> A week or so later, in another Massachusetts entry of 20 or
> so, there were 5 outstanding specials
We have many CLASSES with more outstanding exhibits than this. I can
remember the CMW specialty in October of 1999--the Open Dog Class had 18
entries. I don't believe there was a single dog in that class that wasn't
outstanding. We all sat in awe of it. At the recent Greensburg specialty
there were several classes where every exhibit was outstanding (the 12-18
month dog class, Blenheim Dog Class, Bred By dog class).
There is simply no comparison whatsoever. I see this at every specialty--10
to 16 times a year (some go to all 24, or 26 specialties as there will be
this year). To be honest I have yet to attend a single AKC show with more
than a few outstanding dogs--the majority have only one or none. I
guarantee the new breeders in my area are breeding *down* to the average of
what they see--not what they should be breeding. It is not their
fault--they simply don't know what a good Cavalier should look like because
they see so few of them. Even when they DO see them, it is only for a
moment. An entry of 10-15 Cavaliers is over in 20-30 minutes and everyone
goes home. The really good ones tend to be shown by handlers who show up at
the last moment and dash out the second they are done. Not much time to
study the dogs. At CKCSC specialties most spend the entire weekend. They
see the dogs in the ring for an extended period of time, see them out of the
ring and outside, often in someone's room, see the really good ones back in
the ring for an extended period of time, then get to see them again the next
day. Also if there are 7 Sanickro dogs entered PLUS offspring, or 7
Pinecrest dogs PLUS offspring (or plug in kennel of choice), you can compare
them to each other and see the similarities and dissimilarties and get a
feel for what that kennel's faults and atttributes are. This enables one to
be able to make better breeding choices for the future. Remember, we are
not breeding one dog to another dog--you only see the phenotypical
expression of a particular dog. When you get to see many from the same
kennel you get a much better idea of what the genotype is of those dogs.
Only by knowing something about the genotype of each dog can you
consistently breed well and improve.
Breed type and genotype are much harder to learn about with only an average
of 10 entries per show, and much easier at large specialties that happen
often. Learning is based on repetition and memory. I don't see how it
could be any other way. To me, this seems to be quite a logical and
rational conclusion.
Laura Trunk
Roycroft Cavaliers
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