Why Is It So

[yarracully]

If public perception is a major factor, how can we and the kennel club go about improving it?

We can educate (or try to) the people who think it's a beauty pageant to start with.

Dogs SA does an open day and stands at the Royal purely for this reason. What else can they do, on a limited budget?

Personally, I think they need to do more dog activities in areas the public go to. In some states (Vic and NSW, don't know about the others) most shows are held at specific venues that the public just don't know about, and have no reason to go to. Big Day Out for Dogs, for example, is held at KCC Park......if they want the general public to be interested, why not hold it in the city or in a suburban park where non-dog people or pet owners go. Cos they don't go to KCC Park.

I also think that the ANKC needs to employ a media person with a high profile and get them talking on TV and radio about the benefits of buying pedigree dogs. Get out and flog it, talk about good breeds for families, good breeds for working people, good breeds for sports enthusiasts, good breeds for first time owners, good breeds for agility, obedience, herding, lure coursing and any other dog activity that involves pedigree dogs. Good breeds for first time show people. And how shows work. How they are used to keep the breeds pure and honest and looking like they are supposed to.

They need to do the same as what the designer dog voices did for mongrels...they need to make pedigree dogs the preferred option.

Perhaps some of this can be done at a more local level. I have often thought that perhaps a board could be set up at shows that explains how a show works. Different groups, order of judging, Age classes etc. This may take some of the confusion out of showing. The ANKC already has a reasonably good explanation on its web site. We just need to put that in front of the public when they do attend shows.

I know my father always wondered what people would think when they saw some of the group judgings. For example when a member of Joe Public sees group 4 specials with a Dachsaund lined up along with a wolfhound.

if there were some form of information board present it could go a long way to help people understand what is going on. People often show a dislike for things they cannot comprehend. So we need to help them understand.

I do agree with using the media the way the designer dog groups do.

[OSoSwift]

I didn't grow up with dogs shows, were none in the area I grew up at all.

My first dog as a BYB dog.

I saw a beautiful example of a pedigree dog asked where she got him from and went from there. I got a dog, the breeder helped me out, ended up he wasn't show quality but it peaked my interest. Got a bitch from the same breeder, she got her title among other titles.

I have taken many people on road trips with me, invited them to come along and helped as much as I could. I have a friend with a BYB bitch whom is desexed and she is doing obedience with, she is now looking at getting into showing as well and is researching her next dog. I have helpoed people when they have had issues getting their papers for their dogs, really it doesn't take much to be polite and helpful.

Many of the people who have gotten into trialing and showing never would have if I had not invited them along and helped them as best I could. I am reasonably novice myself, but I used my own initive to get it happening and some others have no idea how to get it happening so I help them.

A smile and a few manners are free and the more people you help the more likely the show world is to go into the future in a strong position.

Being precious is not helping the general public perception.

I agree dog shows need to be more accessible and understandable for the general public.

Oh I do remember once speaking to a breeder at a show about a breed my husband was interested in. When I asked the general price of a pup, he said more than you could afford! Arrogent twat. No matter I purchased a far superior dog off a breed for a lesser price :D

[SparkyTansy]

I didn't grow up in a dog show family, but I did grow up attending dog shows. My mum and i would sit on the steps and watch the rings and pick which dogs we thought might win - we had no idea what was going on, no one ever approached us to see if we wanted any help... occasionally (very) I'd see one of my breed and ask to go and pat it - sometimes I got a rude reply and sometimes I didn't.

I got into showing by accident, the breed I had wanted for years i was finally getting and the breeder said that the puppy in the colour I wanted was turning out quite nice and was I interested in showing. Having always attended dog shows i jumped at the chance. It wasn't that easy as the breeder was in another state but I did have help and encouragement.

I really think we could do more to get the ANKC on the map - not just dog showing, but all the dog sports. a big open day with demos running for all the sports, all day, with breed information stands from each of the breed clubs and individual breeds (for those without breed clubs) Imagine the publicity if every state body took ONE weekend day with no shows, to hold a national ANKC open day for the public where every breed club must participate... dogsport clubs arrange demos with volunteers for flyball, agility, obedience, DWD, Rally, herding, retrieving, earth dog etc etc. of course not every dog sport could be included (lure coursing and field trialling for example) but a lot could. I am sure that there would also be possible sponsors for such a huge event. of course, people have to be on board, and there would have to be organisers... it would take so much dedication from so many people... but something like that would put us on the map.

[whiskedaway]

I really think we could do more to get the ANKC on the map - not just dog showing, but all the dog sports. a big open day with demos running for all the sports, all day, with breed information stands from each of the breed clubs and individual breeds (for those without breed clubs) Imagine the publicity if every state body took ONE weekend day with no shows, to hold a national ANKC open day for the public where every breed club must participate... dogsport clubs arrange demos with volunteers for flyball, agility, obedience, DWD, Rally, herding, retrieving, earth dog etc etc. of course not every dog sport could be included (lure coursing and field trialling for example) but a lot could. I am sure that there would also be possible sponsors for such a huge event. of course, people have to be on board, and there would have to be organisers... it would take so much dedication from so many people... but something like that would put us on the map.

I really like this idea. Lots of people have no clue about dog sports either - so many people ask us what we do at agility, and why we go to obedience when my dogs know how to sit on command! They don't know enough to get involved so we need to show them.

On the weekend at a country show, my OH bought our scooter along because there were some good areas to take our Husky for a run at the back of our campsite. The man camped next to us was really fascinated and when the weather cooled down enough for them to go for a run, he took video of it so that he could show his friends at home. He had a stack of questions that OH answered and he's now got an interest in it. People need to be exposed to pedigree dogs and sports you can do with them and at the moment I don't think that's happening.

[Sayly]

I think it's a good idea too, but you can't make people be involved by forcing clubs, if you did, the people who got to man the stands simply wouldn't be passionate about it and would resent it. And not all breeds have breed clubs, but hopefully people involved in the breed could get involved.

The Dogs SA open day had numerous sports on show. Agility, flyball, dancing with dogs, obedience and herding. I believe several other sports also had stalls. I think it was fantastic to have it all on display. There was also a pet dog show and there were heaps of people and dogs involved in that.

[Trisven13]

I really think we could do more to get the ANKC on the map - not just dog showing, but all the dog sports. a big open day with demos running for all the sports, all day, with breed information stands from each of the breed clubs and individual breeds (for those without breed clubs) Imagine the publicity if every state body took ONE weekend day with no shows, to hold a national ANKC open day for the public where every breed club must participate... dogsport clubs arrange demos with volunteers for flyball, agility, obedience, DWD, Rally, herding, retrieving, earth dog etc etc. of course not every dog sport could be included (lure coursing and field trialling for example) but a lot could. I am sure that there would also be possible sponsors for such a huge event. of course, people have to be on board, and there would have to be organisers... it would take so much dedication from so many people... but something like that would put us on the map.

I really like this idea. Lots of people have no clue about dog sports either - so many people ask us what we do at agility, and why we go to obedience when my dogs know how to sit on command! They don't know enough to get involved so we need to show them.

On the weekend at a country show, my OH bought our scooter along because there were some good areas to take our Husky for a run at the back of our campsite. The man camped next to us was really fascinated and when the weather cooled down enough for them to go for a run, he took video of it so that he could show his friends at home. He had a stack of questions that OH answered and he's now got an interest in it. People need to be exposed to pedigree dogs and sports you can do with them and at the moment I don't think that's happening.

Yep I agree with you - if people were more aware of the FUN they can have with their dogs then I think all dog sports from showing through to sledding and everything in between would increase.

[Gayle.]

Part of the problem at the moment is that ANKC sanctioned events are really only made known to ANKC members. Preaching to the converted!

And yet look at the RSPCA annual walk, it's heavily advertised in all media and pet owners show up in droves to take part.

If they know about it, they'll attend. Maybe not in huge numbers at first but if it's made "user friendly" then more will come the next time.

[whiskedaway]

I think it's a good idea too, but you can't make people be involved by forcing clubs, if you did, the people who got to man the stands simply wouldn't be passionate about it and would resent it. And not all breeds have breed clubs, but hopefully people involved in the breed could get involved.

The Dogs SA open day had numerous sports on show. Agility, flyball, dancing with dogs, obedience and herding. I believe several other sports also had stalls. I think it was fantastic to have it all on display. There was also a pet dog show and there were heaps of people and dogs involved in that.

The Dogs SA one is a good one (I was sad I missed it this year) but once again it's at our grounds and isn't well advertised. I only heard about it in the monthly catalogue.

[Shaar]

I would be more than happy to provide information (pamphlets etc) on my breed and do meet and greets at shows. Sounds like a great idea and would get the public more involved.

[Lhok]

I often wondered why the ANKC isn't more like the AKC in it's promotion, as they have Westminster, Meet the Breeds and a whole bunch of stuff that is on fequently enough to get people more interested in the Dog world.

--Lhok

[Trisven13]

I would be more than happy to provide information (pamphlets etc) on my breed and do meet and greets at shows. Sounds like a great idea and would get the public more involved.

Its a great idea. Admittedly we have a rare breed (only 30 in Australia) and need to be very proactive with our breed but, as I mentioned earlier, we had pamphlets about our breed with pictures of our dogs as pets and they were available to be handed out AND stuck up where we were set out and we were standing up with our dogs at all times during the day ready to talk to ANYONE who expressed any interest. The public's comments throughout the day was that it was really nice to have someone take the time to talk to them and be friendly. I'm sure many others go to effort at big shows like the Royal too but these big show are the BEST opportunity we have to publicise the sort of people we are and the benefits of pedigree dogs.

[SparkyTansy]

Lyndsay I agree with you - that's very true. Ok so no "forcing" clubs to attend but give them plenty of notice and the breed clubs that are passionate about promoting their breeds I am sure will make the effort. there are also plenty of breeds out there with clubs that aren't affiliated (social clubs - there are two in perth that i know of). by giving plenty of notice to not just those who can be involved, but to people who might wish to attend, I think that it could get a good turn out.

Imagine if all of the states held it on the same day - publicity would flow through plenty of radio stations and other media. by making it a national event with each of the states running it as a basic model, but how they want, it could be really successful

the only thing is, I would not have a clue how something like this would get of the ground... it's all well and good to have an idea, but it needs people to make it happen.

[SparkyTansy]

I would be more than happy to provide information (pamphlets etc) on my breed and do meet and greets at shows. Sounds like a great idea and would get the public more involved.

Its a great idea. Admittedly we have a rare breed (only 30 in Australia) and need to be very proactive with our breed but, as I mentioned earlier, we had pamphlets about our breed with pictures of our dogs as pets and they were available to be handed out AND stuck up where we were set out and we were standing up with our dogs at all times during the day ready to talk to ANYONE who expressed any interest. The public's comments throughout the day was that it was really nice to have someone take the time to talk to them and be friendly. I'm sure many others go to effort at big shows like the Royal too but these big show are the BEST opportunity we have to publicise the sort of people we are and the benefits of pedigree dogs.

Agree.

Our breed club printed pamplets specifically for the royal this year and other social events where public might ask questions. They didn't break the budget at all, but a lovely, colourful printed pamplet talking about the breed as pets and what you can do with them was really beneficial...

[Gayle.]

Breed clubs could also aim to distribute current or back issues of their newsletters. I know our club newsletter is filled with interesting things about dogs in general and Aussies in particular.....as well as contact details for committee members and the URL to the club website.

[wuffles]

I've been approached by multiple people while training my dog on the local oval (obedience and agility) and have had many questions about not only the sports/activites we are doing but her breed as well. Just getting out and about with well behaved dogs, and being willing to answer questions is a start.

Even walking around the lake last weekend - a family with a baby approached and the baby was pointing at the dog. I asked if he wanted to pat her, which he did, and they said they were going to get a dog soon. A conversation started about what breed, I was able to do a friendly promotion of purebred dogs and ethical breeders, and of course my breed

[aussielover]

Is it feasible to run some shows or demos of dog shows at community dog events?

In my area there are 4-5 events in the local area (within a 30 min drive) each year such as "pets day out" etc. The events are highly attended by the general public and my club gives obedience and agility demos on the day. It has been great for the club and gotten a quite a few people interested in dogs sports (particularly agility).

My club actually also does conformation classes, so I guess I could ask them whether they could incorporate these into the demo program. My dog has no potential for show, so I've never been to the conformation classes but it is something that would also be nice to see at these events

[SparkyTansy]

I think having a proper dog show may be difficult... best way to do it for an event where lots of people might be attending to watch would be to having someone telling everyone what is going on.

I remember years ago, there used to be a "pets in the park" event. Similar to MPW where there would be a large range of stalls with products, food, plus they would have volunteer student vets, dog washers etc. The whole thing was aimed at people bringing along their pets but they had a lot of demos. One year i remember they had a pets parade and they had arranged through breed clubs for people to walk around in the middle with their breed... i only remember because i had a friend with Rotts who was in it. people also brought along their ferrets, etc - some even brought cats!

[Miss Danni]

Something I have always wondered about is the possibility of shows taking entries on the day (as well as pre-entries as per normal).

Lots of horse shows do it, sure it would be more work for the stewards and show secretary, but it might help to get entries. I know that there have been days where I have been at a bit of a loose end and would have gone to a show if I had been able to, spur of the moment. Obviously there are plenty of potential problems, like not actually knowing how many entries and therefore, if you need extra judges, but it could be trialled???

As a breeder, I also have taken risks in my past few litters, on new people that have said that they want to show. Only one of them has let me down and never even turned up to training with his lovely girl. The others are now hooked and one is on her second show dog from us There are a few other breeders in our breed that have obviously done the same thing and brought new people into showing. In our last litter, we gave new people our pick male and kept the second pick, a huge risk for us but it has worked out well so far, with the new people getting a top puppy that is going gangbusters in the ring and the breed picking up some really switched on young people that I can see being successful breeders themselves down the track.

As a sport, we have plenty of high profile people that could be utilised to assist in PR with the general public, I think that we just need a co-ordinated effort from the ANKC and affiliates to promote our "brand". I dont see any evidence of marketing plans being in place for the purebred breeds or for showing. At shows, we should have people that are clearly identified - maybe with fluoro T-shirts that say "Ask me anything!", so that the general public have a point of first contact when they rock up to an overwhelming, chaotic new experience.

New people have to be coddled, welcomed and prized, someone needs to take responsibility for them - it cant always be their breeder. :D

[Waggy]

Something I have always wondered about is the possibility of shows taking entries on the day (as well as pre-entries as per normal).

Lots of horse shows do it, sure it would be more work for the stewards and show secretary, but it might help to get entries. I know that there have been days where I have been at a bit of a loose end and would have gone to a show if I had been able to, spur of the moment. Obviously there are plenty of potential problems, like not actually knowing how many entries and therefore, if you need extra judges, but it could be trialled???

As a breeder, I also have taken risks in my past few litters, on new people that have said that they want to show. Only one of them has let me down and never even turned up to training with his lovely girl. The others are now hooked and one is on her second show dog from us There are a few other breeders in our breed that have obviously done the same thing and brought new people into showing. In our last litter, we gave new people our pick male and kept the second pick, a huge risk for us but it has worked out well so far, with the new people getting a top puppy that is going gangbusters in the ring and the breed picking up some really switched on young people that I can see being successful breeders themselves down the track.

As a sport, we have plenty of high profile people that could be utilised to assist in PR with the general public, I think that we just need a co-ordinated effort from the ANKC and affiliates to promote our "brand". I dont see any evidence of marketing plans being in place for the purebred breeds or for showing. At shows, we should have people that are clearly identified - maybe with fluoro T-shirts that say "Ask me anything!", so that the general public have a point of first contact when they rock up to an overwhelming, chaotic new experience.

New people have to be coddled, welcomed and prized, someone needs to take responsibility for them - it cant always be their breeder. :D

You sound like you are in dog showing for the right reasons and you put the breed before your personal success in the ring. There are many people (including my breed) that would NEVER sell you something decent just incase you beat them in the ring with it!!!! And if you as a new person dare beat them you are given the cold shoulder!! I have seen many new exhibitors discouraged by these actions. You are right we all need to help and encourage new people into our breeds.

[aussielover]

I think having a proper dog show may be difficult... best way to do it for an event where lots of people might be attending to watch would be to having someone telling everyone what is going on.

I remember years ago, there used to be a "pets in the park" event. Similar to MPW where there would be a large range of stalls with products, food, plus they would have volunteer student vets, dog washers etc. The whole thing was aimed at people bringing along their pets but they had a lot of demos. One year i remember they had a pets parade and they had arranged through breed clubs for people to walk around in the middle with their breed... i only remember because i had a friend with Rotts who was in it. people also brought along their ferrets, etc - some even brought cats!

Breed stalls sound like a great idea!

I find at shows its all a bit hectic with people trying to prepare so its hard to have a good discussion about the breed you're interested unless you already know someone.

The featured breeds at the sydney royal has always been a great hit I think.

A short demo of showing would also be good, similar to what we do for obedience or agility- 10-20 dog doing a quick demo with commentary from the head trainer or whoever.