OMG so few on here who are opposed to dog shows and the ones in favour are so defensive!!

Dog showing is a terrible business. Recently a work colleague said she wasn't going to take a certain puppy from a litter because it's teeth were wrong, it's posture was wrong etc.. and she couldn't show, so the breed sold it to someone else at cut price!

Dog showing encourages puppy farms. Dog showing encourages poor breeding.

Dogs are for pets not commodities based upon how good or bad they look.

Really ??

I see lots of puppy farmed West Highland White Terriers with fluffy soft coats, skin complaints etc etc Now I am at a loss to connect the PF with the Show breeder, who breeds for the correct coat, doesn't have the skin problems etc A PF dog would never be considered in the ShowRing-so why would PF be encouraged by a dog so unlike what they produce they look like separate breeds?

The most popular breeds for puppy farmers are now the designer dogs & these are never seen in the show ring again how can the show breeder be seen as encouraging PF.

Far more likely to influence PF is how easily their dogs sell, it is a well known fact that PF breed Cavalier males to Welsh Spring bitches to produce bigger litters & of course the puppies can be sold younger as they are bigger than real Cavalier puppies. More profit for the PF

Show breeders are much more likely to do all the health tests-PF don't-it reduces profit

It is interesting that so many people who"hate"the show ring either own mongrels/cross breeds or designer dogs. If you don't like the show ring, but have a KC registered pedigree how do you think that your dog's breed still nexists ???

The trouble with quantifiable measurable breed standards is that they would reduce the available gene pool even further within breeds.....for example in my own breed the breed standard calls for a "medium" width of skull ....if this were changed to " skull width 8 inches only " thus leaving no room for personal interpretation then all those dogs with skulls narrower or wider than 8 inches would not be bred from because they would be outside of their breed standard, you can quickly see how this would have a catastrophic effect on a breed gene pool !.

Northern lass , I'm a breeder of show quality dogs , here they are :



could you explain to me just how I am encouraging poor breeding or puppy farming ???

Why pay for pedigrees and designer dogs when there are 000s of mixed breeds needing homes in rescue centres.

It just doesn't make sense that a site created for dog-lovers are willing to pay for dogs or worse still make money out selling or showing dogs.

Real dog lovers- love dogs for dogs not for how much money can be made out of them in shows and breeding.

It's just horrifying to me.

Really Shozanne ?
I guess I am biased having worked in show kennels and been a junior partner in one. It is some years ago now but I don't think things can have changed that much in the intervening years.

Our stock came from Mrs Milsom, one of the first people in this country to own and breed Miniature Schnauzers and owner of one of the first champions in 1939, 'Ch Quarrydene Gretchen' .
We bred from only the very best dogs which conformed to the breed standard in every way including those with the best temperaments.

A number of our dogs went to found other show kennels around the world and we mentored new owners teaching them about the breed/trimming/showing/selecting breed lines/offering help with whelping. One owner went on to get reserve best in show at Crufts, another became the secretary of a Championship Show.

When puppies were sold as pets we taught the owners to trim if they wished to learn, or took back dogs back to trim if they were in the area. We also boarded our 'own dogs' when the owners were away and had an agreement that any of our dogs could be returned at any time should the owners find they were no longer able to keep them .
Looking at a number of current pedigrees in two breeds, I am able to see the progeny of dogs we bred and showed and it is good to know our dogs played a part in producing some of the lovely dogs we see today .

Puppy farming and poor breeding? I think not but you are entitled to your opinion .

I consider myself a dog real dog lover. I have pedigree dogs and rescues. I used to show my dogs and you know what? Never made a penny. In fact I spent a fortune on my hobby. And I am also sure, that I am just one of the many thousands of people who never made a penny out of their pedigree dogs, but enjoyed the fun of the dog show scene.

The average show exhibitor does NOT make money out of showing or breeding their dogs. At most shows only the very top winners receive prize money & that probably doesn't even cover their expenses to enter the show, fuel to get to the show etc.

I have a mix of rescue-2, ISDS-2, KC-3 dogs, do I value more than another ?? Nope, even when I was actively showing my dogs in breed classes, my non showers were just as dear to me as the ones I showed & they were ALL my pets.

A friend of mine has just made her dog up to be a show champion-I wouldn't like to have paid for all the expenses involved. The dog is a born show man, lovely temperament(& he is a terrier)with people & other dogs, he is also her house pet, along with her Dobermann.

You have a very warped view of dog shows-have you ever actually seen or been to a dog show(& I don't class Crufts as a dog show as all the dogs have to pre qualify & you do not always see the very best dogs there)

So what do you hate about showing,

You say you have nothing against those who show, yet hate the practice of showing dogs......does not add up really, because it's the people who are doing the practicing

Understand that, but what if it was a measurable range, medium doesn't mean the same for all, but a skull range say between 7 and 9 or 6 and 10 even would give a quantifiable measure that isn't too narrow, I just find that some things can be so subjective

Oh dear...so many untruths it hard to know where to start