Thursday, December 10, 2009

Wellminster

If you read the short bit on wikipedia about Scruffts, you will read that it is a show for crossbred dogs, which is put on by the British Kennel Club.

I though what would a crossbred dog show in the US be called if it were modelled after Westminster? Wellminster! - a show for first generation hybrid breed dogs!

Or a Westminster for all mix breeds? Mixminster!
For mutts? Muttminster!

How would purebred dog show breeders feel about a dog show where dogs are judge by their dog's behavior around other dogs and people?

Just look at how few show dogs also have a CDX or Utility dog degree after there name - the info would be in any show catalog, with the obedience degree listed in the dog's registered name.

Most dogs entered in the obedience part of dog shows are NOT show champions.

And few show champions are also Obedience Trail champions.

Mine is an over-all impression, but you can do the current numbers yourself from show results on line, just look for the titles in the dogs name

-"CD" means Companion Dog, which is the beginning obedience degree. Rally is another obedience event. Agility requires training, and therefore, some control by the owner. But none of these mean the same as being a good pet.

It is possible to have dogs who have obedience degrees, who still have to live in cages at home, because they try to kill each other, try to tear the cat up, bark endless at falling leaves and everything that moves, try to remove legs from children, and "cat in the hat" the house.

Being easily trained (impressionable, easily conditioned) is not the same thing as having been bred with wolfish instincts deleted. These traits are independent of each other.

A good house dog, is calm, loves to be played with but is fine left alone in the house for awhile, loves his family more than strangers but loves strangers too, does just tolerate children but enjoys their attention, has a strong bladder and a strong instinct to not soil the place he lives in, and only barks when there is a real problem.

An easily trained dog is not the same thing as a well behaved dog, and both of those kinds come in intelligent and non-intelligent varieties.