Pat Hastings Wants to Make YOU a Winner With New Book

Author, breeder, handler, judge. Pat Hastings has worn an array of hats in the dog world. Her new book “Let’s Make You a Winner: A Judge’s Perspective on Showing Dogs” is the most recent offering in what she calls a sort of accidental journey.

“Puppy Puzzle,” Hastings first and most well-known project, started with structural engineers. Separating hearts from minds enables people to see the structure. It isn’t difficult to understand, Hastings said, but dog people have failed to see the obvious. “Whether it’s dog breeding or bridges, if you don’t build them for the purpose you use them, they break.”

The more we learn, the more our dogs benefit

Hastings noted that one critical “engineering” concept that made an impact on her was that a majority of breeds have three natural balance points.

“The head must be above the topline, the neck must be in front of front legs, and the rear slightly behind,” Hastings said. “The better made the dog is, the easier for it to stand still.”

Another “blinding flash of the obvious” Hastings describes learning regards front assemblies.

“Everybody talks about short upper arms. It’s really easy when you realize that the prosternum is always in a direct line with the point of shoulder,” Hastings noted.

“I have never done a seminar in my life that I didn’t learn something,” Hastings added.

Frustration prompted new book

“As a judge it is frustrating to not be able to put up a nice owner handled dog because they haven’t done anything right. They haven’t raised it, trained it or conditioned it to win. They could be doing so much more winning if they would learn how to do all of it.

“It’s really frustrating to hear people complaining about handlers winning. The handler isn’t what’s beating them. The whole package is winning,” Hastings noted. “There are a lot of really good dogs out there that should be doing more winning, but somebody needs to teach them.”

All of Hastings books, DVDs and more are available at her website: https://www.dogfolk.com/