Page 168 - ShowSight - September 2019

One Person’s Look at the
CURRENT AND FUTURE STATE OF OUR SPORT:
BY WALTER J. SOMMERFELT
Do you ever find yourself thinking about our sport of pure-bred dogs? Are you like some that wonder out loud whether will we even have a sport 10-20 years from now? Are you new to the sport and wonder what people mean when they say the good old days? Do you remember those days when judges were respected and were known to have a great
background in the sport? Are you a breeder that truly cares about your breed and can not believe how “generic” it has become? If you answered yes to any of these and have several more of your own, I wonder what we all can do together to make our sport what it once was.
As I pondered some of these questions, I decided to just jot down some of my thoughts on a variety of subjects that concern me about our sport today.
It is really no secret that conformation show entries in the U.S are in decline on a per show basis. It is also no secret that the animal right groups and lobbyist are creating problems for those dedicated purebred dog breeders throughout our country.
Reasons abound from everywhere about the cause of these issues and what can be done to reverse the trend.
I do not believe there is one single issue that has caused any of what we see in the dog world today. What I see is we live in a world where the technological advancements of the past 25 years have changed our world in ways none of us could have predicted back in the 70’s and moving forward.
Cell Phones, the internet, Facebook, Twitter and so forth now allow people to share their thoughts both positive and negative almost instantly with not only their friends and family but with literally the whole world. The people doing this in most cases are not even considering the consequences of their actions nor caring whom may be hurt by them. Fifty years ago an unhappy exhibitor might share his or her frustrations of the day with those closest to them or through a phone call to a friend and within a day or two the frustrations would be forgotten and the unhappy exhibitor may or may not choose to enter under that judge or attend that specific show in the future.
Where today they instantly post about their perception of a judge lacking knowledge, not being friendly enough, only placing professional handlers or friends and the like. They also don’t like the rules that clubs, and venues have in place for safety and other reasons that they don’t agree with. Often many of these individuals are people that have been in the sport a relatively short time and have not taken the time or expended the effort to study and learn about their breed, what is proper movement, conditioning and presentation for their breed. They also often don’t belong to a club and do not know of all the volunteers and hard work that goes into putting on a show. Many are instant experts and have no problem letting everyone know it. There are I will admit occasions when the criticism is valid and deserved but the way they go about trashing people, judges, clubs and fellow exhibitors is uncalled for.
In my humble opinion the American Kennel Club is responsible for some of these issues most notably the rapid advancement of today’s newer judges. I originally applied to judge back in 1985. At that time, we were required to provide a long and verifiable background as an exhibitor, and successful breeder of the breed or breeds we were initially applying for. We took closed book tests, had interviews and in some cases “Hands on Tests” from our peers on our ability to evaluate the exhibits in front
166 • ShowSight Magazine, SepteMber 2019