> That must look funny, those little pomeranians jumping over poles and
> through tunnels : 0-),
Not THAT odd =) Actually I'm very likely getting a pom, perhaps this
week! From our local humane society. We visited him today. He's a very
obedient little dog. He'll need some more training if I want to compete
in obedience with him, but I think he'll catch on fast... such a sweetie
too ;)
> I very seriously disagree with AKC's ban on spaying or neutering any
> competing show dogs.
The reason behind this is that showing is done to prove that your dogs
are worthy of continuing on the breed, that they are healthy, look and
act like the breed they are. So, if the dog can't possibly be bred,
what's the point? Also there are some genetic problems that can't be
detected on a neutered dog, for example monorchidism (sp??) and such.
> It's actually very
> healthy to spay or neuter your pet, and I don't think it's their place to
> make a rule against it.
Show people very actively promote the spaying/neutering of any dog that
isn't used for showing/breeding because they do know it's more healthy.
They also spay/neuter retired dogs and require spay/neuter of any pups
they sell as pets. (RESPONSIBLE folks do anyway.)
> Wow, I really started something by mentioning dog showing, didn't I?
> (Hopefully no one is getting mad at all the OT stuff!)
Well (I think anyway) I emailed you my reply privately =)
> (Especially if they get to the
> accepted colors point. I mean, if a yellow lab was, say, spotted instead, it
> would probably do its job just as well. )
Color DQ's are almost always related to the fact that the breed couldn't
possibly havethat color unless another breed was mixed in. For example
labs come only in chocolate, yellow, and black--the odds of a recessive
hiding for this long is extremely small. So if you got, say, a blue
lab--something suspicious would be up. Many of the breeds where it IS
just mainly a superficial thing are changing their standards (for
example, poms are now required to be judged regardless of color, so now
there have been brindle champions, and more black and parti champions
that ever before).
> Technically, if they were really, truly
> looking for whether or not a dog could do the very best job possible at a
> certain thing, they wouldn't just look at the conformation,
Like I said for working breeds, showing SHOULD just be the beginning
when it comes to proving your dog is a good example of its breed. The
AKC sponsors obedience and tracking I know, and I think perhaps herding,
earthdog, and other activities (but I'm not 100% certain of that, that
could be other organizations.)
Elizabeth
--
Secretary of the American Gerbil Society
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Shores/8181/AGS/
Breeder of healthy, colorful gerbils * Devoted Earth2 Fan
* Visit http://www.voicenet.com/~heckercw/elsewhere/ *
for more information about Earth2, my gerbils, & graphics
Specializing in: grey agouti and polar fox gerbils - wide range of
others too
Proud Member of E2:EA, GCM, & AGS - Wanna-be Pom Mom
