Text 42117, 81 rader
Skriven 2006-11-01 09:43:20 av shannon talley (1:275/311)
     Kommentar till en text av Tim Richardson
Ärende: Re: Whippets
====================
Hi Tim,

Curious... How many dog shows have you participated in?  I'm just trying to 
gauge your experiences....

> st> However, the dogs enjoy working and the show is part of their work.
> st> By showing them, one is actually doing them a favor... Dogs don't
> st> necessarily enjoy just sitting all day every day doing nothing but
> st> eating, drinking, and crapping.  Training them, socializing them, and
> st> then lure coursing them, racing them, or showing them gives them a
> st> purpose, prolongs their life, and increases their happiness.

> The only one who `gets' anything out of it is the owners. The dog does
> the `work'....the owner gets to attend the dinners, the cocktail
> parties, gets the applause, the ribbons and trophies, not to mention
> the large `breeding' fees for stud service, or the outrageous prices
> for pups from their female dog.

I've attended many dog shows, and I've yet to participate in any "cocktail" 
parties....    The only dinner one might attend is at a restaurant of their 
choosing because the owners (and handlers) typically travel distances 
(sometimes very great) in order to show the dog.  The great thing about a 
dog show / and lure coursing / is there is no "class system".  Someone with 
just enough money to afford the dog and some reasonably nice clothes might 
be competing against a CEO of a F500 company and one wouldn't know it. 
Those with money would most likely attend the finest restaurants in the 
area, but that wouldn't be any different than if they stayed home.  "I" am 
on a budget and will typically stay in a tent at a campground or motel 6 if 
there is one in the area (they are pet friendly).  So, unless KFC or some 
other popular chain serves up cocktails at the campground where I have my 
tent, it's unlikely that I'll have any <grin>.

But, your note regarding who get's what, "The only one who `gets' anything 
out of it is the owners..." isn't necessarily accurate.  The dog get's to 
work... Although you seem to place an emphasis on the negative condemnation 
of "work"... Canines need to work.   So, unless one despises their job, 
working is great.  If any of my dogs ever showed a disinterest in either 
lure coursing or showing, I wouldn't make them do it.  The fact is, when 
they go to a show or a race, they show all the physical attributes of a dog 
that is excited about doing their job.

Why do it?  There are both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons, and I fall 
somewhere in the middle.  I want my dogs to achieve well because they enjoy 
it, but I also want them to place exceptionally well so they get the 
appropriate title attached to their official AKC name.  Why?  It's a 
business Tim....  The higher the title, the more their puppies will adopt 
out for.  A very wealthy and wise man once told me, "Make your hobbies work 
and provide income for you.....".  I'm working on that with several 
different business models, and Wacker Whippets is one of them.   These 
canines are NOT cheap -- not by any stretch... A litter with a pure 
championship lineage will help me put a nice down payment on a new house. 
My investment?  The original canines, training, shows, blood, sweat, and 
lots of visits to the vet <g>.  The fact I love dogs, and especially this 
breed helps me keep my sanity in check.

If you want to see them work, click 
http://www.wackerwhippets.com/public/whippet/movies.htm and a flash video of 
a single Lure Course race (ASFA) will begin to play. My dog is the one in 
the pink lure coursing jacket being released by my daughter who is in the 
middle.  And -- well -- that's something else (a whole new subject).  My 
adolescent daughter is really into this sport / and show also.  What a great 
place for a kid to spend her free time....!  I mean, good gosh -- there are 
worse places for a child to spend their time isn't there?  We travel as a 
family to these events, camp or stay in motel 6, meet and socialize with 
people of all walks of life, have cook outs, tail gate BBQ's, have fun with 
the dogs, and at the end of the day, we go to sleep just like everyone else, 
but perhaps a little richer for the experiences :)

You seem to have some serious misconceptions about what a dog show is, and 
the intent of this post is a sincere positive attempt at providing you some 
information that you didn't know.  You can take it with the positive 
emphasis it was intended, or you can simply reply with negative 
preconceptions and I'll try and keep the thread positive regardless. 
Perhaps you've had negative personal experiences with dog shows, and if you 
have, I'd love to read about them.

Warmest regards,
Shannon

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