The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well. We went into showing dogs because we were competitive and artistic and wanted to have pride in showing a fine dog. We have met many fine people as a result of our experiences. On the other hand, we have also encountered some difficult people too. After talking about sportsmanship and ethics a great deal between us, we have come to recognize that the dog show game, like almost all competitive activities, has people involved that cover the complete spectrum of human behavior.
People react to wins and losses in entirely different ways.
It seems their expectations coming into a show are far different from one another as well. For example, how many times have you heard a group of exhibitors predicting that Ch. This, like the tale that Joe Czperwicz, that noted handler of the Outer Mongolian Terrier, has this one wired because the judges leaned his way in the last show. These and other fairy tales are useful to set alibis in advance so our losses won't seem so bitter. Frankly, the way we see it is that in winning and losing, we have no certainty.