“Our sport is failing and only we can turn the tide…If our (dog) show world is to survive we absolutely must take on the challenge…” This rings so true to me and that’s what I’m writing about today, what I intend to do for my part to help turn the tide.
I promised myself that I was going to do more, that I would speak out, to help turn the tide in the war against breeders of purebred dogs.
I promised myself I was going to do more to help mentor and teach newcomers to the sport, so I started this blog.
I promised myself I was going to do more to be kind to other breeders, to encourage sportsman like conduct not only in the ring but also in every day-to-day interaction with other breeders and exhibitors.
I promised myself I would treat others in the sport with respect even if, and especially when, I disagreed with their opinion.
I promised myself that I would continue to speak out against injustice, poor treatment of dogs and other people. I know that this sometimes earns a label like controversial or possibly crazy, but what that means to me is that someone else heard, and by being heard have we not at least made a little difference, somewhere? How can this not be better than apathy?
And, I promised myself I would seek and endorse leaders for our clubs who understand and engage in open communication, who not only possess but also utilize negotiation skill to resolve conflict, those who actively engage in the preservation of the sport and the growth of organizations, as opposed to those who inadvertently drive membership away.
If we could all start here, by reading and understanding Viki Hayward’s – Mentoring The Power of Trust we might realize the importance of taking just one step toward turning the tide. Let’s bring new fanciers to the sport, bring success to another individual, bring back the recognition of our gorgeous purebred dogs.
I love Gordon Setters, don’t you?
What are you willing to contribute to bolster our failing sport?
Gordon Setter Expert 
Sally Gift – Loving the conversation ladies (Trish and Judy) good points from my friends to the north! I do want to ad that I have even less use for HSUS though.http://www.awesomeocean.com/…/breaking-hsus-loses…/
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Trish Fenwick – I honestly don’t know. I know that Canada has a terrible reputation for animal welfare. I know we have lots and lots of puppy mills especially in both of our neighborhoods, but we just haven’t had much legislation proposed in the past few years, so it’s hard to tell what is and isn’t supported by the CKC.
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Judy Hill – ckc doesn’t have this kind of issue I hope.
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Trish Fenwick – Sorry for hijacking your post Sally, I love your website!
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Trish Fenwick – Here’s a good article from HSUS http://www.humanesociety.org/…/akc_puppy_mills_070912.html
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Trish Fenwick – I agree! And I find it somewhat humorous that the two of us commenting on this are Canadian! But the issue is with the AKC who have abandoned responsible breeders in their pursuit of the cash available from commercial breeders. I find the problem perplexing because I love dog shows and am totally behind the responsible breeders who care for and show their gorgeous dogs (especially Gordons of course) however I absolutely hate the AKC for what they have done in the last 5-10 years to oppose federal legislation that would improve conditions for purebred dogs. It seems that HSUS is the only one standing up for the responsible breeders who are unfortunately beholden to the AKC as the organization responsible for the registry and the shows of course.
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Judy Hill – oh well that is a different story for sure. puppy mills are completely unacceptable, and should be outlawed. we have a very weak system to prevent horrors of puppy mills — quebec province is the worst by far. let peta slam puppy mills, but not responsible breeders
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Trish Fenwick – I’ve seen those billboards, they are very unfortunate. Of course, I don’t really believe anything PETA says. But really, why is it that the AKC supports puppy mills and why don’t responsible breeders take the AKC to task for allowing registration of puppy mill dogs? The AKC should be standing up for YOU the responsible breeder and be AGAINST puppy mills. The war should be on puppy mills and the AKC, HSUS and responsible breeders should all be on the same side. As it is, it seems like the AKC’s support of puppy mills leaves responsible breeders in a strange grey zone, sort of collateral damage in what should have been the war on puppy mills.
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Judy Hill – oh i see. well thats just ridiculous.
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Sally Gift – Judy Hill Outdoor billboards and other various ads like this one from PETA and HSUS denouncing purebred dogs and breeders are everywhere.
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Judy Hill – what is the ‘war against breeders of purebred dogs’ about?.
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