Friday, May 26, 2017

On showing dogs in conformation shows

I’ve been cogitating recently on the statement I’ve seen in a few places that “it makes sense to show a dog in conformation shows before breeding it to make sure a judge has a chance to say that the dog has good or bad conformation.” I just posted this to a breed-specific mailing list in response to that statement, and am curious what y’all think of it:

I think the real question is whether a judge selects a dog based on healthy structure or based on something else. I suspect it varies by judge, but the concern is that, given a ring of dogs all with good structure, the dog with some other flashy attribute will win (thick coat, particular head or ear shape). Then people start breeding for that attribute in order to win. Then that attribute gets valued over good structure. I think the fear that this will happen in any given breed is valid, given what we've seen in other breeds - take the show German Shepherd with its very sloping backline or the tastefully plump show Labrador.

What it comes down to for me is, what is the best way to evaluate healthy structure in a dog before breeding? I don’t think conformation shows are that way. I suggest a) making sure the dog is able to work well and without pain b) giving the dog time to mature to see if it has any structural unsoundness and c) having the dog examined by a veterinary orthopedic specialist. There are plenty of structural issues that are just not going to show up on physical exam (whether performed by vet or by judge), which is why (a) and (b) are so important.

Thoughts from the blogosphere?

Bonus dog photo because every post needs a photo (of a purebred dog out of parents who were never shown in coformation shows, and a mixed breed whose parents were probably not selected with any sort of care at all):