Hi,

I think there are those who have dogs purely as commodities who don't treat their dogs properly (walk them, groom them, play with them, train them etc) and then there are bad pet owners the world over.

At the same time, this small minority ruins it for everyone else (I've already explained what I thought when I was growing up and it's only recently my views have changed because of what I've seen for myself).

There are many good show and pet owners who love their pets as family members and those who have dogs that liek to be in the ring.

So long as they dogs enjoy it, ithink you can't go far wrong. After all, if my dogs don't enjoy something they make no effort to get it right. If they didn't enjoy going to shows, I wouldn't take them.

But I wouldn't just leave it at that. I'd try to find somethign else they enjoy. As I said, Ellie doesn't like shows - too much sitting about and not enough opportunity to run about and play. So int eh summer she'll be goin gback to agility like she did last year. She was quite good at it by the time it finished int he Autumn.

Zane & Yiannis go to shows but when they get fed up with it, they have their obedience training (whether at training class or at home).

I agree that owning a dog doens't just mean having one in your house with you, feeding it and leaving it to run abotu outised to exercise or motivate itself. I beleive we should find things for our dogs to do. I woudln't consider my dogs to be working as such but I find things for them to do.

Zane can now bring me the phone when it rings if I'm not able to get to it (thanx to a dodgy knee). He can turn light switches on and off so I don't have to get up and down to do it.

With Yiannis I've started a little bit of scent and tracking work at the same time and him wearing his backpack, which slows him down a bit but makes him think too.

So just because someone shows their dogs doens't mean they are bad owners. Or just because someone is only a pet owner who doesn't show, it doesn't mean their dogs are missing out on anything. Of course, many of them do but if the dogs involved are happy, I don't see any harm in showing, or not as the case may be.

Laura xx

I'm not against showing where it benefits the dogs, but when anything goes into extremes I am, and that includes breed standards, there are breed standards that affect dogs, flat faces is a pet hate for me, I've seen pictures of dogs profiles where their noses are shorter then their muzzles, and I just think that it is unfair to the dogs, and their are other things that the breed standard can cause too, that is what I am agaisnt.

Thanks for all the replies...it really is interesting seeing the views of the non showers, things have been brought up that I never even considered.

Someone hit the nail right on the head, (sorry I can't remember who wrote it ), "if your dog isn't happy to be shown, then there is nothing you can do to get it to show", and a dog that has to be dragged around the ring when is should be striding out, wagging tail and looking up to its owner with a smile on its face is never going to be placed and, quite frankly, the exhibitor is wasting their money. (Unfortunately, there will always be the odd time when someone with a three legged dog that bears no resemblance to the breed standard will win, but that is because handler is judging breed next week and judge needs to earn a favour )

Also, a show champion stud dog, in English Setters anyway, does not get any more stud fee than a proven dog that isn't a show dog. When we mate them we are looking to improve on what we've already got, if it means using the dog down the road because he's been health tested and carries the right lines, then so be it. I've never been one to use a stud dog because its the top winner in the breed, I make my own decision as to what I like, and I haven't been disappointed in any of my pups so far

If you look at schedules you will see that best in show will usually received a trophy, a large rosette and, occasionally, a gift that has been donated by one of the sponsors. This could be a large bag of dog food, it could be a bottle of wine, but never loads of money. From memory, best in show at Crufts only wins £100, but they used to get a years supply of pedigree chum. and there's all that free advertising of course. But if you add how much it costs to show in the first place, exhibitors will always be severely out of pocket.

With regards to bitches in season, exhibitors are allowed to take them to shows, justnot allowed to mate them within the premises. Having shown dogs it is a total nightmare when they get a whiff of an inseason bitch, you cannot do anything with them, you may just as well have not entered the show. I have never shown one of my bitches whilst in season and I don't agree with exhibitors that do...just my point of view, they possibly have a very valid reason that they still take the bitch out

I show, and i also agree with what you have just said, i dont agree with most of these practices..

Brilliant post, it isnt just the show world where there are bad owners, and i know this thread isnt about pet owners..but when you compare the two...there both as bad as each other in some way..of course you get good in both..
and people tend to forget that we show, but we are also pet owners to..

Exactly the same case for pet people, agility people, obedience people etc etc..

So do I.

So do I.

So do I.

I have no issue with dogs in kennels providing they are kept correctly.

So do I.

Dont quite understand that one LB!!

Such a broad sweeping statement, I cannot begin....

Sorry, I haven't read all the thread but it is an interesting question.

I am not against dog shows - there is nothing better than to see happy healthy dogs really enjoying strutting their stuff in the ring.

It is unfortunate that dog showing has got a bit of a bad press and a bad reputation but there are some genuine reasons for this.

I think some of the breed standards, that have resulted in dogs having respiratory and other health problems is something that needs to be addressed, and quickly too.

I have only ever been in one dog show - took my dog to a local show and won 'waggiest tail' - I was dead chuffed!

how is that a broad sweeping statement??

if i was saying 'oh, all show people are bad horrible people' then fair enough, that would be a sweeping statement but i dont see what i have written as being a sweeping statement...

Thank you, I wuv her!

But that's my point, all of the things you hate in show owners/breeders exist in equal if not more amounts in pet and working owners and breeders.

Indeed. If you think about all the working breeders, puppy farms and byb that breed and sell badly bred examples of many breeds, then I think it's pretty obvious show'rs do the least harm to the dog population in general.

It doesn't mean those show breeders that do bad by there dogs are exempt from their horrid practices, but it certainly puts it into perspective for me.

I agree LB, the thread is about some of the negative things found in the showing world by some show'ers. I think there are other threads for what people don't like about some dog owners (not to do with showing)

No it doesn`t, most of the same people will be showing at both levels.

Glad you had a good day, nothing better than beign around 100`s of dogs and their owners all having a good time


Well unless things have suddenly changed concerning bodily functions , bitches dont have seasons through their backsides along with the visual evidence of a season... it is pretty much hard to disguise (swollen vulva),

I understood what she meant regarding "female parts" my inquiry was and is still baffling as to why anyone would stick something up a dogs "bum"




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