January 12, News & Notes

Puppies are here!

The biggest news of the last week was the arrival of Babs’ 8 puppies. She delivered all of them handily in three hours during the morning of Thursday, Jan. 7. There are 6 boys and 2 girls. We have puppies available, namely males. Being an eternal optimist, I would like to find some show homes for a few of them but qualified pet homes are also welcome to apply. The delivery could not have gone smoother.

A quick note on numbers

Jan.7 also happened to be Dana Massey’s birthday. Dana co-owns Rio, the sire of Babs’ puppies. Happy Birthday Dana! We have had puppies born on Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day and President’s Day. Gabby came along one day short of St.Patrick’s Day. We’ll still drink in Gabby’s honor on March 17th if she doesn’t knock the beer bottle out of my hand and run off with it. The apple does not fall far from the “crazy-dog” tree.

The birth date of the puppies was not the first odd number coincidence concerning this litter. Babs was born on Dec. 12, 2006. Rio was collected on the exact same date before leaving for his new home with Pip Simmons in New Zealand. The vet tech thought this coincidence was so odd, she brought out the straws and showed me the date scribbled on the side of them in permanent ink.

The next odd numerical coincidence I would like to have: Money, dogs, and calendar dates lining up so I can make it to two Futurities in 2011. I’d better go water my money tree because the interest on my savings account is not going to get us there.

My thoughts about the Amateur Owner-Handler class

On behalf of my many friends who are new to the sport, I’ve been contemplating the pros and cons of the “new” Amateur Owner-Handler class offered by the American Kennel Club.

Anyone who knows me realizes I’ve been long opposed to classes who “label” people instead of dogs. I don’t show in the Bred-By Exhibitor class for this reason. Even though I have been showing dogs for 20 years, many of my own breeding, the BBE class seems to be a great way for me to take Reserve with a dog I’d easily win with out of Open. It is also difficult when you’re competing in BBE with breeders who are also professional handlers. If you’re not a recognizable face, the undefined nature of the Open class has its advantages.

I am making these observations from a seasoned competitor’s point of view. There are not very many things I remember from the first few times I showed a dog at 13 years old. The negative things stick with me more than anything. I remember getting mowed down by a few professional handlers on the go-around. I remember people shoving their dog up the back of my dog just to see if I was too polite to tell them to back up. I remember feeling humiliated on a number of occasions. At that point I did have the “kid” excuse. Being young can insulate you from a lot of the negativity associated with learning or growing into something. I think kids are conditioned that way to a certain extent. Learning to compete takes time and patience. Or, in the case of showing dogs, growing a very thick skin.

The AKC must have recognized a lot of people have been turned off by the sport because they've been treated poorly by other exhibitors, mowed down by professional handlers, or had a judge act very impatient towards them. Professionals, breeders and hobbyists who’ve been involved in showing dogs for a long time deal with these things as they come. After thousands of shows, one really bad day will not keep you from coming back the next. For a new exhibitor, one bad day might be the only day you see them at the show.

The Amateur Owner-Handler class gives people the opportunity to show a dog without be harassed, hurried or bothered by judges or exhibitors who find themselves less-than sportsmanlike towards newcomers. While this does single a new handler out, it also protects them to certain extent. No one wants to be accused of acting poorly towards a newcomer, especially in these lean economic times when entry fees are up and entries are down. While the majority of exhibitors and professionals are good at self-policing, extra attention towards encouraging sportsmanlike conduct can be good for everyone involved.

On a non-dog related note

I am back in school for more computer science (code code code) . If I can get an A in my C++ programming class, there’s a round on me some time in April. As usual, you can show your support through Jelly Bellies, Starbucks and Jamba Juice donations.