KEEP IT CLOSE TO HOME: LocaL ShowS Benefit LocaL BreederS & Pet BuyerS aLike by SheLBy StevenS
I n my opinion: As an exhibitor with 40 years under my belt, I have seen numerous changes to our sport. Many of the changes are positive. Of course those are not the ones I wish to address. A while ago I went to some shows that were not too far from my house. It was an easy drive and I have always enjoyed these shows. This club was charging for assigned grooming space, but did advertise that there were free spaces available. I had an entry of three dogs, so I decided that I had spent enough and opted to get the free space. The building opened on Friday at 1:00 pm, I arrived at 1:30 to set up. There were two “free spaces” left. I don’t know what anyone who hadn’t paid for grooming space would do if they had to wait until Saturday, which was show day, to find space in the grooming area. When we drove up on Saturday we had to pay a parking fee. Most clubs are now charging for parking. If you want- ed a chair in the main room and had not remembered to bring one, there was
a rental fee from the club. Don’t these show-giving clubs realize that they can’t squeeze the financial life out of the exhibitors and still expect an entry? Many years ago, my club, the Ft. Lauderdale Dog Club, hired a publi- cist to promote our show. We did not have to charge the exhibitor for park- ing, grooming space, chair rental, etc. We only had to charge them for entries. The show-going public paid to attend our show. We kept it inexpensive so that families could afford to attend. The total cost of the venue and judges was born by someone other than the exhibitor. The public had an inexpen- sive day out. We made a lot of money on the show. It was a win/win situation for everyone. It had the added advantage of teaching the public who we are and what we stand for. It requires a lot more thought and effort to come up with inventive ways to make money at shows that don’t include extra charges for the exhibitors. By allowing all the club to have their shows outside of their own area, we are not doing a service to the general
public or the exhibitors. When the public hears “puppy with papers”, they don’t know the difference between AKC, CKC and any of the other papers out there. When we had shows in our own areas the opportunity arose to teach the public what the differences are between the registries, between well bred and just bred. We could sell ourselves and pure bred dogs. I live in a high population area. There are not shows that are easily accessible for the public to get to. It is hard to explain to someone calling about a puppy why they should stick with an AKC breeder. We can no longer tell the public to go to a show and learn the differences between the breeds, talk to breeders and find out what type dog would most suit their situation. People who already have my breed used to watch me groom and ask questions. That hardly ever happens anymore. We are greatly outnumbered and out-funded by the animal activists. By removing ourself and making ourselves inaccessible, it is like contributing to our own demise.
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