I'M IN WITH THE "IN - CROWD"

Only “Baby Boomers” or children of “Baby Boomers” will remember that song (the title of this article). It was a fun, up beat type of song. You know the kind that makes you want to tap your feet to the rhythm of the music. Here are a couple of lyrics from that song.

“I'm in with the in crowd, I go where the in crowd goes
I'm in with the in crowd and I know what the in crowd knows”

So I remembered that song because of the subject that I chose to write about today. How important is it to you that you are in with the “In Crowd” when it comes to the dog show world? Do you rub elbows with the “Big Shots” of the breed or do you travel on your own path being remembered for your own contributions to the breed? Or are you one of those “name droppers” because you have nothing important to say yourself so you have to quote other people. You know the type that I’m talking about…….”Well Ellen said this and Ellen said that…….”Everything in my kennel is from Ellen’s dogs”………..”Ellen wouldn’t be seen dead with something from those bloodlines”……..”Ellen is judging this week-end and she said I could go with her.” They have nothing to contribute to the breed so they talk about the big shot like he’s some sort of God or something. I suppose these types of people are not any different than some people are in their everyday life. There are leaders and there are followers in this world. I suppose we need both types of people. After all, where would the leaders of this world be without their adoring followers?!

What about when it comes to choosing a stud dog? Are you are “title” breeder? Will you only breed to the Selects or the Grand Victor because of their prestigious title? Do you think this makes your puppies more desirable? The week before he was crowned Grand Victor, were you thinking of breeding to him then? If he didn’t win the Grand Victor title, would you still have bred to him?

The “In Crowd” of people you’ll see at all the dog shows. You’ll recognize them. They’re the ones that as soon as they step on the show grounds, are encircled with their “adoring fans” hanging on every word they say. Some will pull out a chair for them hoping they’ll sit next to them at ring side. In their mind, it’s good to be seen with the “In Crowd.” It’s like if they’re associated with the big shot, maybe people will think that they’re more important than they actually are. “Hey Jane, come on over here and sit with us. We saved a seat for you.” “Oh no, I just couldn’t. So and so is here today. Maybe another time, but today I’m sitting with the In-Crowd.”

Oh it’s fun to be with the “In Crowd.” You get to pack up their car when leaving the show grounds. You get invited to go out to lunch with them after the show. And you even get to pick up the tab for the big shots lunch. While eating a cheeseburger together the big shot might suggest who to breed your bitch to. You really had hoped to breed her to the champion that has everything your girl needs. Nope, the big shot tells you that that is a silly breeding. If you’re ever going to get anywhere in this breed, she tells you to do what she suggests. Sensing an “attitude” coming on, you decide to take her advice. You do the breeding not because you wanted to but because the big shot told you to. I wonder if you can be actually considered the breeder of this litter when you didn’t even chose the stud dog for your own bitch. The puppies are born and you didn’t get the improvement in your puppies that you wanted, but you made the big shot happy. Now isn’t it nice having someone do your thinking for you? Ah…..life is good when you’re in with the “In Crowd!”

I remember one time an “In-Crowd” worshiper told me that she was very interested in buying a puppy from a well bred litter that wasn’t bred by the “In – Crowd” breeder who she normally bought her puppies from. Well you would have thought that the world was coming to an end the way the “In – Crowd” breeder read her the riot act. “Why would you want to buy a puppy from anyone else other than me when I have the best in the country?” she shouted at her. Did she buy the puppy from the well bred litter? No she didn’t. She couldn’t afford to suffer the wrath of the “In – Crowd” breeder if she ever wanted to show her face in “this town again!”

Another bonus of hanging out with the “In Crowd” is that most of the time you’ll get the better seats at a show especially the size of the National. You won’t find the “In Crowd sitting in the bleachers! No sir, the “In – Crowd” is never at a loss for a seat. His devoted followers always make sure that a seat is available right next to them.

When its time to pick a judge for a show and especially the National Specialty show, you won’t find just any old judge on the slate of judges. It’s usually the same judges year after year that get asked to do these prestigious shows. These are usually the “In – Crowd” judges that get chosen.

Notice when you go to your specialty clubs meeting how the “In – Crowd” normally sits together at one table and the little shot sits over on the other side of the room. After all what could the little guy add to the discussion at the “In – Crowds” table?

Is it good to be in with the “In – Crowd?” Some people think so. They feel if the “In – Crowd” gets noticed so will they. They fail to realize that those that truly make up the “In – Crowd” are those that have usually done something in the breed. So if they only hang on their coat tails, that’s where most people will consider them to be……wiping up the rear at the end of the line. They never get the respect that they were hoping for by hanging out with the big shot. You may think that you know what the “In – Crowd” knows by laughing at his jokes that you never really get anyway, by nodding your head up and down when he’s telling you something, by “yesing him to death” and by doing everything he tells you do…..living in the shadow of the “In – Crowd,” but never really being a part of the “In – Crowd.”

Some would rather be in the shadow of the “In – Crowd” than walking their own path. These are the type of people who never really command respect because they’ve devoted all their energies to rubbing elbows with the “In-Crowd” that they’ve never developed their own potential. It’s easier adoring someone else even though the “In-Crowd” never looks at you with the same adoration and respect you give them. You give up YOU to be part of THEM! You see the “In-Crowd” knows what you’ll never know and that is how to get people like you to put him Wayyyyyyyyy up there while you remain Wayyyyyyyyyy down there. As the song goes, “We get respect from the people we meet. Other guys imitate us, but the original is still the greatest.”

So you laugh when he laughs. You talk about what he wants to talk about. You breed to whomever he tells you to breed to. You buy only his dogs. Only his opinion counts. You drop all your other friends just to be in with the “In – Crowd.” But you never really are. What do you care anyway if he gets all the respect and you don’t get any? Just consider it your contribution to man-kind. Look at it this way; you helped make someone else feel more important than he really is. Yup, life is certainly good when you’re in with the “In – Crowd!”


My rating: Being part of the In - Crowd (depending if you're part of it or in the shadow of it: (1 - 4)

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