Samantha Sly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>Wow, I really started something by mentioning dog showing, didn't I?
>(Hopefully no one is getting mad at all the OT stuff!) All I was trying to
>say in the first place was that I saw more sense in having a dog judged by
>how well it actually does what it was bred to do than how perfectly they
>*APPEAR*(key word) to be able to do it. (Especially if they get to the
>accepted colors point. I mean, if a yellow lab was, say, spotted instead, it
>would probably do its job just as well. ) I understand that dog shows are a
>wonderful thing--I just don't see how some of the supposed reasoning behind
>them is supposed to fit : 0-), Technically, if they were really, truly
>looking for whether or not a dog could do the very best job possible at a
>certain thing, they wouldn't just look at the conformation, they would
>actually put the dog out in a field(or wherever) and see if they could
>actually DO it : 0-), (And mutts would be able to try, too!) That would
>just make a lot more sense, IMBIO(in my biased ignorant opinion : 0-), ).
>Anyways, that's my 2 cents...
Before you can judge you need to have an established set of criteria to
judge against. This also helps the exhibitor as they know what is worth
showing and what is not.
It is difficult to have criteria without some mention of the appearance
of the animal. And obviously, what are considered the most attractive
shades or colour, or them most attractive markings, will be selected for
by the people who are drawing up the criteria.
If, however, you want to judge animals on their ability to do what they
are bred to do, then what is the problem? In the UK there are regular
sheepdog trials. What matters is whether the dog gets the sheep in the
pen, not what it looks like. I have even seen Newfoundland Dogs, bred to
assist fishermen, compete in water trials.
Of course Greyhounds and Whippets get raced, and bloodhounds are even
used on drag hunts.
There are lots of different ways of meeting other pet owners and having
fun. This is why we have things like chewing contests at our gerbil
shows.
As for contests that no dog has ever been bred for, in the Uk dog
agility is very popular.
--
Julian
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* Jackie and Julian *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* National Gerbil Society *
* http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ *
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