Page 100 - ShowSight - December 2019

Becoming
BY JACQUELYN FOGEL
MAKING OUR AKC SHOWS LESS SCARY FOR NOVICES
We’re scary. We are so good at what we do that anybody who thinks about competing with us gets scared. How can they breed, buy, groom, train and show a dog that looks anything like ours? Where do they start? How do they learn? How much money will they have to spend to even come close to having a dog that looks and acts like ours? Do they even want to try?
I believe the AKC groomers, handlers and trainers are the best in the world. Nobody in any other region of the world is as proficient at presenting dogs as the people who regularly compete in AKC shows. We take our competition seriously, and we are the best. It is no secret that handlers and groomers from all over the world want to come here to learn how our AKC professionals manage their trade. They come here to learn how to breed, groom, train and present their dogs. We are the masters of the universe— and it’s scaring novice exhibitors away from our shows.
Think about breaking into the dog show world today. Where do you start? We don’t have fun matches anymore, and all of our shows are point shows. Go to the tiniest show in the Midwest and there will be at least two or three handlers with trucks full of well-groomed, well-trained show dogs. Buy a beagle thinking it’s a no-groom breed, and imagine your surprise when you find out it takes as long to groom a beagle for a show as it does to put up a Bedlington. If you think there is any breed shown today that does not require some level of ring-ready grooming, or training to perform in a breed-acceptable manner you’d be wrong. Sure, there are a few short haired breeds like a Manchester that require very little coat preparation, but even they require some level of training to be able to compete with a flashy Maltese, Shih Tsu or miniature poodle in the group. Is it any wonder that people gravitate toward the newer AKC breeds? Nobody knows what they’re supposed to look like yet, so a novice can compete on a level field with other novices.
I think this intimidation factor is a very real problem. Terriers, known for their extraordinary grooming requirements, are all becoming rare breeds. It’s true that many people don’t want to spend the time on end- less grooming, but it’s also true that they don’t know where to go to find out how to do the work. There is no grooming school that teaches the art of rolling a hard coat or the intricate detail of a scissored Bedlington trim. It’s a learn-by-doing environment with few good teachers. It took me three years of grooming a Bed- lington to finally master a trim that was not embarrassing, much less beautiful. It took another 10 years to get to a master level, and I still modify my trims.
About 6 months ago I had an epiphany. If I wanted new people to join the ranks of Bedlington breed- ing and showing and help to preserve this breed for posterity, I was going to have to reach out to people >
“We take our competition seriously, and we are the best.
It is no secret that handlers and groomers from all over the world want to come here to learn how our AKC professionals manage their trade.”
98 • ShowSight Magazine, DeceMber 2019