This week Ginny, Cara, and the three puppies traveled with me to Roberts Centre for Fenzi Dog Sports Camp and the AKC Fast CAT Invitational.
We had a working spot at Fenzi Camp, so the girls got to take turns working with world class instructors in scent work, agility, and obedience. Cara did really well and stayed focused at her first in person seminar. Ginny did a great job at working through some of her confidence challenges. Bee didn’t work officially, but each day at lunch time we did a short training session in the building with lots of distractions.
The girls were the only PBGVs at camp, which was not unexpected. It does always come as a surprise how often I’m asked what kind of dog they are at a event for people with a serious interest in dogs, but I think an interest in dogs doesn’t always mean an interest in dog breeds anymore. When the question is worded as “do you have any idea what she might be?”, I really don’t know how to respond. Don’t dog loving kids still check the Complete Dog Book out of the library over and over again to learn all of the breeds? Or was that just me?
Fast CAT Invitational starts tomorrow and lasts for the rest of the week. Compared to other AKC national events, this one is pretty disorganized. Other than a running order, there isn’t even a final confirmation, which seems a little crazy for an event that people travel long distances and take at least a week off from work for. The top 5 dogs of each breed are invited, based on the 2023 rankings. Fast CAT rankings are based on average speed of your top 3 runs, not just how many times you ran. Several parent clubs, but unfortunately not mine, have taken the initiative to ensure that the dogs invited are actually the breed they are supposed to be by taking an active role in the PAL program. I’m pretty sure this is the only country in the world where a dog can be registered as purebred with just $35 and an unverified photograph. This feels really shady when you consider how much AKC is asking people spend campaigning their dogs for invitational events.
Cara has been #1 in Fast CAT pretty much since she started running but Ginny also slipped into the top 5 after a great performance at last year’s invitational. Cara’s in better shape since Ginny has been raising a family this summer, so I suspect she’ll end up with the Best of Breed ribbon- yes, you guessed it, we are still the only PBGVs here.
For a long time now, I’ve made it a priority to attend big events with my dogs- invitational, nationals, Westminster, Incredible Dog Challenge, etc. This is almost always with no expectation of being competitive and often at huge personal expense. It’s something I’ve done because I have the chance to bring PBGVs into venues where they are unlikely to be seen otherwise and to show the world what smart, athletic, awesome little dogs are they. The past few months have caused me to question if it’s really worth doing this.
Alice’s 6 week old daughters, Kamala and Michelle, are along on the trip. Having them here is a lot of extra work since they are just recently weaned, working on housebreaking, and starting to need a lot of attention. I know I haven’t posted a lot of them, they are awesome and adorable. Back to back litters was a lot of work and had some really hard moments, especially with Bee. Breeding dogs is always hard, even when it goes really well. Sometimes you are lucky like I have been to end up with 3 beautiful baby girls. Sometimes it doesn’t go well, which is something that good friends are facing right now. No matter what, it isn’t just playing with puppies, it’s taking responsibility for the dogs you bring into the world for their whole lives.
I’m not young, but don’t ever remember a time when dog breeding was considered socially acceptable. Things are feeling really impossible right now. Breeds like PBGVs are at risk as far as numbers of dogs, but the cultural attack on purebred dogs is much more dangerous than a numerical problem. A well bred PBGV isn’t the same as a mixed breed shelter dog and the fact that it isn’t safe to state this obvious fact makes breed preservation feel like a completely lost cause. The animal rights activists are winning and I think maybe they’ve already won. I’m not ever going to be ok with pretending that anyone’s mixed breed dog is a PBGV. It’s really offensive and insulting to me that I would ever be asked to do so.
I realize that ultimately the future of my breed and purebred dogs in general is out of my control. I wish I could feel excited about breed preservation, but I just can’t get there right now. Instead I’ll raise my puppies, enjoy my current dogs, and maybe start making some different choices. When I look at my calendar, “do I want to do this?” should maybe be the question instead of “should I do this?”. I only have so much volunteer time to offer and think that therapy dog visits where I feel respected and appreciated might be a better idea than dog club activities where I don’t.
Sorry if you were hoping for puppy cuteness and ribbon photos. On the other hand, if you like cute puppies don’t forget to show some support for the breeders who bring them into the world.
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