• Still the majority of people that show are owners and breeders, not professionals… that do this for a living... or if they do, it is not their full time jobs unless they are the "big" time handlers....


  • @tanza:

    Still the majority of people that show are owners and breeders, not professionals… that do this for a living... or if they do, it is not their full time jobs unless they are the "big" time handlers....

    That's true. My point is the "big time" handlers are the one's that don't seem to want to be bothered and can appear snooty….they do to me.

    For me, If it was just the breeder/owner's out there, I'd probably go to more shows.


  • I hear you Basenji Boy… but at least in the Basenji ring there are not near as many big time handlers as there are in other breeds, in fact very few... many of them that are handlers for Basenjis, are breeders themselves...... Most of them don't want to do Basenjis...gggg


  • @tanza:

    Most of them don't want to do Basenjis…gggg

    Ha Ha Ha! I believe that. Give me the people that have some compasion for the dog itself…....from what I see, Basenji people are some of the best at that.:)


  • I understand that, but I guess… I see the professionals as being in the minority, at least from my own --- very limited ---- observations.

    Your post made it sound like most people involved are in it for, and making big, money. And I just haven't seen that at all. . . a few in it for money, but not most.
    But my uneducated guess would be that those who pay the big bucks to handlers did NOT MAKE their big bucks by showing or breeding dogs.


  • <_>

    Pat, I think the confusion started because I stated that *AKC is a registery and a business. And SweetShelby then said dog showing is a business…which I also disagree with. It can be a hobby, or a passion, and for very few an occupation...but for most the actual act of showing dogs has NOTHING to do with making money...in fact, it has a lot to do with losing money (as I think Basenji Boy mentioned)...and perhaps for some...a tax shelter 😉

    I think it might be hard for people who are completely unfamiliar with the conformation world to understand *what and *how AKC operates. And how all-breed and show giving clubs operate within it...and how breeders operate within that...

    A dog show is absolutely all about the dogs...there is NOTHING else going on there if isn't about the dogs...almost to the point of ridiculousness. What it isn't about is pets, I guess. A lot of the dogs at shows ARE pets living comfortably in someone's home. And a lot of them are or will be parents to puppies that will live a pampered life of Reilly. But the show itself is not really about pet dogs...it is (supposed) to be about breeding stock._


  • Your post made it sound like most people involved are in it for, and making big, money. And I just haven't seen that at all. . . a few in it for money, but not most.

    I wrote

    Yes it is a business and there are people there earning a living, doing what they do for a job and take it very seriously. Like it or not that's what it is.

    I didn't say "Most", just that there are some out there that earn a living doing it.

    But my uneducated guess would be that those who pay the big bucks to handlers did NOT MAKE their big bucks by showing or breeding dogs

    I wote

    There's some big money in the sport, those tractor trailers and big motorhomes you see in the parking lot's aren't always the weekend breeder and show/owner's vehicles. A lot of people showing dogs have people backing them, so there is more to it that the casual weekender

    .

    That's correct, having a backer could mean that they do anything for a living or nothing at all and are just rich!


  • @Quercus:

    I think it might be hard for people who are completely unfamiliar with the conformation world to understand *what and *how AKC operates. And how all-breed and show giving clubs operate within it…and how breeders operate within that...

    I think this is very true and not just about AKC Conformation events. Most people that I talk to are completely unaware of the scope of events offered by AKC and who is eligible to compete in the different events. Though dogs need to be intact to compete in conformation, they can be spayed/neutered and still compete in the Companion Events and Performance Events. Examples of Companion Events are Obedience and Rally. Examples of Performance Events are Lure Coursing and Tracking. Conformation is supposed to an evaluation of breeding stock with respect to the written standard for the breed. Companion Events are an evaluation of a dog and handler team working at tasks that make dogs good companions. Performance events are an evaluation of a dog's ability to perform a specialized task. These various events are offered so that breeders and buyers can evaluate stock based on criteria that is important to them.


  • A few pics from yesterday.




  • I love the logo on the truck! Very cool!


  • Very cool logo! And look at the beautiful B's and hu'moms! From the looks of parked vehicles, it must have been crowded.


  • @Quercus:

    I love the logo on the truck! Very cool!

    One of those is usually on the fridge and the other one we put on different doors around the house.:) The wife puts them on the truck when she goes to the shows. We had a lot of people compliment and question us about it.:D
    I thought you guys would get a kick out of that.;) 🙂

    BTW, this is JYS's C3PO, Topaz, & Willy and Jasper enjoying the day.


  • They are beautiful and look like they are having fun just hanging out. Cool gate.

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