|
Fluctuations
in a breed club are quite natural. Not only
breeding itself but also breeders and members
have gone through various changes. The ear
cropping and tail docking bans resulted in
a decisive turning point. The general appearance
of our Boxer was changed. This development
was of grave consequence to the Boxer Klub
- many members stopped breeding. The club
encouraged activities in the training sector
which increased significantly. Nowadays, in
most groups, life revolves around training
grounds and working trials. As a result breed
evaluation tests such as ZTP and Körung
lack entries. In the meantime breed health
requirements have been fully accepted.
Regrettably
today one seems to have little understanding
and interest in the promotion of the sound
breed type. Therefore, participating at a
show has become more of a social event. One
no longer experiences the feeling of the true
purpose of a show - to get an overview of
the breed standard - and the keen competition
among exhibitors is lacking. One gets together,
chats and enjoys the food and refreshments
on offer. In the ring each individual concentrates
on being placed first with his dog. Not the
dog but the “ego” must win. At
most the team, with whom one identifies, is
considered. Who enters at which show and under
which judge is made clear at the show. Not
much interest is shown what the judge has
to say about the other exhibits. Gone are
the times when one crowded the ringside to
catch the judge’s comments - instead
one pushes with one’s dog to the middle
of the ring, so as not to be overlooked by
the judge. It is very difficult to follow
the placings, as these very often are lost
in the pell-mell. What has happened to the
purpose of holding a show - our responsibility
- to endeavour to explain the breeding goals?
The only thing we receive is a friendly, uniform,
written judge’s report.
The
show held recently by the Group Schaumburg
gave rise to these critical reflections -
here we experienced that shows can also be
run differently. At last one could follow
the work of the judges, their comments were
made over a microphone. It has been some time
since everything ran that smoothly.
May
6th, 2OO7
Karin Rezewski
|
