I got several messages asking if I was watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. To be honest I didn’t even know it was on. I don’t get super excited about it or the AKC show either. I mean, I love seeing all the various breeds…they are beautiful. But…something just rubs me the wrong way and I can’t quite put a finger on it.
Maybe it’s because I know that a lot of breeders are involved with showing dogs and sometimes I think, “can’t we just stop breeding dogs until we can make sure that all dogs have homes?” Or it could be that show dogs have to be intact and I’m such an advocate for spaying and neutering. Maybe it’s because I resent the idea that a dog has to be a purebred in order to be deemed great. For whatever reason, I have a sort of love/hate relationship with these dog shows.
I do appreciate that they run a lot of commercials promoting helping shelter dogs…mostly through Pedigree, who sponsors the show. I just wish something else would change. Ideas?
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Tags: dog shows, neutering, pedigree, spaying, westminster
They should have a show that is simply a “dog show”. You think you have a good looking/well behaved dog. Enter it. May the best dog win. That would be fair.
I share a lot of your same feelings about the AKC and the preferential status of purebreds… plus I’m always one to promote adoption (whether of a mixed breed OR a purebred dog) over buying from a breeder. What I try to remember, though, is that the dogs participating at Westminster are from top-notch breeders – not the BYBs that are helping to contribute to the pet overpopulation problem (and other problems, like dogfighting, etc.). Plus, even though I love my two little mutts dearly and think they are the most beautiful dogs in the world, as a dog lover I’m so glad there is such a wonderful variety of amazing dogs, with different abilities and gifts, to admire – so I love Westminster for that reason. But then, at the same time, I get ruffled when, for the sake of AKC “breed standard,” controlled breeding gives us GSDs who can hardly walk ’cause their back legs are so short, or boxers and dobies and Amstaffs with cropped ears instead of beautiful floppy ears. And don’t get me started on huskies, where most of the working lineage of this breed has been bred out for the sake of a fluffy, Disney-esque standard. So yeah, I guess you could say I have mixed feelings about the Westminster too.
Although I get off easy – we don’t have cable, so I couldn’t have watched it if I tried. 
Katherine…it sounds like we’re on the same page. It’s just a love/hate thing.
I enjoy the dog shows because I enjoy seeing the beautiful dogs. But I don’t have much love for the AKC!