DWIT
Preface
This essay was written to further the knowledge base of all those that participate in the Partners Program for the Betterment of the Breed.
To many of the newer owners, still wide-eyed with their first encounters with the dog show world, there is still is so much to take in and understand that it usually takes a year or two to really start to grasp the realities of this new realm.
At first it all looks so simple and care-free, with people participating in the Puppy Primer Classes, then when their puppies reach 5 months of age move up to the Socialization and Show Training Classes. All the while they make trips out to the farm for private one-on-one training where they receive instructions on how to care and properly train their pets. Those whose puppies continue to show promise are then invited to fun matches and a few actually will begin attending the real deal, AKC shows with their puppies in tow.
However it doesn’t take long for the complexities of the new endeavor to begin to creep in and the realization that it is more than just a hobby with which to participate in with a dog. Within a short period of time, the newbie begins to see that this is also a way of life with business mixed in, at times, creating a somewhat bizarre but entertaining side show where breeders, owners, exhibitors and professional dog handlers all add to the mix.
Because the Partners Program for the Betterment of the Breed provides an easy entry into this canine world, most new owners are sheltered for a while from those perplexing complexities. The one major aspect that eludes many a newcomer is that most of the top dogs in the dog show world are in a show environment for a large percentage of the time versus the pet dog mentality of those dogs that live with their owners. In other words, dogs that live with their professional handlers have a distinct mega-advantage over those dogs that live with their owners.
Most professional handlers have numerous dogs that live and travel with them; these become their mainstay dogs, those that bring in the biggest part of their income. These dogs are usually on a pay by the month basis, some bringing in from $3000 to $8000 a month!!!!!! These are the dogs that the professional handlers win the most with and may be seen competing for Best Of Breed, Groups and eventually in Best In Show. These are the ones that bring the professional handlers fame and fortune as people then line up for their service for dogs needing to win class points.
The reason that these dogs stay with the handlers is for training both physically and mentally to prepare the dog for showing; training the right way, without all the variances and mistakes that are made by those that do not have the expertise to properly prepare a dog for the show ring. The difference sometimes is like night and day between what a professional can do and what the non-professional is capable of obtaining with their own dog.
The professionals will also carry some dogs that are being shown from the classes (none champions), however for extra income they will also do ring pickup at the shows. Ring pick up is where the dog lives and are trained by the owners and are brought to the shows and handed over to the handlers for presentation in the ring. The professionals know that these dogs may not have the proper show training, however unless the dog is totally out of control, they are not likely to turn down the extra income that comes their way with them.
So, this brings us to the matter at hand, the article that follows is a reality check for all those owners that have visions of champion-titled dogs, some even imagining a Best In Show or two along the way, so as Roy Rogers would sing, happy trails to you.
DWIT
Do what it takes!!!!!!!
This is a very short phrase that has a very long and far reaching implication for those dogs/owners that participate in the Partners Program for the Betterment of the Breed at the dog shows.
For this article, DWIT pertains to an owner DOING WHAT IT TAKES to have a dog SHOW READY and I will use the allegory form of story telling to make my point with this all important, super vital aspect of the world of show dogs.
I will allude to DWIT as the last leg, the anchor if you will, of a relay race where the finish line for that race is the starting line for the marathon race that will follow, which of course alludes to actually showing a dog to its champion’s title. Starting line to finish line to starting line of another race, a conundrum if there was ever any!
For now, one race at a time, let’s set the scenario for this very important relay race.
At the starting line there are countless dogs lined up and ready to enter the race to become Show Ready! The Chambray dogs have been evaluated for show and each that are there have received rave reviews, through the extensive Evaluation Process, only those that have passed the rigors for absolute conformation have the blessing to be at the starting line of this relay race. Thus the owner and dog have been given the inside lane as a major advantage over the competition.
So, right before the gun goes off for the race to begin, those dogs from Chambray have a major advantage over the average dog and owner that show up for the race.
On your mark, get set and then the gun blasts off and the race is on, by providing mentorship the dog and owner start off with a tremendous burst and take the lead immediately. So at the handing of the baton at the first leg, those fortunate owners that started out with a Chambray dog are way ahead of those without the mentorship that comes with our dogs.
Around the bend the dog goes with his owner at hand. By providing training and conditioning, the dog and owner have rounded the turn and are heading towards the homestretch in the race to get the dog ready to compete at the dog shows. The lead over all the other dogs that entered the race is totally ridiculous with the Chambray racing team leading the pack by several dog lengths.
Notice that I don’t say “getting the dog to win at the dog shows!” I say getting the dog ready to COMPETE!!!!!!! Remember that getting the dog to actually compete/win is a total different race, more of a marathon than this relay race. This race is about getting the dog SHOW READY. To reiterate, up to that point, Chambray Labradors & the workings of the Partners Program has taken the dog and owner to this most advantageous position in the relay race. Since we are the only breeders in the country that offer all these amenities and benefits to owners, in theory all those that participate within the program should be way ahead of all those others in the race that are on their own once they buy a puppy from another breeder.
So here we are heading for the home stretch, the last leg in the race, the anchor position and this part of the race is all up to the owners!!!!!!!!!!
So, what is it that the owner must do in this last leg of the race?
Ah, that is the meat and
potatoes of this article, the protein and carbohydrates that all runners
must have for these venues, the racing fuel!
Here is where DWIT comes into play! Here is where many dogs fail to reach
the finish line of this very important race to get dogs in SHOW CONDITION!
Can the owner DWIT to get the dog to cross the finish line ahead of the pack?
Does the owner have what it takes to keep the dog up to the high expectations that the dog had when it was handed over to the owners as an 8-week old puppy? Will those high show marks from the evaluations be wasted with improper show preparedness?
Will the owner draw deep down and come up with a burst of speed and hand the dog over to the designated Handler with a huge cushion of lead or will the dog owner drop the baton during that last leg? Remember that the designated dog handler is at the starting line of the marathon race for wins, points and eventual champion’s title. The owner must complete this leg in order for the dog to start the long and sometimes grueling marathon for elusive Winners Dog and Winners Bitch points.
In actuality any dog may be entered at a dog show and be allowed to enter the ring and stand before the judge to be scrutinized for what it takes to be a champion. All it takes is an AKC registration number, paying the entry fees, showing up at ringside and dragging the dog into the ring when the dog’s number is called.
That’s it!!!!! Nothing else, no conformation, no training, NO NOTHING other than the above mentioned 3 requirements. Register, pay and show up!
Of course there should be 0% expectations for these dogs, like in NONE, ZILCH, NADA. No expectations for winning anything, not even winning a first place ribbon from a class of 2!
There is no chance of doing well at all in the marathon race that now follows this all important event unless the relay race for show preparedness is thorough.
So why is it that owners show up at the dog shows with dogs that are not in SHOW CONDITION? Not only do they show up there, they actually EXPECT to win and have a CHAMPION SHOW DOG!!!!
The answers are way too numerous and very complex to say the least, way too many and way too complex for a short essay to cover. For this piece I will only deal with the most obvious reason that these dogs dog not have the proper show preparedness; most owners do not have the expertise to properly train a dog to compete against professionally trained dogs, they just don’t know any better!
Then human nature comes into play, they expect their dogs to win and that leads to disappointments. Expectations leads to disappointments! That is one of my favorite mantras and if you and I have had a head to head discussion about my philosophies of life you should know well that I recite those 4 words at the drop of the proverbial hat!
Yes, expectations always lead to disappointment if the proper work has not been done to achieve the desired results and in this case, running a race and not having the “legs” to finish will assuredly lead to major disappointments. Not having the dog in show condition is not having the legs to finish the race.
It is sad to say that many dogs start out running way ahead of the pack early on only to slip way behind and some will never finish the race because the owners did not provide the “legs” for the dog to be show ready!
There is an old saying amongst the old timers about show dogs and new owners, “You always will ruin your first dog!” Some are so good at it that they also will ruin their 2nd and maybe their 3rd before they get what it takes to get the dog in Show Condition. Of course, no one intentionally goes out to ruin anything, it just happens because of the lack of experience needed to do the job properly the first, second or third time. It is an accepted axiom of the business, one that is known to occur in every aspect of dog training be it conformation, obedience, agility, field trial, hunt test, or where ever else a higher level of expertise is needed to properly obtain the desired results.
Boy that is tough to think about if you are a new owner or one going on your 2nd or may be 3rd dog. Most people in this early-on position of showing dogs will blame everything else under the sun for the dog’s failures. Most can not see that it all revolves on their “know-how” or better stated “lack of know-how” that actually dooms their first couple of dogs.
Most will only realize the above statements several years into the marathon race that actually takes place for the majority of owners that get involved in showing dogs.
DWIT for show preparation involves such a complex explanation that it would take volumes to write about, probably a great book to write and maybe I will. No one can instruct on how to perform brain surgery in an essay or two or teach how to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating in 10 lessons, or any other activity or professional endeavor accomplished in any abbreviated period of time.
It is an accepted condition within the dog training/handling profession that the majority of dog owners do not have the ability to provide a suitable show environment for their dogs. They do not have the ability to DWIT because they do not possess the expertise to train dogs at the required levels that are needed to actually compete against those dogs that are in a total show environment with their handlers!!!!!
Fortunately for the Partners Program there are few owners that DWIT and actually follow the guidance, prescriptions and training lessons to a level of satisfaction and are able to run the anchor leg and hand off their dogs to the lucky designated handler-to-be. There have a been a few that have had the dedication, time and energy, physical capabilities and mental malleability to apply specific instructions to their dogs and succeed enough to go to the next level of training. By following the prescriptions over a period of time, these owners have been able to bring their dogs to the finish line of the relay race. This dog’s chance to do well in the huge marathon race that follows the relay race will be greatly magnified than those dogs whose owner fumbled or worse yet, totally dropped the baton during the last leg.
For this essay, I will just leave it at that there are many dogs that start the relay race, especially those that started out as being evaluated as show dogs and then placed with people that have an interest in showing. The majority of those dogs will attend the socialization and show training classes furthering their position in the race. They will partake in the support and mentorship programs creating advantages for their dogs along the way.
Since each dog is a whole world unto itself and there are no two dogs alike, the training methods needed for each dog is as varied as there are dogs in the world. The fact that an owner was capable of succeeding with one dog does not automatically guarantee success with another dog that may have an all different temperament and personality. This is where a dog trainer’s expertise of all dogs comes into place. There will be some owners that rise to the occasion and are capable of working with their own dogs and bring it on to the finish line with some dogs and those dogs go on into the shows with a head of steam and yet those same owners may fail totally with other dogs.
Unfortunately, there are those owners that do not understand and are not capable of grasping the instructions and guidance for training and thus not doing what it takes to cross that imaginary tape at the end of the race and those dogs will not be show ready when the time comes.
If those dogs are salvageable for show, if they have not been totally “ruined” for show, if they still maintain high show conformation, they may be candidates for professional training and behavior modification away from the owners.
This is where the professional handler takes the baton (dog) and runs the next leg of the race towards the goal of show preparedness. This is what is referred to in the business as “removing the owner from the equation”. In many cases the professional handler will not be entering the dog in any competition; rather they will have the dog live with them for a specified period of time before the dog is actually permitted into the show arena.
This is a re-training period, a time where bad habits are corrected and replaced with a desired show mentality. This is where direction replaces clueless-ness, and the dog is given a sense of responsibility rather than the aimless spin cycle it was stuck in. This is where the dog either comes through or washes out as a show dog. This is DWIT as
the prime directive.
This is where some dogs must come to the “farm” and spend some quality time in the pursuit of show excellence. Each dog is a whole ball of wax unto itself and no two dogs come in with the exact same idiosyncrasies that need to be extracted, revamp, retooled or totally reconstructed to give it a fighting chance at the marathon race that entails showing a dog for wins!
Do you have DWIT?
If you do, then you are in Mensa company as with that entity only a few can reach the golden mark of 140, so too it is with DWIT, as only a handful actually can influence a dog in the correct ways to make it a contender for the marathon race that will follow.
The Partners Program is there for all those owners that wish to enter the relay race for show preparedness with guidance, training and mentorship, through training classes, private training, and tutelage. The Partners Program will be there for those dogs and owners who have succeeded with the proper training and have made it to the finish line. These dogs will then enter the marathon race that follows for the all important Winners Dog and Winners Bitch points and eventual AKC champion's title.
The Partner Program will also be there for the dogs and owners that do not succeed with the proper training and conditioning that it takes to become show ready with individualized In-Kennel Training, Conditioning and Handling. We will take the baton at the beginning of the home stretch and make a commitment to bring the dog up to snuff, run that last lap, the anchor leg and bring that dog to the finish line of show preparedness. We will give it all we have, we will know in a prescribed period of time if the dog has what it takes to continue on to the great marathon race that awaits it once it reaches the finish line of show readiness!
Stay tuned for the next installment of the super race, The Marathon To The Championship!
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