German Shepherd Show

This past Friday and Saturday I was the Head Steward (not to mention the only Steward) for the German Shepherd Dog Club of Greater Raleigh’s annual Tarheel Circuit German Shepherd Specialty Show (there’s a mouthful for you). This was my third year as Steward, and may be my last if the club decides to move the show outside (or if the club president ticks me off enough). It was fun, as it has been the last two years, but I’m glad I only do it once a year. The cement floor kills my knee and back, and doesn’t exactly make my feet happy, either.

There were some absolutely gorgeous shepherds there, but working the show always makes me happy that neither Reyna nor Duncan is show quality. Showing a dog is a lot more work than most people realize, and when you toss in the personalities of the handlers and owners, it becomes something...well, scary isn’t the right word, but let’s just say that you would have to really want to be part of the show world to stand a chance of enjoying it as a participant. This is not for the faint of heart or the slightly interested. I’ve done Rally, freestyle and herding trials, and while there are the occasional obnoxious people involved in those activities, you don’t see the personality conflicts that you do at the show ring. And the sheer number of prima donnas at a show is downright exhausting. One woman threw a fit Friday night because her dog didn’t win, demanding that the judge tell her what was wrong with her dog. There was nothing wrong with her dog; the other dogs were just more impressive. Even I could see that.

The club president made the comment Friday night that, if I do this for a few more years, I’ll eventually get good at it. My first response was “kiss my ass.” My second response was that I just might be busy this particular weekend next March. I got one night of steward training two years ago, I do it one weekend a year, for FREE, and no one else in the club is willing to do it. I think I do a darn good job. The judges have all told me I do an excellent job, and they’re the people I have to keep happy. Which brings me back to my first response...