I wanted to take a moment to highlight what, in my opinion, dog shows are good for. When I talk about a show dog, I do not envision some overdone caricature of a dog that is so dumb or so cumbersome it cannot do the job it was originally bred for. There are certainly dogs like that out there, but it is not what I prize, and I would dare say it is not even the “most winning” dog in the ring. Under some judges, maybe, but overall, no.
To me, a dog show is all about evaluating one aspect of my dog, the physical aspect. Technically, that physical aspect of my dog is made of two parts: soundness and type. Soundness is the basic structure of a dog. Is the dog built in such a way that it is not going to break down or become repeatedly injured doing its job? Can it move in such a way that it can do its job all day while exerting the least amount of energy possible? Type is all about what makes a certain breed of dog a certain breed of dog. It’s what makes a Lab look different than a Golden Retriever, a Cardigan Corgi different than a Pembroke, an Aussie different than a Border Collie. It’s a head, a body, a coat, a color, and a lot of stuff that’s hard to put your finger on but you know it when you see it.
There’s a fair amount of discord among people in the dog show world about which is more important. Personally, I value soundness above type. I would rather have a sound dog that is not going to get hurt over and over again, even if I sacrifice a little of what makes it really look like a perfect dog of that breed. To me, type is the pretty. However, that is not to say that I do not think type is important. Without type a dog would be a dog would be a dog. There would be nothing that kept a Poodle from looking exactly like a Chihuahua, and then we would lose some of what makes “our breed” special and different than all the others. So it really is a balancing act.
A dog show is only judging this physical aspect of a dog, and I am under no illusion that a CH in front of a name is some kind of magic pass to breed whatever dog I want. A CH says this dog was sound enough and had enough type to win over a few other dogs a few times under a few judges. It tells me nothing about the temperament, the working ability, or the genetics of the dog.
I do think dog shows are an important part of evaluating breeding stock and breeding decisions. It is a peer review. If nothing I ever bred can win in the show ring, I need to go back and look at my breeding choices. What am I doing that is making these dogs unable to get positive feedback by my fellow breed fanciers? Where am I not meeting the breed standard and how can I change that?
Also, keep in mind that how you see dogs look on TV dog shows, or even at a local dog show you are spectating, is sometimes an illusion. My dogs get lots of product in their hair and get blown out with a super powerful blow dryer to enhance the way their coat looks. It’s just part of the game we all play to be able to participate. Remember that sometimes when you see something that makes you go “holy cow, what have they done to those poor dogs?!,” it really is just grooming magic.
I’m writing all of this because, before I can really talk too much about the breeding for working ability discussion that was had this weekend, I had to give you a working definition of what a “show dog” is to me. A show dog is just a dog that had some good structure and maybe a pretty head. It is not a magical kind of dog that is exempt from being good at anything else just because it is a “show dog.”
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