If you belong to the very few people in the dog show world who still have family and friends outside of this hobby then youíve surely seen them roll their eyes or shake their head when confronted with the dog show and breeder scene. It is very difficult to explain to someone from ìthe outside worldî why we find great pleasure in this hobby. I canít count how many times Iíve had to explain to my friends that I have no benefit from the show wins, that I donít win any money, that it is very expensive and to top it off itís not a fair system and many, many times you walk away from a show totally pissed off. ìWhy do you show your dogs then?î, they ask, ìis it like entering your daughter for a beauty pageant?î
Of course not! …but wait a second, isnít there a bit of truth to that? Could it really be the same need for attention and acknowledgment that drives mothers to enter their daughters in beauty pageants and to make their kids try out for the little league soccer team that makes us enter our dog for the World Dog Show? Well, to tell you the truth, Iíve pondered about this quite a bit lately, especially since my family keeps telling me it is a hobby for frustrated dog ladies, who donít have a job and get no real recognition for anything they do in life. Are most of us lonely, manic depressive, passive aggressive human beings, who try to get credit for their dogs because they havenít accomplished anything else in life?
As much as it hurts, and as much as Iíve tried to argue that this is not the case at all, Iíve recently come to realize that there is a certain truth to it. I donít have any statistics, but just counting the breeders and exhibitors I know, a large percentage of them donít have a job, are stay-at-home moms or retired. Many have no interest in anything else but dogs, somehow the whole dogs show thing is like an addiction, some exhibitors seem to have no life. There is no other explanation for it, why would exhibitors spend so much money, time and energy on shows otherwise? Itís a bit like playing at the casino, entering is always like rolling the dices. Even breeding is like a game, there is definitely a little adrenaline rush going on every time you do a mating and you hope that there will be this one special puppy youíve been waiting for!
Many exhibitors would do anything for a show win or result, many even sacrifice their career or even their family. There are quite many ìdog ladiesî out there who got divorced simply because their husband couldnít stand their ìdog hoardingî and spending every cent on the dogs and shows. I even know a few who have lost their jobs, calling in sick every Monday after a long exhausting dog show weekend , and simply no energy to get up on Monday morning after an all night drive. Then there are the ones that went bankrupt because of all the expenses for the shows and an ñ what seems like an – obsessive compulsive disorder for buying one dog after another. Where is the difference to shopping addiction?
…but most of us are stubborn ñ or should we call it dedicated? We are all convinced we donít have a problem. Itís simply a fact that our dogs enjoy showing as much as we do, or they wouldnít preform, right? No, they donít like to be crated all day at the shows, but itís only for the weekend, so they donít mind, right? Yes, theyíd rather chase a ball and roll in the mud than be wrapped up in plastic so their coat doesnít get all tangled up, but itís just for a few years until they retire, right?
Donít get me wrong, I love shows and I think if done in moderation every dog enjoys it, but there are certain times in the life of a breeder and exhibitor, where it all becomes insignificant and you can really only wonder if you have the right priorities in your life, when everything you do and everyone you meet revolves around the dogs. Recently a friend of mine lost her pet that was born on the same day as my oldest pet and she was devastated. It made me look back and realize that all these years I have given my show dogs and the parents of my litters so much more attention than my pet dog. She is always by my side, always loyal, always taking care of the puppies born at our house, always teaching young dogs manners, always welcoming every dog that entered our lives for a few months when we were showing them, or had a bitch over for a mating, always waiting at home until I returned from a show or a trip to visit with dog show friends. Always, always, always taking the back seat to the Honey Boo Boos in our home, because she unlike the others never ìhad a jobî – she never won anything, never brought home huge trophies or rosettes. We do not love her any less because she is ìjust a petî, but in the last few months Iíve felt it is too easy to overlook our pets, when we are constantly focused on evaluating litters, training our youngsters, growing up puppies that weíve kept, raising litters, breeding, showing, networking…..
Since I was forced to take a break from showing and breeding for a while, Iíve made it my goal to focus on my pets during this time. After all they are the best companions and friends and the reason why we started showing an breeding in the first place. There is no need for all of them to win, to produce or to accomplish. There are times in your life when it is important that you just sit back and relax and enjoy the time with your pets without all the ìbeauty pageantî-hullaballoo of the shows. …and once youíve gone through a few weekends without dog shows I swear the signs of withdrawal are barely noticeable anymore!
Honey Bo Boos of The Canine World • By Ruth Rauherz
