From: kte@INEL.GOV (Kathryn L Cook)
Subject: Re: Obedience v. Breed, Why? (was mutts & purebreds)
Reply-To: kte@INEL.GOV (Kathryn L Cook)
Organization: Idaho National Engineering Lab
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 92 14:35:41 GMT

First of All I *hate* this subject line, versus makes it sound like
we are, or at least should be, at war with one another.  I participate
in conformation showing, obedience, agility, and tracking with my dogs
and believe they are all fun, healthy and beneficial for me and my dogs.
On the most part, the people I have met in these endeavors have been
friendly, fun and helpful, of course in *any* group of people you're going
to find jerks.  My solution to this is to ignore the jerks and socialize
with the fun people.  There is a lot of work that goes into preparing myself
and my dogs for any type of competition, for me this work is actually a
relaxing way to get away from the hustle and bustle of my work-a-day world
so I guess it's not really work at all. I honestly believe this is also true
for my dogs, while they love to cuddle with me on the couch, or play a rousing
came of tug-a-war, chase, or keep-away, they also love to work.  All I have
to say is, "You wanna work?" and they head for the leash drawer, dancing and
smiling, and we're ready to go.

When someone says something like, "all you have to do in conformation is
run around the ring", they really don't know what they're talking about. I
practice on a regular basis with my current specials dog, Demi. She knows how
to stand correctly on the floor or the table, she knows just where to hold
her head, and will adjust any or all of her feet or lean forward or back
on my command and/or signal.  She wags her tail on command, she is not
afraid to have a judge examine her. She knows how fast I want her to move
at any given time and she know when we're going to turn, when we'll take the long
route around the ring, or when we're going to cut a corner. Baiting a dog doesn't
just mean holding food in front of its face, it means teaching the dog exactly
what to do when you hold food in front of her face, what to do when the food
is behind my back, what to do when my hand is in my pocket, what to do
when I flick my wrist, what to do when I rub my right leg, what to do when
I ask if she's a brat, and what to do when I formally stack her up.  All
of this takes time, understanding, and training for both me and my dog. Sure
she messes up sometimes, but don't we all.

Yes there are people in the breed ring who cheat (chalking dogs, fixing ears,
double handling, etc.) and yes I would love to see it stop. My consolation
to all of this is when I beat them anyway, I think yeh and I did it true and
honest, I presented my dog by the rules and we beat the suckers regardless.
Believe it or not there are also people in the obedience ring that cheat.  I
once congratulated another competitor on her nice performance and the 
attentiveness of her dog and she told me that she had talked to her dog 
through out both Novice healing patterns, and had even issued extra commands
under her breath. I must of had a shocked look on my face because she went
on to say that in her opinion she could do anything she wanted and that it
was the judges reponsibility to catch her.  I took my dog in the Novice ring,
played by the rules and got exactly the same score she did. I can't help but
think that I got a bit more satisfaction from the high score than she did.

I am a relative beginner in dog sports and have met so many wonderful, charming,
and helpful people in all aspects of the game. I've had top performance event
competitors and top professional handlers give me advice, encouragement and
congratulations. Yeh, I've been rebuked by some of these types also, but I just
ignore them and go on, they really are in the minority.

I wish all of us dog lovers could respect each others interests and acheivements.
As long as we love and care for our dogs, keep them healthy both mentally
and physically, protect them from society and protect society from them,
we're all standing in the same place.

Happy Holidays,

Kayti - Who loves her group placing, obedience and agility titled, tracking
        wannabe dogs just as much as if they were mutts.

 
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