Page 264 - ShowSight - January 2020

Mayno Blanding continued
How does my breed rank in popularity among other Non Sporting breeds? They are slowly declining in popularity, perhaps because of the tremendous amount of work it takes to keep them white and trimmed.
Does my breed get its fair share of attention in the Group? Yes, they do very well in Group. I am always disappointed if my dog does not get a placement in Group and note that Bichons have usually been right up there with Standard Poodles in Group placements.
The biggest misconception about the breed among the general public? Many people do not realize how smart this breed is. They learn very quickly but are not shown in Obedience often for some reason. I myself have not shown in Obedience for eight or nine years, because I have been so busy with conformation. It is really difficult to do both in this breed because of the amount of time it takes to prepare for the conformation ring.
What can my parent club do to increase awareness and popu- larity of my breed? I wish they would encourage local clubs to get involved with Meet-the-Breeds.
The largest health concern facing my breed today? Auto- immune diseases including allergies/sensitivities. They have some eye concerns. Overall this is a very healthy breed.
Any trends I see in my breed that I believe need to continue or stopped? Breeders have greatly improved the overall conforma- tion of the Bichon Frise. I judged the Bred-by-Exhibitor Special Attraction this year at our National Specialty, and I was extremely impressed by the quality I saw. As a member of the Health Com- mittee, I wish breeders would do more testing—especially the long- timers. We are pushing hard to change this.
I owe the most to Rosemarie Blood, who was my mentor and sponsor for the BFCA. I used to talk to her after every show, and she helped me evaluate my litters. I miss her terribly.
The biggest pitfall awaiting new and novice judges? Putting a pretty face over soundness. This should be one of the best-moving dogs in the ring. They should be solid little dogs with excellent angulation and beautiful reach and drive.
The funniest thing I’ve ever seen at a dog show? A friend lost her slip in the group ring one time. She just stepped out of it, tossed it outside the ring, gave a little bow and carried on. It was hilarious.
CATHY CLAPP
I live in Hodgenville, Kentucky (birthplace of Abraham Lincoln) and have been in dogs since 1982.
Outside of dogs, I work at Edward Jones as Branch Office Manager. I read a lot and occasionally write.
What made me decide to become a breeder? It’s difficult to get a good dog and especially a good bitch. I finally decided the best way to try and get what I wanted would be to attempt to breed it.
A brief overview of my experience as a breeder: I do not breed often—usually when I’m ready for something new to show. Because I didn’t want to become a collector I was always very hard on evalu- ating puppies and only kept what fit what I was looking for. And I didn’t have it easy. I had all kinds of reproduction issues with my first bitches so I eventually had to look at a new bloodline and start over. That was when I finally started having some success.
My breed described in three words: majestic, square and serious.
How does my breed rank in popularity among other Non Sport- ing breeds? Not that high. You have to be careful with temperament and they require a ton of socialization in addition to you have to put some effort into grooming. Even Smooth coats are not a wash and wear breed. If you want to show Chows you need to be committed to upkeep, not just day-of-show preparations.
Does my breed get its fair share of attention in the Group? It seems to run in cycles. Right now Chows have been fairing pretty well in the groups but that’s not always the case. There are years where very few Chows receive group placements and years where multiple Chows seem to be placing. Maybe the fact that a Chow placed in the group at Westminster Kennel Club in 2019 (one I bred actually, GCHB FlamingStar The Lion King, owner-handled by Vicki DeGruy) put the spotlight on the breed and garnered them more notice.
The biggest misconception about the breed among the general public? That they are a “one-man dog” and they are all mean. While most would rather stay at home and be a recluse, the fact is if you get them out and socialize them they will be fine in public. And they are protective without being mean. One of their original purposes was as a guard dog and that instinct to protect what is theirs is usu- ally there. But it doesn’t mean they can’t be polite in public. But they also aren’t a Golden Retriever. They’re more like a cat.
What can my parent club do to increase awareness and popular- ity of my breed? Honestly, We don’t want more popularity. We’ve already been through that in the 80s and once was enough. They were so popular at one point that they were #3 in Litter Registration and #6 in Individual Registration with AKC. Chows were every- where and they were breeding bad temperaments and all kinds of health issues. We don’t need that again.
The largest health concern facing my breed today? We have sev- eral known issues in Chows: hips, elbows, thyroid, eyes and patella. The biggest concern is the sheer number of breeders who do not check any of their breeding stock. Their attitude is that if they don’t know about it, it doesn’t exist. So they are breeding without any idea of what they might be passing along for the next person to deal with.
Any trends I see in my breed that I believe need to continue or stopped? We need to continue breeding good, sound, balanced dogs that have breed type. We do not need extreme overdone dogs which some are promoting. However, as long as there are people who think that is what a Chow should look like, I do not see it stopping. Non-show breeders especially are breeding both extremes—those with no breed type and those that are so heavy you wonder how the dogs functions.
I owe so much to the mentors that sold me my first show dogs, but I’d have to say the ones that helped me the most long-term were Harvey and Penny Kent of Sunburst Chows (now retired from showing and breeding). They gave me the bitch which my current dogs go back to and I have bred to several of their stud dogs over the years. When I was looking for something specific they were the ones that had it and were willing to help. They liked a similar style dog as I do so it was a good match.
© Vicki DeGruy.
GCHG CH FlamingStar Some Like It
Hot CD BN RN CA RATCH CGC TKN
(“Marilyn”)
and they’d always tell me they thought so. I entered in my first real
AKC show and as soon as I walked ringside I knew that my dog was not show quality. But I was already hooked and continued to show him. Because I did, I met a breeder who was willing to take a chance on me and sold me a show quality red bitch. And while I did show her my first AKC title was not a Championship. In the meantime, I had trained that first dog in Obedience and I put a CD (Compan- ion Dog) title on him.
256 • ShowSight Magazine, January 2020
How did I get involved in this sport? I had a puppy that others kept telling me I should show and started going to matches. He did well and I’d ask the judges if he was really worth showing
Non-Sporting Q & A