Conformation

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We’ve met some good friends, had some nice successes, and gone to some interesting places with conformation. (Hot Spring National Park is out perennial favorite.)

We’ve also gotten massive headaches from stress, run ourselves crazy in overcrowded conditions, had our dog cowering from the pop corn and snow cone machines and rattling HVAC. We have frozen, burned up, waded through dirt and mud, and been sun and wind burned. We met some very nasty people and yappy dogs, tripped over our own feet (literally and figuratively), and had our very last nerve deep fried to a frazzle…all at the same show. But, we keep doing it.

Isn’t it just a beauty contest?

It is a bit of a beauty contest, and a bit temperament test of the dog’s (and handler’s) nerves. It’s also out of respect for a long tradition of dog shows. And, a bit is to determine if the dog meets the breed standard.

I’ve seen Flat-Coated Retrievers being “fixed” with gel, straightened by a curling iron, or having half their hair thinned out. Most dogs get cold showers with a good shampoo and a special air dryer. Many stand with their head in a grooming loop for long stretches of time waiting for the handler to return for 5 minutes of interaction, then into the ring, and back into the crate.

Some dogs are handled by their owners, but the vast majority are handled by professional handlers. 90% of the time we Owner-Handle Suzie because we don’t want to send her on the road away from us. We get her into the building just long enough to settle and practice a little with the distractions. But, this has also resulted in her being slower to get her majors and finish her championship. It’s also been dependent on us getting training. Teaching us is the hardest part.

Why do we do it?

We hope to gather points that show we meet the breed standard best of the class bitches (the ones who don’t already have their championship) present in the ring that day, and that we bring something to the future if the breed. A judge who is calm, focused, relaxed, and well-versed in Flat-Coated Retrievers can ‘go over’ an FCR with their eyes and hands, watch them standing and gaiting around the ring, and know if they are of a high quality in structure, muscle tone, coat, head, and temperament.

No. If we didn’t plan to breed, we wouldn’t participate in dog shows as it is not a ‘sport’ for Suzie.  (Maybe it will be for some of her puppies. Some FCRs do love the ring.) Breed standards leave lots of room for subjective judging. Very little is objective. We have easily won over a class bitch one day and had her champion against us the next. All dogs have faults. Determining how they are weighed is subjective. Suzie is an elegant, very flat-coated, thoughtful, lighter boned (but still Excellent hips), highly athletic girl who only wags in the ring when kindly addressed (then wags her whole body, if she thinks you like her). The other girl is her opposite. But, they are both beautiful in their own way.

Yes. We do feel there could be a better way to gain the evaluation, especially in areas of the country with very few class bitches at shows. And, not all judges are created equal. An evaluation by three FCR experienced judges might adequately serve to fulfill the breeding criteria. Before Suzie was three, we were stopped by three different judges, without us initiating the conversation, and told Suzie brought a lot to the breed, she would be the most beautiful bitch at 5 (but that’s late to begin breeding), and they wished the rules allowed for them giving her a major that day, but there weren’t any other class bitches.

Yes. We do believe that the more important parts of breeding are in finding two well-matched dogs that are more likely to produce not only dogs that move closer to the breed standard, but healthy, genetically diverse off-spring to ensure the long-term viability of the breed. This information is gained through seeing the stud and dam together and by doing genetic diversity testing.

We have evaluated both of these carefully.

What we do feel good about is our National Owner-Handled Series wins where we are going up against other dogs that are not being shown by professional handlers as they are campaigned and our Sporting Group 4th at a Sporting Dog Specialty. Both were as the only Flat-Coated Retriever at the show that day.