who excelled in the same virtues. Consequently pup-pies were bred that were either in or line-bred and kennels estab-lished a definite type or look.

Today some breeders still place great importance on breedingwithin the same lines and attribute the maintenance of a definitestyle to this practice. Others may line-breed to a certain extent, butoccasionally outcross to a completely different line in an attemptto either bring in a specific point or introduce some “hybrid vigor”.Sometimes their own stock is sufficiently dominant for the resultingpuppies to still bear the family look; in some cases the first genera-tion will look somewhat different but when bred back in to the linethe traditional look will be restored.

Nowadays more and more breeders are health-aware. They canread a pedigree and instantly what has been tested for what andwhat the results are. They have much more information at their fin-gertips to make educated decisions as to what breedings are likelyto produce problem-free puppies and they use this information ef-fectively.

The emphasis today is very much on fit and functional and manylong-term breeders are concerned that changing priorities in judg-ing may result in sound generic dogs may be preferred to dogs thatexcel in breed type, whilst of course still avoiding undesirable exag-geration. Of course the more responsible judges have always soughtto find dogs that are wholly typical yet still have the basic construc-tion and temperament to handle all situations.

Thanks to the relative ease of international travel, and the ac-cess to so much information via the internet, breeders today can fol-low their breed in various different countries. This has enabled themto avail themselves of relatively unrelated bloodlines yet still main-taining the basic type and style they most admire in the breed. Studythe most successful winning show dogs around the world today andregularly it becomes apparent that many of them come from verycosmopolitan backgrounds. There is now a huge level of coopera-tion between breeders in different countries, and with events suchas the Eukanuba World Challenge gaining greater momentum eachyear, the discourse between breeders internationally is increasingconstantly.

Different breeders will always have slightly different interpre-tations of what constitutes classic breed type in their own breed,and each will endeavour to produce the ultimate representation ofthat type. Thankfully Breed Standards are sufficiently accommo-dating that several different “looks” can be equally acceptable yetstill meet the basic requirements of the Standard, and this is to anybreed’s advantage.

It has been interesting to see the reaction of the newer breeds,recently introduced to the UK, to the Kennel Club’s directives onclose breeding. Many involved with these breeds accept that thereis a huge variety of type in the early imports, and feel that closebreeding is the surest way of fixing desirable type in the shortestterm, whilst being very aware of the need to use only the healthiestdogs available. These breeders face a great challenge and obviouslyare unable to establish their breeds with the freedom of those earlystockmen.

At the end of the day the maintenance of type in all our breeds isin the hands of dedicated breeders who have been conscience of theneed to develop and advance the breeds, whilst still being faithful totheir original demands and purpose. •

There has recently been a lot of coverage, particu-larly in the UK, and mainly from the so-called wel-

fare organisations, given to the ills of “in breeding” ofpedigree dogs. Blanket accusations have been madethat suggest that many of the health problems thatsurface in pedigrees can be laid firmly at the foot ofthe dogs being closely bred.

Owners:Joan L. FisherRobert D. SpeiserBarbara Wolfe

Handler Extraordinaire!Phoebe J. Booth

203 938-0226

Winner of 30 Best In Shows & 112 Group Firsts

Dog News 43

Look who’s back in town,after a few weeks of rehearsals...

PHOTO

BYLO

RIECR

AIN

Buddych. cragsmoor

goodman

handlerslarry corneliusmarcelo veras

breederseugene z. zaphirismatthew h. stander

44 Dog News

ownerscarolyn kochvictor malzoni, jr.

Dog News 45

The Number One*Skye TerrierandNumber Five*Among All Terrier Breeds

*The Dog News Top Ten List - All Breed points

Back to Back Group FirstsJudges Dr. Alvin Krauseand Mr. Terry StacyontoBest In ShowJudge Mr. Joseph Joly III

TheWay ItWasThe American Kennel Club of today is not the one myfather knew and as a matter of fact it is not the oneI grew up with. My kennel club was dedicated theshowcasing and to the advancement of purebred dogs.We have taken a major turn andare no longer purists.We have watered down our basic philosophy and tradi-tions, and I did not even get a chance to vote on theseseismic changes.

We have been told that one of the reasons for thedilution of our practices was the opportunity to en-hance the financial health of the Kennel Club. I havea real problem with this line of thinking. How are wegoing to generate hundreds of thousands of new par-ticipants in this modified system? How are we goingto convince those individuals with no purebred dogtradition behind them that there are great benefitsfor themselves and their dogs in the American KennelClub when we can no longer convince the majority ofour past supporters?

The Kennel Club in England has gone the route ofaccepting non-purebred dogs and has so far reapedlittle if any benefits. While there has been some inter-est in performance events, there is just nothing thatwe can do for the conformation dogs in non-reproduc-ible breeds.

Of course, the basic problem is that the organiza-tion has never taken the time or the effort to bringalong its own constituency in an endorsement of theconcept.

This is Issue Number 1 for the power elite in theirmarching alone without being followed by their loyalarmy.

The InscrutableDecisionMakers

It is a long established fact in organizations that areself-governed by delegates of the various segmentsof that business that the major decisions which willchange the philosophy and the working premises ofthat institution can only work when the participantsare brought along with an organized and clearly under-stood set of facts and reasons.

One example of a violation of this principle is the

Petland Mystery. The Board of Directorshad been working hard on the conceptof a combined operation with this com-mercial institution. There was no groundswell of approval on this project. If mymemory serves me right it was presentedat a meeting as a part of the Treasurer’sReport. Such a significant change in thephilosophical direction away from ourlong establishedpractices would certainly cause a majornegative reaction.

One of the principal reasons for suchnegativism was that Petland made a por-tion of their income from merchandisingnon-purebred dogs. In other words theywere selling mixed breed dogs or moresimply put cur dogs. This was in advanceof any sort of endorsement by the del-egate body.

This is Issue Number 2 as the gener-als were leading an army with few sol-diers in it.

ToChangeOrNotToChange

There is another program in theoperations of the kennel club that hasbeen raised regularly for many yearsnow. That is what to do about the groupdivisions. Many years ago when I was arelatively new delegate we studied theWorking Group because it was by far thelargest group with 33 breeds. The Non-Sporting Group had only 11 breeds atthat time.

It was said at the time that the sup-port for the splitting of the group wasspearheaded by one individual who feltthat her small sized breed was beingignored in group competition as place-ments went regularly to the big dogs. Bigdogs, Big wins.

46 Dog News

BerndtOfferingsby Robert Berndt

CONTINUED ON PAGE 102

Dog News 47

Thank you Judge Mr. Carl Yochum for this Group Specialty Win!

Thank you Judge Mrs. Geraldine Taylor for this Group Specialty Win!

48 Dog News

Can. Ch. & AKC Ch. & CKCSC USA Ch.Mondrian V.H. Lamslag of Piccadil RE

Mondrian

Always shown naturallyby

Owner-Handler Janet York*The Dog News Top Ten List, All Breed **All Systems ***C.C. System

National Specialty Winner 2010Number 1 Cavalier 2008*, 2009**, 2010**

Number Eight*** ToyWith 12 Best in Shows!And 50 Group First’s

Only being shown selectively!

Wins big at theNor’ East Toy Dog Cluster

Our appreciation to Judge Mr. Jeffrey Bazell for this Group Specialty Win!

Dog News 49

50 Dog News

TheBritishSceneNational Terrier always a long awaited

affair and being held in springtime setsthe theme for the shows ahead. This isthe only terrier group show held in theUK, and though it’s not a Montgomery,

it is a show still full of atmosphere. It’s not aMontgomery because at this time of the year theweather is just too unpredictable and therefore hasto be held inside. Bingley Hall, in the Midlands areaof the country, is now a widely used venue, mainlybecause of its accessibility to the major motorwaysystems and because of its superb facilities and goodparking for everyone. Such is the popularity of theshow that many Europeans travel over to show theirterriers. From Germany the Schoneberg’s won bestof breed in Wire Fox Terriers with Diana vd SchonenBergen and in Irish it was Ruhl’s who took the dogcertificate with Darren von Der Emsmuehle.

It was the Dutch bred Lakeland that won inbitches with Fire Witch van Foliny Home owned bythe Vickers/Punter and Clark partnership. In Norfolk’sboth certificates went to the Belleville kennel with theblack and tan male Blacklace going Best of Breed overher kennel mate Intuition. Lesley Crawley’s Raguskennel has dominated Norwich for so long now andagain best of breed here going to her bitch Ragus VeryTrue.

Best in Show judge was Stuart Plane, his Stuanekennel of Scotties is well know throughout theworld. Best in Show going to the Kerry Blue bitchCh Perrisblu Kennislain’s Chelsey owned by breederPhil Davies and handled by myself. The last time aKerry won this show was when l also handled thegreat “Mick” Ch Torums Scarf Michael. “Chelsey” ofcourse you will remember as winning the breed atCrufts and then placing 3rd in the Group. Second Bestin Show was another that did well at Crufts and thatwas the black and white Smooth FT bitch Ch RoturCeltic Desire of Adaires who gained her title here. Sheis owned by Philip Horspool and bred by Rose Turner.BIS 3 was the Irish bitch who was also Best of Breedat Crufts Tony Barker and John Averis’ DrumbillaMisty Lady, she also gained her title at this show.Tony Barker may be a name you will remember as heis the owner of the big winning Irish terrier presentlybeing campaigned by RC Carusi in the States. BIS 4going to the Cairn Larchlea Spirit in the Sky bred inScotland by Carol Templeton but owned by Mr. & Mrs.Wren.

Best Puppy in Show went a really smart Borderfrom the highly successful kennel of Stuart McPhersonBrumberhill Benchmarked who also took the breedwith his bitch Ch Brumberhill Belle De Jour. •

by Geoff Corish

Leonidas and on this occasion took the top award underanother well known toy judge Mrs. Liz Stannard. Hewas best of breed at Crufts and with this win he nowcan add his British title to his already impressive list.Second Best in Show was the Maltese Ch ZumarnikForget Me Now owned by Lee Studholme. Third Bestwas another from the top winning Witchstone EnglishToy Terrier kennel, Champion Witchstone Telling Talesfresh from his Group 2 at crufts. For Best Puppy inShow she chose a new breed for top honors here, theHavanese Tracy & Paul Claytons Larwinsca El Cid.

The Boxer world is mourning one of its all timegreats. Marion Ward-Davies of the world famousWinuwuk kennel. This kennel recently won its 200thchallenge certificate, quite a feat in this very strongbreed. Marion, along with her late husband, Ivor, hada remarkable record in the breed. They imported acouple of dogs from the USA and incorporated theminto their already successful kennel. After the death ofIvor in 1986 she incorporated the young Tim Hutchinsand Julie Brown and that just strengthened an alreadystrong kennel. Latterly they had huge success with ChWinuwuk Lust In the Dust and Ch Winuwuk Lust AtFirst Sight, both handled by Julie. The latter winning 40challenge certificates, top working dog and runner-upto top dog all breeds in 2009. Marion was a very warmand popular person and her presence around the Boxerring will be hugely missed.

After all the indoor shows at the early part of theyear it was great to be outside in the warm sunshine forthe first outdoor show of the year The West of EnglandLadies Kennel Association. The show has a permanentsite at Malvern, The Three Counties Showground,which is close to the famous Cotswolds, and when theweather is good there is nowhere more picturesquewith the Malvern Hills as a perfect backdrop. TheThree Cts is formed from the counties of Herefordshire,Worcestershire and Gloucestershire and is thepermanent site for the world famous agricultural show.

Best in Show under Norwegian judge, though nowa UK resident, Kari Wilberg, was the Chinese CrestedCh Vanitonia Unwrapped, the first of her breed to winbest in show at a general championship show in theUK. Owned by Tom Isherwood and Lee Cox, she wasalso the winner of the “Pup of the Year” earlier thisyear. Her dam Ch/Sw/Norw Ch Vanitonia Tickled Pinkreturned from a stay in Sweden in whelp top Sun-HeesTyson.

Runner-up Best in Show was another from thefamous Travella Wire FT kennel of Bill Brown-ColeTravella Star Lord. •

Like The National Terrier, the UnitedKingdom Toydog Ch show is theonly one for this particular group.

Quite why no one seems to know, as thetoy group has produced some top dogsover the years and yet as a group theydon’t do well in Best in Show competitionas some of the other groups seem to do.This was the 38th Ch show for the societyand the club be benefits from some of ourtop judges at the helm, well with FerelithSomerfield as president, Ellis Hulme aschairman and Tom Mather as secretary theclub just can’t go wrong––and it doesn’t!!With national Terrier and this show onconsecutive weekends the question mustbe asked as to why they don’t do a back-to-back, which surely would save a lot ofcost for both clubs??

For the second time in two weeksSergio Amien and Hugo Ibanez travelledfrom Spain with their Yorkshire Terrier Int/Sp/Sw/Costa Rican champion Estugo’s

Breeder/OwnerSheri Smith

HandlersMichael &Michele Kemp

724 [email protected]

“Chewy”“Chewy”

Ch. Talydales Friend Of The Force

Dog News 51

Multiple Best In Show WinningGroup First • Judge Dr.Richard Greathouse

52 Dog News

Dog News 53

I’m not a big fan of people who pooh-pooh thingsthey’ve never tried or seen up-close. If one of my chil-dren says she “doesn’t like” something on the dinnertable before taking even a tiny bite—well, let’s justsay that doesn’t wash in my house.

And I’ve always thought the whole “dog show”community was rather mysterious, a kind of benevo-lent secret society with its own rules, customs, andvocabulary. Sorta like Deadheads, but with a lot bet-ter grooming and a lot less fleas.

Truth be told, the dog breeders I met this week-end do have their own peculiar ways of saying anddoing things. But they’re really just ordinary peoplewith a shared hobby. They’re really into what theydo. And they taught me a lot in just a Saturday.Here’s some of what I learned.

1. When you go to a dog show, bring your ownchair. But don’t be surprised if someone offers to lendyou theirs. (I’m typing this in someone else’s custom-ized, embroidered lawn chair.)

2. Dog shows are competitive, but the peopleinvolved are remarkably supportive of their humanopponents. I heard a steady stream of “congratula-tions!” offered to blue-ribbon holders from handlerswho were trotting away empty-handed.

3. If you’re a first-timer who asks “what kind ofdog is that?” too loudly, somebody might look at youfunny.

4. These people treat their dogs like royalty. Itwas 90 degrees in the shade on Saturday, and thedogs had shade, electric fans, and cold water—even iftheir owners didn’t.

5. Judging from this weekend, thetypical show-dog handler isn’t a stuffyBrit wearing Saville Row tweed. She—yes, she—is an energetic 40-year-oldmarried mom whose husband packs upthe kids and brings them along on thetrip.

6. Sometimes the kids strut thedogs around the ring. The under-18handlers even have their own judgingcategory in which their skills are beingjudged, not the qualities of their dogs.

7. The name of the game is “con-formation” (not “confirmation,” as Iused to think). Dog show breeders aretrying to breed animals that “conform”to a set ideal of how a breed can look,“gait,” and behave if they do everythingright. (I read an article in Wired thisweek about how Cheetos in the factoryare checked every 30 minutes against a“reference sample” from Frito-Lay head-quarters, just to make sure the idealcolor, texture, and crispiness is beingmatched. It’s kinda like that, but it takesyears for these folks to make a singleCheeto. And Cheetos don’t pee on you.)

8. Watch where you step in theparking lot.

If this particular dog show is anyindication of what’s typical, the “dog

54 Dog News

WhatILearnedAtTheDogShowby HumaneWatch

I spent this weekend at the Myrtle Beach kennel Club’s all-breed dogshow in Florence, South Carolina. The club invited me down to talkabout the threats its members are facing from the Humane Society ofthe United States and the rest of the animal rights movement. SinceI had never been to a dog show, I said yes. (I grew up thinking that“fancy” was an adjective. Silly me.)


Dog News 55

Japanese Chin Club of AmericaTwo-time - 2009 & 2010 - National Specialty WinnerHas New OwnersCecelia RugglesBeth DowdChindale, reg.& Her BreedersIan Watt and David Anderson

And A New HandlerScott Sommerassisted byAdam Peterson & Klayton Harris

Kilbarchan’s Tequilla at NisyrosKilbarchan’s Tequilla at NisyrosEnglish & American Champion

English & American Champion

She’s Got The Moves!She’s Got The Moves!

56 Dog News

Dog News 57

In line with what we feel are part of our responsibilities as Superintendents,MB-F has been providing our clubs and, on occasion the Delegates, aswell as AKC, with information we felt was pertinent to having meaningfuldiscussions or debate and then making good decisions. For years we have

given to our clubs, at the same time as their show settlements, data showingtheir entry history, their entry income history and their superintending fee his-tory in dollars and real dollars as adjusted for inflation.

Our organization, as well as the other member organizations of the DogShow Superintendents Association, for quite some time has been telling anyonewho would listen that entries were diminishing with each passing year (hand inhand with AKC registrations), which was going to jeopardize the continuationof some show-giving clubs, the success of AKC, and, of course in turn, superin-tending organizations.

Due to competition, the creativity of superintendents has permitted themto keep prices in line. The creative thinking on the part of the clubs has allowedthem to continue holding shows. Having said that, the sad truth is that all thecreative thinking in the world cannot increase entries if there are fewer andfewer dogs being registered each year and there are more and more events.When you add the economic meltdown to that experience you have a situationwhere exhibitors who really want to be out there most weekends now have tobe very choosy in how many times they can exhibit in a month and the result isthat it is more economical for some clubs NOT to incur the expense of holdingtheir shows in order to remain viable.

In 2005, in the midst of this downturn, 78% of the all-breed shows were1500 dogs or less. Of those 49% were 1100 or less. The balance of the clubswere between 1501 and 3500 dogs (22%). In 2009, just four years later, 84% ofthe all-breed shows were 1500 dogs or less, with 56% having 1100 or less. Theremaining clubs, with 1501 to 3500 dogs had dropped to 16%. In 2005, therewere 81 clubs who had entries of 701-800 dogs. In 2009, that figure rose to175. In 2005 there were 126 events that had entries of 600 dogs or less; in 2009there were 226.

We need to be finding ways to entice new dogs and new exhibitors into oursport. Every aspect of the sport must have on their thinking caps to find waysto help relieve the burden felt by clubs and exhibitors. To that end the DogShow Superintendents Association made a proposal to AKC during the DSSA’s2009 Annual Meeting.

As of 2009 there were 529 clubs that had shows with entries of 800 dogs orless; there were 226 with 600 dogs or less. Many of those clubs held back-to-back events. The DSSA proposed to AKC that clubs with these smaller entriesbe permitted to hold their two events on the same day. NOTE: This is NOTadding events to the calendar; it is simply taking events that are now held overtwo days and permitting them to be held on one day – one event in the morn-ing and one in the afternoon. You are taking two shows, for example, that mayhave 600 entries each day (a total of 1200 dogs over the two days) and havingthose 1200 dogs judged in one day. Indeed, it may free up some dates on thecalendar! That could help lessen the competition between clubs on some week-ends. And, don’t forget there is already precedent for having multiple events inone day (Obedience).

So, what does that do? For one, it helps a club lessen their site expense,their catering expense, transportation expense, etc. While their judging panelfees would remain the same, or, in some cases might increase a bit, their judg-es’ expense would probably be shortened by one day. And, superintending ex-pense for the superintendents and set-up crews on the road could be reducedas well, which would result in a savings to the club. If you have two clubshaving four events in two days instead of four events spread over four days, thesavings would be even better. All of this could help stabilize entry fees.

AND, the best thing is that exhibitors would be able to show twice in oneday and not have an overnight expense. If two clubs got together and held twoevents on Saturday and two on Sunday, exhibitors would have the opportunityto exhibit their dogs four times over two days. And, they all wouldn’t be leavingimmediately after their dogs were judged. If they had the opportunity to showagain in the afternoon, they would be there to talk to spectators, prospectivepuppy buyers and exhibitors, AND TO EACH OTHER. Spectators who arriveat lunchtime would have the opportunity to see the dogs/breeds they reallywanted to observe because they would be judged again. It becomes a win-win.

Oh, you say, but there’s a big problem in hiring judges, only multiple group

judges would be hired. Not so. These clubs arepresently contracting for panels to cover twoseparate days. They are not hiring only multiplegroup judges now to cover their two days. Couldthere be a problem with clubs being in a positionof having a judge drawing more than 175 dogsover the two events in one day? Yes, but entriesare down so much that many judges frequentlyhave much time left at the end of their assign-ments. But, if a club chooses their panel andassigns the breeds carefully, and takes advan-tage of the many provisionals available, you mayfind there’s more opportunity for more judges tojudge.

Day might run too long? We do shows with2500 and 3000 dogs in one day now. Certainly,using two 600-dog events as an example, we canget 1200 done in a day. And, just as it is now, de-pending upon the space at the show site, if morerings are an option, the day finishes earlier.

Another creative option might be having thetwo events in one day but one set of Groups withall BOB winners from each event competing. Thiswould not necessarily mean you would have twoof every breed in the Group ring. Don’t forget thatover a Saturday/Sunday there are breeds thathave the same BOB winner each day. Or, maybethat could be an option where the show site haslimited space.

The Association also asked that Group Showsbe allowed to have two events in one day. We fur-ther asked that an independent Specialty Club beallowed to hold their event on the same groundsas a host All-Breed (without the All-Breed havingto give up classes for that breed) and for exhibi-tors to be allowed to show in both events.

The Association requested that a pilot pro-gram with these features be allowed for a periodof one year and that at the end of that year toevaluate the results and look at all the pros andcons. We believe it will take a year to adjusteveryone’s thinking and their skills in holdingevents such as these. It allows time for sugges-tions/recommendations for tweaks and allowsanything that can happen to have that oppor-tunity. This way we get input from clubs andexhibitors and judges and discover any pitfallsBEFORE any permanent decision is made thathas to be constantly adjusted. This way allowsa fully formed event procedure with appropri-ate limits and rules to come into existence in theproper manner.

Just because it’s not been done before isno reason to reject such a proposal out of hand.Superintendents would not make such a proposalunless they believed it could work and wouldhelp these smaller clubs. The worst thing thatcould happen is that it doesn’t work. The bestthing that could happen is that it gives theseclubs that are in danger of having to forfeit hold-ing events the opportunity to get back on solidfinancial ground again.

Is this thinking outside the box? Yes it is.There will have to be a lot of this in order for thesport to survive and become better for the experi-ence.•

58 Dog News

A Two-Show-A-Day Proposalby The Dog Show Superintendents Association

Dog News 59

60 Dog News

Multiple Best In Show,Multiple Best In Specialty Show Winning, V-Rated

Ch. Cammcastle Friar Tuck, TT, CGC

“TUX”

V-Rated, Best In Specialty Show,Multiple Specialty Best of Opposite Sex, Select 1

Ch. Gamegard’s Working Girl

“Tess”

*The Dog News Top Ten List

Dog News

*The D

Dear Dad,

It was so nice to see you last

month...Thanks for letting me

share the spotlight with you

at the American Rottweiler

Club National Specialty and

then again here at Colonial

RottweilerClub. Kind

a cool

that we get to be the first

father and daughterwinners.

e De Dogog News Ts Top Ten List

s.

It was fun getting all that ap-plause and the treats wereawesome...Now I know why youlike showing so much.Hope to see you soonHAPPY FATHERS DAY!Love,Tess

PS Tell Carissa thanks forshowing me, I had lots of fun!

Handled By:Holley Eldred

708 280-2890

Bred By:Suzan Otto Guynn

Tux is Owned by:Vicky & Tony O’[email protected]

Tux is pictured recieving hismost recent Best In Show.This one under JudgeMrs. Mary Ann Alston.We would also like to thankthe following Judges forTux’s Group wins thatweekend: Mrs. Lee Canalizo,Ms. Virginia Lyne, andMrs. Alston.

We are proud of Tux’sachievements in the ringbut we are equally proudof his beautiful kids andthier winning ways....

Quality begets Quality

Tux is currrently theNumber One* Rottweiler and the

Number Three* Working Dog

FLASH

GROUP SECOND

Judge

Mr. Charles

Trotter

FLASHGROUP SECOND

JudgeMrs. Patricia

Trotter

Dog News 61

Multiple Best In Show, Multiple Best In Specialty Show Winning, V-RatedMultiple Best In Show, Multiple Best In Specialty Show Winning, V-Rated

Ch. Cammcastle Friar Tuck, TT, CGCCh. Cammcastle Friar Tuck, TT, CGC

*All Systems

RememberingThe dog world lost a smart, funny, successful, multidimen-

sional fancier, judge, and breeder in May with the pass-ing of Lorraine Groshans. Lorraine had been in declininghealth for some time, and yet her passing was quick and notexpected. She had been living the last few years in a lovelycontinuing care facility in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Herhusband, the Al of her well known prefix “Loral,” passedaway several years ago. She had enjoyed an outing to theTarheel Circuit in March, and was able to watch the Borzoijudging and cheer for her friend Cricket Murray who visitedLorraine with her Borzoi as often as possible.

Lorraine was the quintessential dog person we all sawyears ago, but who seem rarer and rarer as time goes on.She bred Dachshunds and Whippets but was best knownfor her top winning Borzoi. HerBorzoi had an unmistakable typeand elegance, and while sheshowed her own dogs she alsoused handlers to campaign herbiggest winners like Loral Whis-tle in the Dark. Lorraine was awife, a mother, a dog breeder,president of the Borzoi Club ofAmerica, a representative tothe International Borzoi Confer-ence, and the author of the de-finitive book on the breed, “TheComplete Borzoi.” When herdaughter was a young child, shebecame ill with measles but Lor-raine’s boss at the time refusedto allow her to go home to care for her. Lorraine used thatas motivation to decide to work for herself to allow her tobe home with her three children and her dogs. She had verylittle encouragement in becoming a woman business ownerin the early 1970s, and yet she was determined to be herown boss. She started her company, Laurelwood, with onedrawing and had china plates made and sold them to Borzoifanciers. She was successful enough that she expanded thenext year to a few more breeds, adding breeds year by yearand selling the plates through dog shows and magazine adsuntil the company had over 60 breeds when she sold it in1998.

Best of all to her friends, however, was that Lorraine waswickedly funny. She had a great sense of humor and thequickest of minds. We loved discussing politics, cooking,college basketball, dogs, books, and having imaginary dogsshows in which dogs from 25 years ago competed againstdogs in the ring now. She had amazing recall for almostany dog she’d seen, let alone judged. She followed the dogfancy in new books and in magazines, always eager to keepcurrent on the breeds she found endlessly interesting. Herfriends in dogs will miss her, and the sport has lost yet an-other of the old time fanciers who truly cared and knewabout their own breed and about dogs in general. Is therea win picture with her as judge in which she is not smiling,reflecting how very much she loved being in the ring withdogs? She was a great mentor, an astute business woman,and a wonderful friend. She was 80 years old.— Maureen Lucas, Lochinvar Greyhounds and currentowner of Laurelwood

Iknow Borzoi was Lorraine’s breed but she also bred andshowed very nice Whippets. I admired and respected Lor-

raine for being a very knowledgeable and fair judge. Lorrainealways seemed to really enjoy judging and it was a pleasureto show my Whippets to her, or just watch her judging pro-cedure. We have truly lost another icon in the judging world.Lorraine always had a smile when she judged, even whenshe was having trouble walking. One assignment she didreally stands out to me. Lorraine judged the 7th WhippetNational in 1993. She shocked all the exhibitors when shecalled the wicket and measured all the class entries. Whenshe finished her assignment, there she was all smiles hav-ing her picture taken with the winners. I think I would havecollapsed. I will not only remember Lorraine as a respected

judge and breeder of Borzoi and Whippets, but as a won-derful, kind, and very thoughtful lady. I will miss her.— Barbara Henderson, VMD, Whipporwill Whippets

Imet Lorraine around 1980 when I was a vendor at theCleveland Dog show selling my artwork. She asked if

I’d be interested in providing art for Laurelwood plates.We had a wonderful relationship over the decades. Sheincreased my knowledge of many breeds, and her inputhelped me create works that were true to current confor-mation in many breeds. She became my friend and I willmiss her wit and wisdom. Thank you, Lorraine and God-speed.— Paula Zan, Mythling Studios

Lorraine’s health problems robbed her of many thingsthese last few years, but not her humor; and her love

for Borzoi was steadfast. She was still eager to critique thedogs I brought on our visits and evaluate whole litters ofpups. She had a wide circle of friends in the fancy includinga special few with whom she traveled the world. She wasinvited to judge the Centennial Borzoi show (100th anniver-sary show in 2004), but had to decline due to health issues.I was so unprepared for her to leave us ... it will take me awhile to recover from the derailment.”— Cricket Murray, Kansai Borzoi

It is difficult for me to write briefly of my friendship and ex-perience with Lorraine Groshans. In 1965 I purchased my

first Borzoi from Lorraine, making the trip to her Loral Ken-nels in Center Valley, Pennsylvania. Asked to describe theoverall character of the Borzoi, specifically their behavior inthe house, she commented, “They are a large dog but whenin the house they make themselves very small.” This wasmy first exposure to Lorraine’s pithy observations.

We developed a deep and abiding friendship that lastedmany years. Traveling together to the International BorzoiConferences, I came to respect her profound knowledge andlove of our breed as well as her discretion and fairness as ajudge. Lorraine was admired on an international level bothfor her published writings and her efforts to educate andmentor new owners and breeders. She produced some ofthe top winning Borzoi in the US. Her dogs form the founda-tion or significantly influence the pedigrees of many greatbreeding kennels in our country. I have lost a great teacherand a dear friend.— Angela SanPaulo, Foxcroft Borzoi

62 Dog News

Lorraine GroshansCompiled by Maureen Lucas

Dog News 63

Breeders & Owners:Jeff & Vicki MaukNew Albany, Ohio614 [email protected]*The Dog News Top Ten List, All Breed

Group JudgeMr.Pete Dawkins

HandlersClint & Karen Livingston

Brighton, Colorado210 865-8415

[email protected]

CH.VAJE’SMISS JAYNEHATHAWAYMultiple Best in Show

Multiple Best in Specialty ShowNational SpecialtyWinnerTop 25 InvitationalWinner

2010 Top 10* Non Sporting DogThe Number One* Chinese Shar-Pei 2009 & 2010

64 Dog News

CLEARLY THE BEST!Best In Show JudgeMr. Robert J.Shreve

Dog News 65

Thank You!Iwould like to thank all of the fine readers, judges, handlers,

and dog people who took the time to send me or call with

“Get Well Wishes.” I was overwhelmed with the number

of cards that kept arriving each day. My wife, Dorinne, would

read them to me and tears would fill my eyes. I truly appreciate

all of the love and especially the prayers that helped in my re-

covery! I am finally home after three and a half weeks in ICU at

the hospital, four weeks in acute rehabilitation, and three weeks

in specialized brain trauma rehabilitation. I guess I’m doing OK,

but my wife can’t wait for the day that I won’t wake her up ear-

ly in the morning. In rehab I was nicknamed the night stalker

since I would get up early in the morning and wheel myself

around the hallways in my wheelchair. Now, I am able to walk

on my own, but tire quickly so I have physical therapists come

to my home several times a week. The bleeding has caused my

vision to be impaired, but since it is still draining, the doctors say

it should get better in time. The good news is, now I see four

boobies instead of two! Once again, thank you all so very, very

much, and I look forward to being at the shows again!

Sincerely,Joe Waterman66 Dog News

Darcy

Multiple Group Placer inthe US and Canada

Owned bySonya L Haskell,

Jeff Zachow &Grace Kofron

www.PemberleyFields.com

Bred By:Peter Archer & Kay Klein

Presented by:Kristin Karboski

www.KristinKarboski.com

Dog News 67

Show photo by Booth Photography.Candid photos by Sarah Barr

Ch.Winfarthing

Pride & Prejudice SH

Our sincere appreciation toJudges Mrs. Michele Billingsand Ms. Elizabeth Muthard

for Darcy’s mostrecent Multiple GroupSecond Placements.

CH. PYRLESS STILISTIC LAW-ORDER“MR. BIG” has completed the requirements

For the Great Pyrenees Hall of Fame, Show Dogs

BreederDr. Valerie Seeley

Exclusive HandlerGreg Strong, & team

OwnersMark & Josephine Stiles

Group Winning, Multiple Group Placing2009 Top Ten* Pyrenees

Our appreciation to Judge Col. Joe B. Purkhiser for this acknowledgement


68 Dog News

CH. PYRLESS NO-BRAINER“RALEIGH” begins his journey to the Great Pyrenees

Club of America Hall of Fame, Show Dogs

BreederDr. Valerie Seeley

HandlerSue Capone, PHA

OwnersSean & Rebecca Garvin

Best In Specialty Show from the classes, 2008Specialty Award of Merit, 2010

Our appreciation to Judge Mrs. Anitra Cuneo for this acknowledgement

Dog News 69

70 Dog News

by Matthew H. StanderMOREAND

What A Waste, Dog Woman Of The Year...

Greater Philadelphia Dog Fancy Association, Huntington Valley KC, & Burlington KC photos by Perry Phillips

Well the “Become a Delegate andsee America” representativesof the American Kennel Clubheld its latest so-called meetingin Atlanta, Georgia this month.

Fully one-third of them bothered to show up, Iam told, and the official meeting lasted all of oneand one half hours! How much this actually costthe clubs whose delegates decided to attend,Lord only knows, and from what was officiallyreported about the meeting itself less thannothing concrete was discussed, settled or evenbantered about. There was a vote about fieldtrials, which I doubt most of the conformationpeople even knew what they were voting upon.

Toward the end, Iunderstand, the topicdu jour became howto catch an earlier

flight out rather than any business concerningAKC. That should not surprise anyone but onlyre-emphasises the need to re-prioritize andrestudy the need for having a Delegate Bodyin its present form if at all. Yes, CommitteeMeetings were held all day Sunday––nothingofficial reported out of any Committee for publicconsumption––that’s truly representativegoverning at its most farcical, to my mindanyways.

There are no Board Meetings when thereare Delegate Meetings, I am told, but the Boardseems to have so-called “get-togethers” duringthese times. (Although in December I sort ofthought at the Invitational there are both, but Iam probably confused about that.) Again, at oneof these “get-togethers” I hear there was talk ofhaving Staff meet again with the Judges Groupsabout the judges fees and also of getting somekind of consensus of feeling possibly from theFancy at large. You know I am tired of consensusgoverning––do it or not; need the money or not.If additional input is needed now why was thisnot realized prior to the original announcement?CONTINUED ON PAGE 104

72 Dog News

Dog News 73

Wow, another successful all toy dog showvenue at the Oklahoma City Biltmore Ho-tel. Ten years now the Central OklahomaToy Dog Club has hosted a venue for alltoy dogs.

One of the highlights this year was the group judgingof Michael Forte of Ireland. He walked into the Group ring,dressed in his ancestral dress, kilt and all. A huge ap-plause erupted as he entered the ring. You guessed it, thebuzz around the ringside, “Did he or didn’t he?”

This year we had the pleasure of the American Chi-nese Crested Club joining the venue offering all events tothe Crested’s and the performance activities to other toybreeds. They began their activities with a Regional Spe-cialty on Wednesday followed by their National on Thurs-day and Friday. They have contracted with us to returnin 2011 which we welcome with open arms. What a greatgroup of people with the highest level of sportsmanshipattributes. It is and was such a pleasure to have the offi-cers, members, and exhibitors of the breed to be a part ofthe friendly environment that is created each year at thisvenue.

Being in the center of America, exhibitors from allparts of the States and elsewhere have a much easierway to get to the scheduled events. To arrive at this dogfriendly hotel who welcomes dogs, the exhibitors havea much less stressful experience than arriving at a hotelwho wants the room fee, but often not the dogs. The Bilt-more staff is there to help us have the best weekend wecan.

On Thursday the American Toy Fox terrier begantheir two days of Specialties beginning with a Regionalon Thursday, hosted by the Puget Sound Toy Fox TerrierClub, followed by the American Toy Fox Terrier Club’sNational on Friday. Entries were up this year comparedto last year. The Fox Terriers have earned a spot with usand will remain until they decide they want to move toanother venue.

We have limited the requests to one large National,200 dogs expected, each year to make sure those whohave a reserved spot will continue to have the necessaryspace, meeting rooms, etc. and not be crowded out of thespace they deserve. Once a club leaves the venue, theyask to return, they will be put on a waiting list and accom-modated as another club ventures elsewhere.

There are so many activities going on during theshows of this venue, and most people can find a work-shop, seminar meeting, etc. of their interest. The toy cluboffers seminars each year in all toy breeds. Parent club ap-proved presenters provide the knowledge and informationpresented at these events and it is of exceptional valueto breeders, judges, exhibitors, and anyone who wants tolearn about any toy breed.

It is open and free to the public who want to bringtheir families in search of a dog for whatever purpose. The

local pre advertising of the event brings a lot of would beowners out to see the different breeds and aids them inlocating reputable breeders.

This venue provides the opportunity for judges whoare approved for a toy breed or parties interested in apply-ing for the toy breeds to come to one location, spend theentire weekend with these breeds. Being self containedin one building for many days, one has the opportunity tomeet many breeders, owners, and handlers of every toybreed. The seminars are formatted to the AKC guidelinesfor holding judges seminars and workshops. Ringsideobservations, mentoring, etc. provides the judge to obtainthe necessary components for applying for a breed.

On Friday’s the Yorkshire Terrier Club of OKC, The Chi-huahua Club of Oklahoma, which are yearly regulars, holdtheir specialties and the Havanese Club of Texas joined usfor an evening of activities.

Of course beginning on Saturday through Sunday, theCentral Oklahoma Toy Dog Club begins their weekendactivities. The Breed seminars (began on Friday to beable to get all the breeds in), the hospitality room whichis open for free food and soft drinks, the wonder vendorswho each year provide the toy owners and exhibitors withall the specialized toy products, and camaraderie betweeneveryone makes for a weekend that we don’t want to end.

The gathering of these toy people is a special eventthat is hard to explain as one sees the friendliness andloyalty among the comrades that one often does not see atother events. If you experience this togetherness amongbreeders, owners, etc. you say to yourself, “Most of thesepeople could change the world with this type of attitudesand friendliness.” This concept is not apparent at mostfunctions.

You saw Janice Pardue and Melvin taking full chargeof the seminars, Chris Kelsch keeping the hospitality roomsupplied with food and drink, Ken Lambert, managing thebuilding, vendors, and other things that may need atten-tion, and others there to meet the needs of everyone atthese shows.

It was such a good feeling to see many people( Ex-ample, the Galls) who had been absent for a while,back into the sport and meeting all the new peoplewho had come aboard and gotten involved with thesport to be in attendance. The Saturday show hadan entry of 397 which in its self says, people want

to be here. I heard one exhibitor say, “You know even if Idid not have an entry, I would want to be here for the op-portunity to visit with these people and see the improve-ment the dogs are making each year.”

When asked of me, “Why do you think the toy breedshave improved so much in the past few years?” My an-swer was very quick, no hesitation, “When AKC , via MariBeth O’Neil’s guidance, requested the breed reformattheir standards, most of the toy breeds added mouths andmovement, therefore the quality of the toys began to im-prove to compete.”

Anyway, another successful week in Oklahoma Cityfor all the Toy fanciers and if you want to experience thecamaraderie that happens here, mark your calendar for the3rd week of May 2011.

See you next year, hopefully.•

74 Dog News

Central OklahomaToy Dog ShowWeekend

by Dr. Richard S. Pritchard

Dog News 75

In her short specials career, Nellie has won multiple groups,ranking in the Top Ten* Breed standings. Thanks to JudgesMrs. Jean Fournier and Mr. Dennis McCoy for the picturedgroup placements!

*Standard Poodle, All Systems

76 Dog News

Dog News 77

Our chairperson was Jo-Ann Gatzen and Obedienceand Rally Chairperson was Caryl Crouse. Our panels weremade up of the following judges: Obedience and Rally:Elizabeth Chase, Futurity: Terry Dennison, Sweepstakes:Anette Ohman, Breeder’s Class Dorothy Taylor and Confor-mation: John Ronald.

Tuesday evening was our Invitational consisting of thetop Tibetan Terriers in the country. Twelve were entered.Our judges were: Breeder Judge: John George, Handler,Kathy Kirk and Non-Sporting Group judge, Norm Ken-ney. They selected CH RiLee Ashlyn Diamond Heirloom.Breeder Owner Handler Nikkie Kinzinger. People’s ChoiceAward went to CH Atisha’s Blanc de Noir owned by SherylRutledge & F. Teppaz Misson & L Estru.

The next day on to Rally and Obedience. The HighScoring Dog in Regular Classes was Barnstorm’s Joy RideRN owned by Sandy White and Bruce White. Rally consist-ed of twelve fantastic working Tibetans all of who earneda leg toward their titles. It was wonderful to see the dogsand handlers working so well together.

Following the performance events the Futurity Classeswere judged. The Grand Futurity winner was BIS CHSalishan’s My Special Angel owned by Robert Hennings,Susan Carr and Gary Carr and handled by breeder, GaryCarr. In the afternoon, Puppy Sweepstakes were judgedand Best in Sweepstakes was CH Callisto’s Music BoxDancer, Breeder Owner Handler Robin Stamm. Best of Op-posite Sex to Best In Sweepstakes was CH Kha-Ling’s Fly-ing Without Wings, Breeder Owner Handler Lisa Hethcox.Veteran Sweepstakes was won by CH RiLee Deja StellaBy Starlight, Breeder Owner Handler Nikkie Kinzinger andBest of Opposite to Best In Veterans Sweepstakes wasCH Salishan Abacus Cool Hand Luke handled by ownerGale Mattison. The veterans were in beautiful coat andnever missed a beat. Ending the day was the Breeder’sClass. There was a large entry and the winning breederwas Susan Carr of Salishan Tibetan Terriers. Salishan wasrepresented by: BISS CH Salishan How Do You Like MeNow shown by Gary Carr, BIS CH Salishan’s My Special

78 Dog News

TibetanTerrierClubofAmericaNationalSpecialty By Susan Carr and Jo-Ann Gatzen

Photos by Gail Mattison


The 2010 Tibetan Terrier Club ofAmerica National Specialty was held atthe Holiday Inn Boxborough Woods inMassachusetts May 17 through 20.

Dog News 79

What do Bloomington, Illinoisand Standard Schnauzershave in common? Thisyear it was the StandardSchnauzer Club of AmericaNational Specialty held May27-31 at the Interstate Cen-ter in conjunction with the

Heart of Illinois Dog Show Cluster. An annual event,the SSCA National is rotated from Eastern to Centralto Western areas with a local club usually serving ashost. Prairieland SSC hosted this National, and theirclub and Heartland SSC, added two local specialtiesmaking it a three specialty, four show Schnauzerfest.“Remember 2010, Red, White and U” was the theme.Memorabilia from the past covered a wall in the Stan-dard Schnauzer only building, the location of mostof the activities. The week offered herding, agility,rally, conformation and obedience competition for thebreed. Also included were round table discussions,workshops, seminars, meetings, dinners and fund rais-ing activities.

Competition began on Thursday, May27th with the SSCA AKC sanctioned HerdingTrial that offered classes in both sheep andducks. High in Trial went to CH Peppermill’sHidden Asset, CD RE PT AX AXJ OF ownedby Renee Kwiatkowski from the Ducks Start-ed class. Since this breed is relatively newto herding competition, instinct testing wasoffered following the trial. Twenty-nine dogswere tested with all but one exhibiting aninstinct to herd.

While herding was in progress at one endof the field, Elizabeth and Harvey Mohren-weiser led a tracking workshop at the otherend. Members were amazed how quicklytheir dogs caught on and how much they seemed toenjoy the activity.

Old friendships were renewed and new onesbegun at the Welcome Barbecue Thursday evening.Erika Werne from the AKC Canine Health Foundationgave a brief talk about the Canine Health InformationCenter (CHIC) and the DNA Repository in prepara-tion for the blood draws that were scheduled. Storedblood samples help facilitate research into caninediseases. Though results from the club’s recenthealth survey showed a breed with few problems,members elected to participate in the program. Overthe weekend samples were collected from nearly 175Standard Schnauzers. Thursday evening ended on alight note with games that included competition forthe worst dressed handler. The blue wig and 50’s

80 Dog News

StandardSchnauzerClubofAmerica--2010NationalSpecialty

Text & photos by Arden Holst


Dog News 81

Established in 1978Breeder/owner/handlerLynda & Robert Gall805 [email protected]

Co-ownerDeb Deane

818 367-3083

Sire: Ch. A One’s Parzival (Swedish Import) Dam: Best In Specialty Show Ch. Lynann’s Forever

Chauncy in OhioBest of Breed(Supported entry)Mr. Richard BeauchampBest of Breed(Supported entry)Mr. Richard BauerGroup IIIMr. Richard BeauchampSpecialty Best of BreedMrs. Judy Corbett

Chauncy in WisconsinBest of Breed(Supported entry)Mrs. Kathy MooreGroup FirstMr. Walter SommerfeltBest of Breed(Supported entry)Mr. David FlanaganGroup ThirdMr. Robert Stein

Chauncy in CaliforniaBest of BreedMr. Thomas Bradley IIIGroup SecondMrs. M. RosalieAndersonBest of BreedMr. Charles TrotterGroup SecondMr. Arley Hussin

Lynann English Cocker Spaniels(Home of Multiple National Specialty, Group and Specialty winners).

is proud to continue the tradition with

Multiple Specialty & Multiple Group Winning

Ch. Lynann’s Touchstone“Chauncy”

Thank you to the Judges who have recognized Chauncy’s breed type and are not listed above.

Gossipthe

column

By Eugene Z. Zaphiris

Handler MARYWILD of Arnold,Missouri wasconvicted oneight counts ofmisdemeanoranimal abuse thatcould result inup to eight yearsin prison. Thisnon jury verdict(a jury trial waswaived) camefrom an incidentlast summer,where eight dogsin MARY WILD’Scare were left in aclosed van in herdriveway, becauseher garage wherethey normally werehoused was toohot, and the dogssuffocated from theheat. One of thosetragic judgmentcalls that endedthe lives of sevenhelpless dogs andresulted in untoldmisery for theirowners. Sentencingwill take place thissummer. DAVID& CAROLYNALEXANDERare off to judge inFinland. Lots ofgift giving amongthe ALSTONFAMILY; MARYANN celebrated a

birthday on May30th, GEORGEcelebrated hisbirthday onthe 8th of Juneand daughterJENNIFER andhusband DARRENPAHL celebratetheir 10th weddinganniversaryon June 14th.Thankfully, no onewas injured in thefire that destroyedthe home ofhandler TRACEYDELORIA andLANCE DELORIA.The dogs weresafe in a separatekennel building.A memorialservice for CORKYVROOM willbe held nearDallas, Texas onThursday, June24th. Our deepestsympathies tohandler TIMBRAZIER on theloss of his belovedmother JOANBRAZIER, a wellknown all breedjudge from Canada.The recent SANGABRIEL VALLEYKENNEL CLUB

held with the newand improvedMISSION CIRCUITwas dedicated toMARIAN MASONHODESSON.MARION andher late husbandSAM were earlymembers of theclub and activein its runninguntil they movedto Arizona,where MARIONstill resides. Incelebration of thenew multi milliondollar PURINAEVENT CENTER,the walkwayleading to the newfacility will haveengraved brickpavers honoringdogs in whatwill be calledthe “PURINAWALK OFCHAMPIONS.” It’sa joint project thatwill benefit theCANINE HEALTHFOUNDATION,a charity heavilysupportedby PURINA.Approximately4000 bricks areavailable for costof $100 each,payable to theCANINE HEALTHFOUNDATION, of

which $70 is taxdeductible. Forfurther informationor to order yourbrick, contact theCANINE HEALTHFOUNDATIONat 888.682.9696.An interestingdevelopment,at the last DFSCRUFTS DOGSHOW, the winnerof the terrier groupand reserve bestin show was aScottish Terrierfrom Russia.With an unusualarmband number,some wonderedabout its entryqualifications. Itseems that if youcan prove thatyour entry wascorrectly postedyet undelivered theentry is taken theday of the show.However, you mustprove your claim.But from a recentENGLISH KENNELCLUB pressrelease, the ownersof the Scottie haveyet to present theirproof of postage.As a result, thewinner couldbe disqualified.

Celebratingweddinganniversariesare LAMAR &ELAINE MATHISand ANDREW &ROZ KRAMER. Aspecial Birthdaygreeting to JOYCE“PEANUT”MCCOMISKEY,who celebrates herthree quarters of acentury mark. MoreBirthday Greetingsto… PADDYSPEAR, BARRY“SPANKEY”CLOTHIER,DAVID MERRIAM,JOHN MILLER,GUY FISHER,PAT CROWLEY,LINDA ROBEY,LESTER MAPES,DAVID GLEAVES,DICK RUPPERT,GEORGEGOMES, JOHNSHELTON,JULIEWOLF-VIROSTECK,SHARONSAKSON, KATHYKIRK, JACKIEBREAZEALEand SAMANTHASEAMAN.

82 Dog News

“You never know what goodthings can come out of apersonal tragedy,” Robert

Baillie said. He would know; he’s a livingexample. Three years ago, he went into thehospital for heart bypass surgery and wokeup blind. The incision cut an artery andhe lost blood to his eyes. Understandably,he sunk into a deep, dark depression. Butwhen he received a guide dog that helpedhim regain his mobility and confidence, hewas enlightened with a vision: he wantedto provide blind children with guidedogs. That’s when he founded the MiraFoundation USA, Inc.

“We’re the only people in the UnitedStates providing guide dogs for kids aged11 to 16,” he said. “We started two yearsago and we’ve already delivered one dog inDurham, North Carolina in April, and we’resending an 11year-old girl from San Diego toQuebec for four weeks of training with herdog on July 5th.”

Lodging, transportation and all familyexpenses for thirty days will be provided bythe Mira Foundation, USA, and the trainingwill be conducted by the Mira Foundationin Canada. “They’ve been training childrenand dogs for close to thirty years with a onehundred percent success rate,” Baillie said.

When Baillie, 66, a prominentbusinessman in the dentistry and realestate industries the Southern Pines areaof North Carolina, first lost his sight andwas having difficulty coping with thenewfound challenges, a friend told himabout the positive impact a guide doghad on his daughter’s life. That’s when helearned about the ‘O and M’ (Orientationand Mobility) cane skills that werenecessary in order to receive a guide dog.He practiced until his skills were up topar and made arrangements to attend the30-day guide dog training program at theMira Foundation in Montreal, where he wasliterally bowled over by a beautiful BerneseMountain Dog, Devon. Devon made such adifference in his own life that he began towonder how many other people – especiallychildren – could benefit from having a guidedog.

“A guide dog makes a tremendousdifference in a blind individual’s life,”Baillie wrote in an email. “The dog helps toprovide a bridge between the sighted andnon sited that helps to remove the stigmaoften associated with blindness whileproviding the freedom and mobility to bemore independent, self confident, safe andself reliant while providing companionship.”

He began researching, and was

OFFTHE

LEASHby Shaun Coen

86 Dog News

surprised to find that in his home state ofNorth Carolina, there were 22,000 blind people,700 of them children. In Moore County alone,there were 350 blind people. In the UnitedStates, there were some 57,000 blind children.Baillie decided to dedicate the rest of his lifeto improving the experience of children livingwith blindness by matching them with a guidedog and canine companion.

Baillie’s plan hit a roadblock when hediscovered that there wasn’t a single guide dogorganization in the country that would providedogs to children under 16 years of age. That’swhen he decided to work exclusively with theMira Foundation in Canada, whose founder,Eric St Pierre, has been training guide dogs for30 years and working with children as youngas 11 years old. Baillie’s initial goal as theChairman of the Board of the Mira Foundation,USA Inc. was to send two children who metthe orientation and mobility qualificationsto Mira Canada each summer, while they’reon break from school, to receive 30 days oftraining with a guide dog, which they wouldthen take home. “You just can’t give a child adog,” Baillie said. “Working with a cane, youhave to know where you are at all times.”

The cost of providing one dog per blindchild, including expenses, is approximately$60,000 dollars (US). Next summer, the goal isto send up to six children and their guardiansto Mira Canada, at a cost of $360,000. Theadditional short-term goal is to hire twoindividuals to be sent to Mira Canada to learnthe techniques and skills that will qualify themas professional guide dog trainers. After threeyears of training, they will return to join theMira Foundation, USA as its first trainers. Thelong-term goal is to purchase land in NorthCarolina with existing buildings or buyingland and constructing a full-service guide dogtraining facility similar to the one in Canada.

Donations have been coming in at a steadyclip and several local organizations havepitched in to help see Baillie’s vision become areality. A recent “Dining In The Dark” dinnerheld at the Country Club of North Carolina,in which diners were blindfolded to raiseawareness of the challenges blind peopleface and to heighten the sensory experience,drew 230 people and raised $58,600. A 5K runraised $12,000 and a golf tournament raised$5,400. A search is on to find a sponsor of dogtreats, a portion of which would be donatedto Mira USA, a la the popular Girl Scout cookieprogram.

All of the guide dogs come from MiraCanada and the breeds used include StandardPoodles, Labradors, Bernese Mountain Dogs.“With these dogs, we cannot accept aggressivebehavior of any kind,” Baillie said. “Theyperform a lot of tasks a normal dog wouldn’tdo. You could drop a firecracker next to one ofthese dogs and they will just look at it.”

Of his own guide dog, Baillie said, “Devonchanged my life.” After receiving Devon herealized, “Children need a guide dog as muchas adults.” And especially in these difficulteconomic times, the Mira Foundation USA, Inc.needs donations to meet its goal of providingblind children with guide dogs across thecountry at no expense. To learn more aboutthe MIRA Foundation USA, Inc., a 501 c 3not for profit organization, log on to www.mirausa.org or call 910 944-7757 or [email protected]. •

Cricket Bidleman,11, is pictured beingevaluated duringthe qualificationprocess in April.She will return toQuebec for fourweeks of trainingwith her dog in July,all expenses paid.

Matthew ispictured withthe first guidedog providedfree of chargeby Mira USA.

Bob Baillie, founderof Mira FoundationUSA, and the guidedog that changedhis life, Devon.

Dog News 95

“HAVOC”“HAVOC”Currently

#1Amstaff

dogall-breed*

Dog News 95

Ch. WonderlandsCh. WonderlandsHeavily ArmedHeavily Armed

AgitatorAgitator

Owned & Handled by Amanda [email protected]

Bred bySharon Moya

Wonderland KennelsKellee Smith

Holdfast Kennel*Number Three overall, The Dog News Top Ten List

10 Group Firts

Finished #2* All breed in2009 as a one year old

Hound, one of the best breeds for hunting hare alone,without a pack. It has been selectively bred to have justthe right conformation and characteristics to do its job,and to do it in the Finnish conditions. The Finnish Houndis part of Finland’s cultural heritage as well as the pres-ent.

Each breed carries in it bits and pieces of the culturethat originally produced it. When an English breeder isinterested in Finland’s national breed, the Finnish Spitz,it is a homage to our culture. Getting into Borzois, anold wolf-hunting breed from Russia, also means givingcredit to the Russians for creating the breed. In Japan andChina there are many toy-size breeds whose task it is toact as guards against evil spirits. This kind of knowledgegives us insights, however tiny, into the thoughts and his-tory of other cultures.

The disappearance of dog breeds meansthat the characteristics bred into themover generations would dilute, mixwith each other, eventually vanishaltogether. Where would we then goto find all those reliable guide dogsto aid visually impaired people, or thesniffer dogs that are always friendly

and eager to work? And when we are faced with newsituations and challenges, where would be the options tochoose from? An example can be found in Sweden, wherea new arrival, the wild boar, is wreaking havoc on fieldsand crops. The domestic hounds are no match for it, andin their search for reliable companions the Swedish hunt-ers have imported many different hound breeds tradition-ally bred for boar hunting.

Our invaluable canine companions can be trained todo the most amazing things and no doubt their physicalfeatures, such as that astonishing nose, would remain––but could they be trained any more? The disposition forobedience is an inherited trait, but it is hard to predictwhat kind of temperaments would emerge if dogs wereallowed to choose their mates. A likely outcome is anincrease in aggression as free competition for the oppor-tunity to reproduce tends to favour the toughest, mosttestosterone-filled males.

The end of selective dog breeding would mean theend of dog shows––and of registering. Testing andscreening for various diseases and health problem wouldgo overboard, too, because why on earth would peoplepay money to have their dogs tested and screened if noone records the results or shows interest in them? We’dknow the forebears of our dogs only by hearsay, if eventhat. No doubt there’d still be some kind of Match Shows,but on what grounds would the dogs be evaluated? “Thisone looks nicer than the others?” Besides, then we’d stillface the terrifying prospect that the owner of a winningdog might want to get more of the same, and be temptedto choose a mate for the pooch. Oh no––back to selectivebreeding!

WhyDon’tWeJustStopDogBreedingAltogether?

Dog shows are often considered the ultimate man-ifestation of everything that’s sick and wrong in dogbreeding. And yet, the basic purpose of dog shows isto provide a venue for ensuring that the constructionand temperament of each breed remains just right forits task and function, whatever those may be. Thisfunction is written in the breed standard. All stan-dards also contain many details that are only aesthet-ic, included to please the eye––but this is perfectlyacceptable, provided that those details do not under-mine the three cornerstones: health, temperament,and sound construction. Even if some breeders orjudges have a distorted idea of beauty, that is no rea-son to reject dog shows altogether. With some breedswe just need to take a few steps back, towards theoriginal purpose and function of the breed.

Moreover, dog shows and various working tri-als give dog owners the extra incentive to keep theirdogs in top condition. Even without them the dogswould no doubt be looked after, groomed, taken tothe vet, but knowing there’s a trial or a show aheadcertainly gives any owner an extra boost. And it’s notonly about the exterior: going to a show tests a dog’smental faculties at least to some degree. How doesthe dog cope with an unfamiliar place, lots of otherdogs and various disturbances, slippery floors, or ajudge who comes to touch and look into its mouth?

Pedigree dogs and various dog sports are a hobbyfor a huge number of people. In Finland alone thereare about 400,000 pedigree dogs, and while not everyowner is into dog shows or sports, they nonethe-less have the opportunity to choose from a variety ofactivities. Do we really want to take this away fromthem? Today’s dog world is also truly international, it

98 Dog News

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30

Originally a gundog breed, the American CockerSpaniel developed into a beautiful show dow withspectacular movements and a luxurious coat. Peopleoften speak disparagingly of some breeds as “mereshow dogs,” but the American Cocker also shines inmany other disciplines––Agility, Obedience, CanineFreestyle, even in its original task as a gundog.


Breeder: Sylvia HammarstromOwned, Handled and Groomed by Ben & Anna Stromberg Franzoso

South Salem, New York

Dog News 99

CH. SKANSEN’S C’SOFIA OFCH. SKANSEN’S C’SOFIA OFGGrandeurrandeurHer Last Six Shows - Five Group Firsts!


Sofia is pictured winning Group First at Trenton Kennel Club underJudge Mr. Kerry Lee from Australia. Handled by Kristin Karboskiafter Anna had taken ill at Bucks. Kristin and Sofia preceded thiswith Group First at Bucks County under Judge Mr. Neville Hodgkins.

We are eternally grateful to all our friends for your help duringBucks and Trenton. The dog community truly is a tight knit family.

The Nation’s Number Two* Giant Schnauzer

This grassroots leadership did the neces-sary preparation for the break from traditionand they produced their affirmative vote fordividing the group.

Several years ago the Board of Directorsappointed what was called a blue-ribbonpanel to study the realignment of the groups.They worked rather close to their vest anda proposal was made. The drums along theEast River started with a low rumble andfinally reached a noticeable cacophony. Eventhough the Board had already sent the com-mittee’s report out, they pulled the proposalbefore the delegates’ meeting and so itnever came up for a vote.

In the most recent and current periodanother blue-ribbon group has studied thesame problem (and it has by now become aproblem) and made its recommendation. TheBoard endorsed this report. Again the planwas scuttled.

It does appear now that another group ofindividuals that is obsessed with the conceptof redistributing the breeds and increasingthe number of groups in a significant fashionis restudying the situation. One of the argu-ments that has never been used before isthat the number of newly recognized breedsby the Kennel Club has exploded and thatgroups are becoming too large and that theywill delay the Best-in-Show judging. Thisargument is somewhat confusing.Therewould still be the same number of dogs butthere would also be the additional time re-quired to assemble three additional groups.

This is Issue Number 3. However it doesappear that the generals do have some realsoldiers in their army now.

TheMoneyTreeThe most recent issue where the generals

and the army recruits are marching in dif-ferent directions is the cost of licensing feesthat the Board of Directors wants to chargeits judges if they wish to continue to partici-pate in American Kennel Club shows. Thefinancial issue for this decision will be dis-cussed in a later article so we will just dis-cuss the principles of governance here.

When proposing the fee structure for

judge’s licenses, the judging members of theBoard of Director excluded themselves and allthe Delegate judges from any such fees. Thestated reason for this was that these judges donot charge a fee and so they should not have topay a charge for a license.

The thinking here is a little cloudy. There aremany judges who have never charged clubs afee over expenses for working at shows. Shouldthese individuals not also be forgiven a licensefee for the same reason? The former Board ofDirector Vice-Chairman and former CEO of theAmerican Kennel Club wrote a very persuasiveletter stating that he should not be requiredto pay an annual fee either as he has nevercharged a fee. During my first 26 years of judg-ing I never charged a fee to the clubs.

This appears to be just one more exampleof not sounding out the constituency. It shouldbe remembered that several years ago whensomeone from the Kennel Club told the superin-tendents at an annual meeting that they weregoing to start being charged because they madetheir living from dog shows. One of the moreforthright superintendents stated that any suchfee would be passed directly to the clubs who inturn would pass it on to the exhibitor. That wasthe end of any such program.

Consulting in advance certainly scuttled thatprogram but it did save the Kennel Club embar-rassment as they did not have to back downpublicly.

This is issue Number 4. This is again an is-sue of the generals not accepting the collectivegovernance issues involved. It is, of course, ac-knowledged that no one likes change and no onelikes to take cash out of his own pocket.

The Directors are the indirectly elected rep-resentatives of all the clients of the AmericanKennel Club. It does now appear to many AKCwatchers that the Directors are marching to aself-constructed vision of what is good for thepurebred dog clients. Aloofness and not stayingin touch with the common dog man on a regularbasis has caused a loss of confidence in the pow-er elite. The situation appears now to have beenreduced to an “us against them” atmosphere.How truly unfortunate! •

102 Dog News

BerndtOfferingsCONTINUED FROM PAGE 46

looking for a new companion, be it their first or one of many. Itis one step further in which Richard and her team establish theundying passion they have for animals and their commitment tocare for whatever pets need their attention most.

As icing on the cake, daycare, boarding and groomingservices are available on site, either as a stand-alone service orin conjunction with swim sessions of any kind, and the cage-less facilities are spacious and well-kept. With a partneredveterinary hospital, agility center, obedience trainer and indoordog run in the same building, Water4Dogs acts as a cornerstonefor what is perhaps the closest thing to a doggie mall in thecity—and possibly far beyond its limits.

Michael GartenlaubNew York, New York

Kennel Club Praises New Scotland Bill As Important StepIn Reforming Flawed Dangerous Dogs Legislation

Following lobbying from the Kennel Club and DangerousDogs Act Study Group (DDASG), the Control of Dogs(Scotland) Bill has now passed its final stage in the

Scottish Parliament unanimously. MSPs were lobbied to supportan amendment tabled by Patricia Ferguson MSP to removethe reference to a dog’s “size and power” when consideringwhether it is out of control.

The amendment supports the Kennel Club and DDASG’sprinciple of ‘deed not breed’ in the control of dangerous orout of control dogs, and the Kennel Club is delighted that thisprinciple was carried by MSPs and the amendment was passed.

Caroline Kisko, Communications Director said “The KennelClub greatly welcomes the Bill as it will place a legislative focuson the deed, rather than the breed of dogs and finally holdirresponsible dog owners to account. The current DangerousDogs Act was a kneejerk piece of legislation which was rushedthrough in haste. It has not reduced the number of dog bitingincidents but has had a huge impact on the welfare of manydogs.

“It is essential that any new legislation is properlyconsidered to better protect the public against dogsdangerously out of control, without compromising anyindividual dog’s welfare.”

The Kennel Club continues to play an active role in lobbyingagainst the injustices of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 andruns the secretariat for the Dangerous Dogs Act Study Groupwhich includes other organisations such as Dogs Trust, BlueCross, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and Wood Green AnimalShelter. The DDASG has established objectives for a review ofdangerous dog legislation and helped to draft the original DogControl Bill which was taken up in Scotland originally by AlexNeill MSP and continued by Christine Grahame MSP.

The Kennel Club together with DDASG has been lobbyingmembers of the Scottish Parliament to support the Control ofDogs (Scotland) Bill since it was introduced. The Bill will nowbecome an Act once it has received Royal Ascent in the nextfew weeks.

For further information on the Kennel Club’s campaignto change current dangerous dog legislation visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/kccampaigns.

Fern HowardLondon, England •

Though the recreational aspect is amajor component of Water4Dogs, moreimportant are the specialty servicesfor post-surgical, senior, and otherwisedisabled dogs who need extra careand attention. For these dogs, sessionsare available with licensed veterinarytechs, some who have been working intandem with Richard since the late 90’s.First, the specialists evaluate the dog’sphysical condition in conjunction withthe attending veterinarian by analyzingtheir gait, limbs, range of motion, and soon, using that information to determine ahydro-therapy plan that will improve theiroverall health. The pool, for instance,offers weaker dogs lower-impact exerciseand a platform for rehab exercises.

In addition, there are two Fernounderwater treadmills that can be usedfor muscle-building exercises on dogsthat may not be able to bear their fullweight. The treadmills draw from alarge 700-gallon reservoir that keepswater lightly chlorinated and heatedfor sanitary concerns, and each dog hasthe treadmill’s water level and speedcustom adjusted to their size and heightfor an ultra-tailored experience. Aftertheir swim, dogs are shampooed andrinsed before passing through the high-pressure dryer, ensuring that there’sno mess in the owner’s car or house.While Water4Dogs and their partnersprovide the attention to detail necessaryfor luxury clients, it’s important todistinguish that each service is intendedto serve a greater purpose for petsand owners alike. Indeed, it’s the well-being of special needs dogs that takesprecedence over all.

Despite the name, Water4Dogs offersservices outside of the pool room thatmake it a true one-stop-shop for petcare, and like the pool services, indooractivities exist for both recreationand health. Electric neuromuscularstimulation, ultrasound, and a range oftherapeutic exercises, for instance, helpinactive dogs through the preventionof muscle atrophies and work to buildback lost muscle while simultaneouslydecreasing pain, while reiki massagecan be performed for medical value orsheer relaxation. If New York houses ahandful of doggie spas, Water4Dogs isundoubtedly its premier doggie medi-spa.

Between their affiliation with theMayor’s Alliance for animal adoption(MAFA) and their own in-house fosteringprogram, Water4Dogs also offers adoptionopportunities for cat and dog lovers

JUNE 11, 2010Lettersto theEditor

Dog News 123

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 121

Dog News, June 11, 2010

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