Public View On Dog Showers/enthusiasts

[Heidii]

haha so true Scarlet

I have one guy here who LOVES dogs and when I told him about getting a new pup to show and I had been having trouble finding one suitable he told me I was being shallow and it should be whats inside the dog that counts!!

...hmm maybe I just work with mean people

personally I wouldn't tell him. Also, think about the wording "a dog to show" implies that is the primary reason for getting it (to a no-showing person). Why not just say that you're looking for a dog and am waiting for the right one?

*sigh* megan, if only it was that easy....... the right one is at the pound

[SparkyTansy]

I think most of my family and all of OHs family think i am crazy dog lady... but really who cares when you have a hobby and they don't right? I am the first one they come to if they want a new dog or have a problem with their dog... I managed to talk OHs dad into getting his bitch desexed when his traditional thinking was "they should all havea litter it's good for them"...

However at work i have a very supportive boss, who will ask me how i do on weekends and grants me leave every year around the royal show. he makes me bring my ribbons in to show him if we win something, and was very excited when i showed him Ari's title certificate recently. The rest of the people around me dont know much about it, and don't ask - anyone into dogs just likes to talk general dog chat which is fine with me! I think i start the tongues wagging when i decline an invite to a Friday night function for work and my excuse is that when i get home i have to spend 4 hours getting a dog ready for a show the next day... i guess they just don't understand why i would pass up a social event for my dog? I have one person at work who actually had a dog that his breeder would show... so he attending shows now and then and understood what i was talking about - but even he doesnt really get it as it wasn't him showing or grooming the dog. the company i work for is a club and the focus for some is recreational flying, so i can basically compare their weekend of flying with my weekend of dog showing - only their hobby is much more expensive!

A number of times i have been asked if i get paid for doing it... i don't really get that question... but i can understand why they ask since when they ask what i win i say "points and a ribbon"!!!

[Fanuilos]

My MIL told me he is old and I should put him down rather than keeping him alive for my own benefit. When he is medicated he goes for walks, plays and has a great time. He also has a great appetite. If he was in pain, not eating etc yeh fine he would be euthed. I won't put an animal down just because they are old and starting costing me a bit of money. As long as they have quality I will keep shelling out.

Maybe explain to your MIL that you will put her down when she is older and starting to cost a lot of money on tablets etc. And geez, if she goes into a home, well she's done for then as that is just way too much money! :)

[OSoSwift]

My MIL told me he is old and I should put him down rather than keeping him alive for my own benefit. When he is medicated he goes for walks, plays and has a great time. He also has a great appetite. If he was in pain, not eating etc yeh fine he would be euthed. I won't put an animal down just because they are old and starting costing me a bit of money. As long as they have quality I will keep shelling out.

Maybe explain to your MIL that you will put her down when she is older and starting to cost a lot of money on tablets etc. And geez, if she goes into a home, well she's done for then as that is just way too much money! :)

Trust me I was tempted!

She has no illnesses and takes no medication considering her age she is very healthy. She is always dying of something though, gets no sympathy from me - My Dad has Parkinsons and has real pain, battles and suffering every day and never complains.

I just tell people my dog, my choice, they never suffer so bugger off.

I am quite used to being the crazy dog lady as well, I am going to get one of those shirts made up!

[SkySoaringMagpie]

BMP: most people are so disinterested that they don't even have an opinion. I don't think anyone I work with has a dog or has any interest in dogs.

I agree, talking about your dogs to most coworkers is in the same category as talking about babies or weddings. OK if you're talking to another enthusiast, but mostly boring as bat guano. I avoid it unless I'm asked directly, not because I'm ashamed of being a CDL but because I don't want to be a dog bore. I do have a breed calendar in my office, some action shots of my dogs being athletic and a brass sculpture of a Saluki. People who think they should "network" with me ask me about them, I don't put them through much pain - a couple of sentences about the best dogs in the world and that's it.

BMP: I have only been showing (conformation) a short time, and have found that positive training methods haven't really caught on in the show world like they have in dog sports, so I can understand why the public could see showing in a bad light, depending on what they had witnessed and heard. I have seen dogs 'punished' and corrected harshly in the ring and outside the ring, and am amazed that it is allowed . I have also seen two dogs 'belted' for annoying their owners/handlers . I think showing is more agricultural in attitude than dog sports, and in general , the dogs are seen as more of a commodity. I haven't seen this attitude in agility though

I think the difficulty we face is that takes only one person man-handling their dog (showing it who is boss ) to cancel out the efforts of 15 people doing the right thing. It makes me particularly angry because some of us make a big effort to behave properly, engage with consultation processes, encourage newbies, educate the public, blah blah blah and then someone who doesn't have basic self-management skills bags out a competitor, throws a tantrum ringside or hurls their dog into a crate and all that hard work flies out the window. I know at this point someone may say "oh, it's like that in all sports and hobbies" but all sports and hobbies don't involve animals and all sports and hobbies aren't under attack like ours is.

We are being watched very carefully, and I think the days of tolerating other showies' behaviour because "that's just how they are" or "he loves his dogs" or "she's a breed expert" or whatever other rubbish excuse we can think of are long gone. If it's going to bring us all down, it has to stop.

[Cuchulain]

Only ever having had cats for 20 or more years, feeding and sterilizing the feral colonies in town out of my own pocket - I've been Jeffreys Bay's CCL for all the time I've lived here! (Just worked it out, that's 15 years - How time flies!) Now I'm getting strange looks and "I thought you were a cat person!" from every single person I know, and several I don't know. My family are the worst. The only support I've had is from my vet and the staff there, the PE Kennel Club obedience trainers and here.

I am getting tired of comments about Max's size, the absence of a ridge (how can he be a ridgeback - he doesn't have ridge!) but the one that gets up my nose most is: "What do you want a dog for?" Sigh! I'm now a grumpy CCL with a dog!

[NZVizsla]

Yes, I've been told I'm abnormal due to owning multiple dogs and a cat. It is excessive if they aren't your hobby/passion/love, but for me, they're.

"You have dogs?" "Yes" "How many?" "Three" "THREE?? why?? where do you keep them????"

[ninahartland]

Yes, I've been told I'm abnormal due to owning multiple dogs and a cat. It is excessive if they aren't your hobby/passion/love, but for me, they're.

"You have dogs?" "Yes" "How many?" "Three" "THREE?? why?? where do you keep them????"

Yep, know what you mean! I'm known as the CDL too

One of my son's has a new girlfriend. I asked him if he was bringing her up for Xmas, he said definately not she doesn't like dogs!!( hope that relationship doesn't end up being permanent, could cause a lot of problems )

[-Megz-]

I can count on my fingers the number of people that have known what I was talking about when I said that I show dogs.

Most look at me like I'm speaking another language to be honest.

[puglvr]

I work at a school and I'm the CDL to most people who know me. I've dragged friends around the world on "holidays" so I can go to a dog show..... this year Europe and Crufts. I have been lucky because my last two principals have understood that the dogs are our family and if I need to go off sick or will be late or have to leave early because the dog is sick than that is fine. Besides they get the pleasure of meeting the baby pugs on "show and tell" day.

[fifi]

One of my son's has a new girlfriend. I asked him if he was bringing her up for Xmas, he said definately not she doesn't like dogs!!( hope that relationship doesn't end up being permanent, could cause a lot of problems )

OMG, in our family, that would be like bringing home an axe murderer !!!

'doesn't like dogs'.... ;) naughty son, didn't you raise him properly Nina ??!!!!

fifi

[Kissindra]

Fifi you are forgetting that many of us have converted non-dog loving partners with ease, they do rather sell themselves

[TerraNik]

I usually get positive responses from people when I talk about what I do with my dogs (showing + lots of dog sports).

The only slightly negative comment was when I said that I wanted 5 dogs (I have 2 at the moment) and their response was, "WHY!?"

My response was, "why not?!"

[D & D]

CLD's of the world unite

Our accountant at work came racing into my workshop today screaming "Meg, Meg, there's a great dane outside".

Of course, I had to drop everything to go and meet him (oh, and his owner). While I was chatting to the owner, another person from work walked past and called out "No Meg, you are not getting another one".

[kelpiekaye]

At the end of the day do what you like and dont expect other people to approve or appreiciate the passion of your life. They probably have passions of their own like collecting stamps that wouldnt do much for me Im afraid and I wouldnt be able to pretend to be interested. Share your dog stuff with other like minded people that will understand what it means.

[RallyValley]

My dad has this rule.. if I want to talk about dogs/showing/agility with him we have to talk about golf/his chevy too.

[ninahartland]

One of my son's has a new girlfriend. I asked him if he was bringing her up for Xmas, he said definately not she doesn't like dogs!!( hope that relationship doesn't end up being permanent, could cause a lot of problems )

;) OMG, in our family, that would be like bringing home an axe murderer !!!

'doesn't like dogs'.... naughty son, didn't you raise him properly Nina ??!!!!

fifi

I was going to say she can't be a very nice person then if she doesn't like dogs....but decided to keep my mouth shut ! The kids know that my first question when they have a new girlfriend is always do they like dogs

[Gspsplease]

I tell people that my social life consists of driving my dog to her social life (obedience, flyball, agility) but if I didn't have a dog I wouldn't be getting an hour of exercise every day, and would become one of those boring people who pay huge amounts of money to exercise at a gym (for a short time until the novelty wears off). Almost everyone can identify with people who start out exercising at the gym and quickly give up. So maybe you can "sell" your dog activities as essential exercise for yourself, not to mention the mental and emotional benefits of dog ownership -- but I fear many people have closed minds -- if their dogs have always lived (existed) in the back yard with maybe a weekly walk, then that is how the world should be.