What would you do if you woke up one morning and there were not more dog shows? I know that a lot of people that read this blog are dog show people. With the entries being down and it becoming harder and harder to find “majors” anymore, could this become a reality in our lifetime? So what would you do then?
The majority of people that got into the German Shepherd Dog breed started out with a pet. They “discovered” dog shows along the way. Many people that become involved in the showing of dogs become “hooked” and they have now found themselves a new hobby. It’s not for the faint of heart. It’s a competitive sport and like in any other sport, only the strong survive.
So we all got our first German Shepherd because we love the breed. All the other stuff (showing, breeding, obedience work) came after. So if there were no more conformation or performance shows to go to anymore, would you still own a German Shepherd Dog? Would you still breed litters of puppies? Could you be happy just have pretty looking pets once again? Or maybe you would enjoy them in another way and work with them to do something else.
How would you feel if there wasn’t a show to go to most every week-end? I guess a lot of us would be spending more time with our family and friends once again. Would we remember how to do that? Would we remember how to have a non-dog type of conversation?
Maybe we would find another hobby to take up our time. Who knows maybe we would even discover something about ourselves that we didn’t know already. If no one could accuse you of having “gone to the dogs” anymore, would they accuse you of going to anything at all?
I’m sure many people would no longer have as many dogs as they now do. Would not having dog shows to go to, make you look at your dogs in a different way? Would you give him more attention? Would you play ball with them more often? Would you change the food and supplements you give them now that a show coat was no longer important?
There would be no more need for dog clubs. Heck there wouldn’t even be any need for the show dog e-mal lists. There would be no Parent Club. There would be no German Shepherd Dog Review. There would be no competition among the breeders looking for show homes for their newest little star. All puppies would go into pet homes.
You could sell your van and get a smaller compact car just for the family and the dog can ride in the back seat. Just think they’d be a lot less dog hair to pick up off the carpets and furniture. Vacations would revolve around the family instead of the family of dogs. No more National Specialty Show to save up for each year. No sir…..Disney World will be seeing a lot more of you and your family every year now!
You would no longer need the house with all that property that you bought just for the dogs. You could sell it and move into a Town House where your yard work is done for you. Just think no more lawn to mow! No more dogs runs to pick up after. Yup, life would be a heck of a lot simpler if you didn’t show dogs anymore. Oh yeah, and the added bonus is all the money that you would save. You could now do all the other things that you’ve been meaning to do. Only problem is many of us forgot what it was that we were meaning to do when we become involved in dogs. Once you’ve been a show dog person, would you, could you be happy just being a pet dog person again? Do you remember how to do that?
From the book: CRAFT, INC: TURN YOUR CREATIVE HOBBY INTO A BUSINESS - Craft, Inc. is the hipster business primer for entrepreneurial crafters to turn what they do for fun into what they do for money. Pro crafter Meg Mateo Ilasco offers a step-by-step guide to everything from developing products and naming the company to writing a business plan, applying for licenses, and paying taxes. Chapters on sales, marketing, trade shows, and publicity round out the mix. Plus, in-depth interviews with such craft luminaries as Jonathan Adler, Lotta Jansdotter, Denyse Schmidt, and Jill Bliss provide inspiration and practical advice. Accessible, informative, and more than a little spunky, Craft, Inc. paves the way for today's creative minds to become tomorrow's trendsetters.
My rating: Showing dogs: (1 - 4), having hobbies: (4)
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