Where is everyone???

[windycanyon]

I don't meet all the dogs I breed to, but I tend to work w/ folks who work their dogs at advanced levels and have a long track record of such-- generations preferably. However, I do know some people have kennel blindness so it's nice to have cyber friends too.

And Ann, I know a few folks like that too. Some dogs are not competition dogs (like my Jazz). And some dogs just have bad days. Hormones can be a real pain, for instance.....

[Baloo317]

I've taken a bit of a hiatus from competing for a couple reasons, the main ones being that we have been performing with the superdogs and other demo groups much more often, and I was just really not impressed with the general atmosphere of competition. Politics and cattiness and people screaming at dogs.... no thanks. :P The only real competition I enjoy anymore is dock diving, probably because its all "pet" folks, lol.

As far as temperament issues go, I will one day own an english mastiff from an awesome breeder that I have not yet researched, ha. The rest will all be rescues. Monster has sold me on that. He is young, great temperament, great drive, and at this point what you see is what you get. LOVE that.

[Milesmom]

At least she doesn't "not train" then get mad at her dogs for not performing well. She just wastes alot of entry fees but if she's enjoying herself, who cares? I think she goes to trials to socialize.

Kate, I am sorry to hear you have had such negative experiences at dog competitions. I am glad to say I have not had that. Sure, I have observed a few people that aren't very nice nor are they very nice to their dogs, so I choose to build distance between myself and them. There are jerks in every sport, every hobby, every interest group. I refuse to let the occasionaly jerk interfere with me, that's all. Of course, if the jerks are in the majority, that would make that very difficult.

[Luvmydog2much]

I too have not experienced the negative side of obedience competition.

I wish conformation competition was the same

[windycanyon]

I'm surprised you ran into that also Kate. I don't see much bad sportsmanship at all around here-- sometimes the newbies have some pretty bad days, but that's usually just owner frustration at play-- just part of the learning curve. Most tend to go to events in the right frame of mind.