65-Year Love Affair Started with a Brittany

When Loraine Boutwell and her husband, Victor, acquired their first Brittany in 1953 they paid $35. The puppy traveled by train from Oklahoma to Topeka, Kansas in what Loraine describes as something like a wooden orange crate

Victor Boutwell, who passed away in 2003, owned a Brittany as his hunting dog when the couple began dating. Eventually they attended field trials and Loraine says she loved watching the dogs work. She fell in love with one of the field trial champions and decided they needed one of his puppies. According to Loraine, Victor said it was her idea, so she had to pay for it!

 

Beautiful Field Trial Brittany Goes to the Dog Show

The Boutwells were smitten with their new puppy and decided she was so beautiful they had to take her to a dog show. Thus

began their long history with the Heart of America Kennel Club and love affair with dog shows.

From breeding a champion in every group to handling all-breeds, from active all-breed club involvement to judging six groups, Loraine has been long involved in every aspect of the sport.

She said sound, correct movement remains her top priority in any of the breeds she judges.

“… when a dog comes in, I don’t want to see them stacked first,” Boutwell said. “… I’d rather see them moving. And I have them come in one at a time. And I spend quite a bit of time, I usually watch them go almost all the way around… And then I think this is a quality class or I’m going to have to work at this. I have a clue from just going around what kind of quality I have. And then I’ll think, well I have about five dogs there that are just wonderful. And one I’m going to have to move several times because the owner is new. And we can spot it right away. Because you want to evaluate that dog, even though the person may be not a wonderful handler, but you want to be able to evaluate that dog as best you can.”

Boutwell still retains the love for performance work that was sparked in a young woman’s heart so many years ago.

“I just love to see the dogs work doing what they were bred to do. That, to me, is icing on the cake if they can do that,” Boutwell said. “If they win their championship that’s perfect but they’ve got to be able to do what they were bred to do.”

Loraine and Victor Boutwell celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary the year before Victor passed away. Purebred dogs were their lives, Loraine said.

“I’ve been judging for 38 years,” Boutwell said. “And they’ve been wonderful and if I had had any idea that I would still be judging now, at my age I would say ‘oh no no. Couldn’t do it.’ Well I am. And I’m loving it. I had to cut back, but I still want to do it. I still want to be able to judge.”

I hope you enjoy this delightful conversation with one of our sport’s most enduring and charming participants. I know I did!

 

 

 

 

Chow Chow Breeder/Handler Shares His Story

Michael & Linda Brantley were AKC’s Non-Sporting Breeders of The Year in 2013 for their Dreamland Chow Chows. Michael is a professional handler, member of the Professional Handlers Association, and has shown top ranked, multiple Best in Show winners in numerous breeds.

Breeding is the Art

“Still, the breeding is very important to me,” Brantley said, “probably more so than the handling. The handling is more the game, but the breeding is the art.”

While Michael says he’s never actually counted, Dreamland Chow Chows have produced more than 200 champions in last 40-plus years.

Brantley’s folks started in Pekingese and were breeding and showing them when he was born. His family acquired their first Chow Chow when Michael was in grade school and never looked back.

The first time Brantley was paid to show a dog, he was thrilled to realize he could “support his habit” with handling.

“I’ve been handling full-time for 40 something years,” Brantley said. “So that ended up (going) from a hobby to a career.”

To this day, handling and breeding, for Brantley, work hand in glove.

“ I think the handling of the other breeds has really helped me understand my breed better,” Brantley said. “It helped me understand structure and function tremendously. More than if I had just stuck with my breed and not sat around and watched these other dogs show or learn the standards of them before I showed the dogs. So, it’s been a double edged thing there where it’s taught me a lot.”

But the hobby, the breeding piece, remains the most compelling for Brantley.

“The show ring is just a mirror of the whelping box,” Brantley observed.

“… maybe 20-25 percent of the dogs that we breed will end up in the show ring,” he added. “Maybe. So, the rest of those dogs are going to go as companions to people. And in a breed that is very strong willed, very independent like Chow’s are, like our Tibetan Mastiffs are as well, it’s extremely important to have that proper temperament to where they end up as being great pets for somebody.

“They think for themselves. They’re happy you’re there, but they would rather go out by themselves. So, you’ve got to learn how to deal with that and it’s not something you learn overnight and it’s something that you’ve got to figure out.”

I hope you enjoy this great Talk with a man who brings a wealth of knowledge and wisdom.

And don’t forget to stick around for Allison Foley’s Tip of the Week on how to manage the male dog’s performance when bitches in season are in the ring.

AVOID EXPENSIVE, PAINFUL CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RUPTURE

Early spay/neuter is one of the primary indicators of a potential for a “blown knee” in our dogs, according to Dr. Marty Greer, DVM. The cruciate ligaments in the stifle joint of the dog serve as a hinge when working properly. When these ligaments are stretched, frayed or torn, the dog will be painful, limping, or “off” on a rear leg. Environmental factors such as overweight and lack of condition also can contribute as causal factors, Greer adds.

Veterinary Voice with Dr. Marty Greer, DVM

TRAUMA NOT ALWAYS THE CAUSE

WHILE TRAUMA HISTORICALLY HAS BEEN CONSIDERED THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THIS SITUATION IN THE DOG, GREER SAYS SHE SEES MORE AND MORE DOGS WITH NO KNOWN INJURY SUFFERING FROM A DAMAGED JOINT.

 “… THERE’S A HUGE INCREASE IN INCIDENCE OF CRUCIATE RUPTURES IN DOGS THAT ARE SPAYED AND NEUTERED WHEN THEY’RE YOUNG,” GREER SAID. “AND BECAUSE THERE’S BEEN A BIG MOVEMENT TO EARLY SPAY AND NEUTER FROM THE RESCUE ORGANIZATIONS AND THE HUMANE SOCIETIES FOR REASONS OF POPULATION CONTROL, THEY’VE PUT OUR DOGS AT INCREASED RISK. INADVERTENTLY, THEY DIDN’T SET OUT TO DO THAT, BUT INADVERTENTLY, THEY SET OUR DOGS UP FOR FAILURE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR JOINTS. SO, WHEN A DOG IS SPAYED OR NEUTERED WHEN THEY’RE REALLY YOUNG, THEIR GROWTH PLATES STAY OPEN LONGER. WE KNOW THAT FROM LLAMA’S. WE KNOW THAT FROM HUMAN EUNOCHS … SO, IF YOU WALK DOWN THE AISLE IN A HUMANE SOCIETY AND YOU SEE A LONG LEGGED SKINNY STRAIGHT KNEED BLACK 60-POUND DOG, ODDS ARE PRETTY GOOD THAT IT’S A MALE THAT WAS NEUTERED WHEN HE WAS 3, 4, 5 WEEKS OLD, MAYBE TWO OR THREE MONTHS OLD. BUT WE DO KNOW THAT THE INCIDENCE IS MUCH, MUCH INCREASED IN DOGS THAT ARE SPAYED AND NEUTERED REALLY EARLY. SO THAT’S ONE FACTOR THAT REALLY NEEDS TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.”

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Rupture

Rupture of the anterior or cranial cruciate ligament is more common after gonadectomy than in intact dogs (Whitehair et al. 1993; Duval et al. 1999; Slauterbeck et al. 2004). Breeds at risk for rupture of the ACL include the Akita, American Staffordshire terrier, Chesapeake Bay retriever, German shepherd dog, golden retriever, Labrador retriever, mastiff, Neopolitan mastiff, Newfoundland, poodle, rottweiler and St. Bernard (Duval et al. 1999; Harasen 2003). Other risk factors include obesity and abnormal angulation of the stifle (Ragetly et al. 2011). One could argue that increased risk of ACL injury after gonadectomy is because of decreased athleticism and obesity in gonadectomized animals but the trend stands even in studies that statistically compensated for these effects in dogs. Joint laxity may differ under varying hormonal stimuli, suggesting one possible cause‐and‐effect mechanism. Another hypothesis is increasing stifle angulation with asymmetry of growth plate closure in the femur and tibia.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1439-0531.2012.02078.x

Tick borne diseases that can cause joint inflammation are another area Greer notes that may cause complications. Often times, a dog will not have a fully ruptured ligament, but these important sort of elastic bands in the joint will have frayed or “stretched.” Treating these dogs with crate rest, testing for tick borne diseases and treating with a prophylactic course of Doxycycline that both treats tick borne diseases and confers some anti-inflammatory process in the joint is Greer’s recommendation.

Patellar luxation is a genetic disorder that serves as complicating factor for potential injury to the knee joint as well, according to Greer.

Surgery to repair a torn cruciate ligament is expensive and requires the best orthopedic surgeon you can find, Greer said. But it isn’t an emergency situation. If you suspect a cruciate injury,

* Keep the dog quiet and crated.

* Take it to your veterinarian for diagnosis.

AKC Club Development Has Your Back

All breed and specialty clubs throughout the country are struggling. Members are aging, new members are few and far between. Some clubs are struggling financially, others burdened with a handful of active members. Some have even closed their doors.

AKC Club Development’s main focus is to help clubs grow. Whether that means providing ideas to recruit new members or offering guidance to organize events in a cost-effective and exhibitor-friendly manner. Success should be defined by the club, said Guy Fisher, Manager of Club Development. In a general sense, Fisher noted, success for a club is creating a fiscally strong organization with the means to support its members and community.

New AKC Department Created in 2017

Glenn Lycan, Director of Event Operations Support and Doug Ljungren, Executive Vice President of Sports and Events, looked around a couple years ago and noted that while the AKC had lots of resources for new clubs just getting started, they didn’t have a structured way to help existing clubs thrive.

“We had a goal to assist clubs to be more successful in every aspect of their development,” Lycan said. “… it’s funny you commented about how people think that the AKC is just businessmen in suits … that’s exactly how clubs looked at it, too. So, Guy’s first task, and what Guy has been excellent at, is letting clubs know that we are dog people, that we have a lot of dog experience, but we also have a lot of AKC experience and our phone is always available. We will help you. So, you hear about the glass ceiling. But AKC had a glass wall between clubs and us. And that was our whole goal for year one was to break that wall down so people felt comfortable coming to us.”

Dog people helping dog people

Fisher said he was literally born into the sport. His family raised Boxers and the Boxers raised him. An active member of all-breed and specialty clubs in Michigan, Fisher was a professional handler and his children remain active in the sport.

Lycan’s family bred Samoyeds and put him in charge of the kennel at 13 years old. He later went to work for Houston and Toddie Clark, then professional handlers and today well-respected all-breed judges. He apprenticed with them for three years, met his wife who also worked for them, and eventually began their own professional handling career in Georgia. There they were involved with their local all-breed club events and various national clubs as well.

Clubs Are the Backbone

“The clubs are our backbone of our sport,” Fisher said. “If we don’t have clubs we have nowhere to facilitate our sports and to participate. So, I always viewed it as a club needs to be a source of breeders owners owner handlers professional handlers to come together and educate their community within their territory.

“… And one of my main questions for clubs was what do you do for your membership. And a lot of clubs didn’t do anything … one of my suggestions was ‘how about trying to make it a little bit more of a fun, welcoming environment for these people’ so that they would want to … give off good positive vibes to the rest of the sport.”

ANN YUHASZ, FOUR GENERATION FAMILY OF DOG BREEDERS

We talk a lot about pedigrees in dogs, but AKC Judge Ann Yuhasz and her family have been involved in dogs, specifically English Setters, since the 1960s. Yuhasz noted that starting with her mother, to herself, to her daughter, to now her granddaughter, purebred dogs are an inextricable part of their “family DNA.”

SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS

Yuhasz shares memories of her mother, Nancy Frey, and her daughter, Rebecca, and the special relationships the purebred dog world has brought her.

Ann Yuhasz and her mother, Nancy Frey, earn WB & RWB under judge Ray Parsons.

“It was unbelievably valuable,” Yuhasz said. “(Mother and I) had such a very special relationship. I understood what she was doing. She understood what I was doing and it was remarkable…. she was my best friend. She really was. And there’s a big hole when your best friend has gone. And still to this day I sometimes think she’s sitting on my shoulder laughing at me for whatever I’m doing.”

She also discusses the challenges and rewards of judging the sporting group, a numerically large, diverse group of dogs used for every type of bird hunting.

“…the sporting group is basically pointers, setters, retrievers and spaniels. … those four are very different, yet very much alike. They all hunt. They all should hunt. They all should be made so they can hunt. And if you can keep that in mind when you judge them then you should be okay.”

While English Setters were her family’s lifetime passion, Yuhasz spent a number of years working with Flat Coated Retrievers. They aren’t black Golden Retrievers, although they are considered the progenitor breed of the Golden Retriever.

Ann Yuhasz picture of a “yummy” Flat Coated Retriever.

“…the Flat Coat is essentially a pickup dog,” Yuhasz said. “He sat there all day while they shot and then he went out with his buddies and cleaned the field. That’s what he did. And he’s a very, very sweet creature. They are very touchy-feely, they want to be with you, they make lousy kennel dogs but they are very unique. Their head property is so different and so hard to find correctly.”

PASSION FOR BREEDING AND JUDGING

Yuhasz with her first champion under judge Virgil Johnson.

Yuhasz brings passion and excitement to her love of dogs, of breeding, of judging.

“That’s how I feel about some of these dogs,” Yuhasz added. “I can’t wait to get my hands on them, you know? I mean, Good Heavens. So that’s what judging’s all about – getting your hands on wonderful dogs and admiring what somebody has done.

“If you can get a litter with one good specimen – my goodness that’s terrific! If you can get a bunch of good specimens, how fabulous is that? How lucky you are! The genes just fell just the right way. You got the things you were looking for, and I think as breeders you’ve got to have a pattern … you’ve got to know where to go how to go and you have to be hard on yourself. You’ve gotta say, ‘Mmm, that isn’t it.’”

I hope you enjoy my talk with Ann and that her passion can inspire you as much as it did me!

WKC AGILITY WINNER SHARES HER THOUGHTS

Jessica Ajoux and her Border Collie, Famous, won the WKC Master Agility Championship in February. She shares her insights on how a dog’s structure affects its performance on the agility course.

Jessica Ajoux and Border Collie, Famous, are the WKC Masters Agility Champions

PASSION FOR AGILITY STARTED EARLY

This February was her first time winning the prestigious WKC competition, but Ajoux started in the sport of agility as a teenager. Her mom drove her to her first classes and agility shows, which were scheduled around school and homework.

Watching an agility competition for the first time on television, Ajoux noted, “I’m not joking when I say the skies parted, angels sang, and I went, ‘Oh my goodness I’m going to be doing that!’ And I have been doing that since that particular day in … 1999.”

Ajoux began her agility competition with a mixed breed dog who she says taught her a lot and was very forgiving. When she graduated from college and was ready to begin competing at the next level, she began her search for a Border Collie.

BORDER COLLIES BECOME THE FOCUS

“One time a friend of mine actually let me run one of her Border Collies and that was it,” Ajoux said. “And I knew that that was the breed of dog I was going to pursue. … They can’t compete at the lower heights … because they obviously don’t measure in. But I just find that they’re the most competitive dog. That doesn’t mean that they’re easy – getting a Border Collie doesn’t solve all the problems. They’re ‘special.’ … you have to actually like the breed too you can’t just think of getting a Border Collie for agility ….”

As Ajoux progressed in her agility training, competition and understanding of the sport, she began to notice that certain dogs were better able to handle the unique athletic requirements of the sport. And she started to see correlation between their underlying structure and their actual ability.

Jessica Ajoux and Famous

AGILITY ATHLETES

“I train a lot of agility dogs and I watch a lot of dogs do a lot of athletic things,” Ajoux said. “I have a pretty good eye for watching movements and especially related to agility. What I find is that the Border Collies are very athletic and there’s a lot of variation even between the individual dogs. Fame happens to be an exceptionally athletic dog … She has a long neck, a long back, she’s very light and she is able to accelerate and decelerate very well which I think is the key to agility. It’s not just about speed, right, they can run very fast in a straight line but that doesn’t mean that they’re able to slow down and turn, right? They have to be able to downshift well.

 

“I have another Border Collie, my younger male, and he’s a lovely dog but he’s a little heavier boned. He’s a little straighter in the front and he doesn’t have the ability to what I describe as get underneath himself. … So, he has a much harder time in agility because if you run at a jump at full speed and you’re expected to turn it’s very useful to be able to rock your weight back, have the rear under, have some flexibility in the spine to do that. And it’s just much harder for him and that’s simply based on how he’s built. You can train, you can try to help them with their weaknesses, but ultimately how he moves will never be the same as how Fame moves for example. And it’s very predictable, based on the dogs that they’re related from and that type of thing.”

Ajoux and a Border Collie athlete

Agility competitors and breeders are producing what Ajoux described as “sport dogs” bred specifically for the conformation needed for agility. While Border Collies are very successful, she noted,

CLAUDIA ORLANDI ON EDUCATION AND DOG BREEDING

Claudia Orlandi, Topsfield Basset Hounds, was the 2009 Breeder of the Year, but her contributions to purebred dogs are far greater than an award. She has spent years dedicated to developing, publishing and presenting live education resources for breeders. Her ABC’s of Dog Breeding and Practical Canine Anatomy books are tremendous resources for all breeders, exhibitors and judges. So much so, that AKC has incorporated them into their AKC Canine College education program.

Claudia is pictured above receiving the AKC 2009 Breeder of the Year Award.

AN EARLY “EYE FOR A DOG”

Orlandi grew up with miniature and standard Poodles, but her first show dog was a Saint Bernard from Betty Roberts. When her family visited the breeder to pick a puppy, somehow the divider between the “show” dogs and the “pet” dogs had fallen down. With an “eye for a dog” at even an early age, the puppy her family chose led Orlandi into a life of dog shows. Eventually, shown by Bob Forsyth, that Saint Bernard became a Best in Show Winner.

“…structure and performance or, form following function, are the key characteristics of breed type and are what distinguish one breed from another.”

Horses and dogs were a passion she shared with her first husband, Dom. They acquired their first Basset Hound from a pack in Vermont. There they learned the functional aspect of their hound by following the pack on rabbit hunts. Orlandi now lives part-time in Spain, where she had just returned from a month of hunting with her hounds when we spoke for this interview.

Claudia & the late Dom Orlandi with CH Bone-A-Parts Cuervo Gold

“… I have to say that having had the experience of hunting with Emma (her first Basset) was a great starting point for really understanding the basset hound breed,” Orlandi said. “…structure and performance or, form following function, are the key characteristics of breed type and are what distinguish one breed from another.”

Orlandi attributes much of her knowledge of anatomy and animal husbandry to the 4-H program. In her shout out to the horse 4-H program she noted, “We had to pass difficult written and hands on tests on equine anatomy and movement, in addition to giving presentations and learning animal husbandry. All of this knowledge relating to horses, I was easily able to apply to breeding and showing dogs.”

But as she progressed in her breeding program, she came to understand that other breeders didn’t have the same good fortune.

“If we to learn about photography we can go to photography school,” Orlandi said. “If you want to become better cooks, we can take cooking classes. But at that time, we really didn’t have anything comparable if we wanted to learn to become better breeders.”

Knowledge is power, Orlandi noted, in everything that we do. So, she began to develop her education programs and books, including the fabulous Basset Hound University program she created and has shared with other Parent Clubs. She insists that breeders can be successful with some basic information to help them move forward.

Some of her best recommendations?

…the concept of preservation breeding is an extremely important topic that deserves our ongoing support and attention.

ANNA QUIGLEY – ON THE KOMONDOR, CORDS AND CLUBS

Ch. Lajosmegyi’s Patent Pending

Anna Quigley is synonymous, for many in the purebred dog world, with a 110-pound, powerful, white mop. She bred, owned and handled the three-time national specialty winner, best in show winner, Westminster Kennel Club group winner that took the Komondor breed to new heights in the 1990s.

45 YEARS DEVOTED TO THE KOMONDOR

But it all started with a Rough Collie. She met her long-time breeding partner and friend, Patricia Turner, when Quigley brought her female to Turner’s stud dog to be bred. Indeed, Quigley housesat when Turner drove to California to bring home her first Komondor. Thus Bobo, and a long, successful family of robust, corded guardian dogs, entered Quigley’s life in 1973. Quigley, Turner and their extended families have been involved in the breed together for the duration of the intervening 45 years.

Quigley and Turner acquired a second Komondor from show photographer Ken O’Brien and their foundation bitch from Salt Lake City. Although Quigley noted the bitch wasn’t perfect, she had important breed qualities. They bought their foundation stud dog, Tiger, from Dottie Collier in 1976, having only ever communicated with Collier over the phone or by letter.

“There was room for people in the breed and we managed to become successful. The breed has been very good to us,” Quigley said.

Ch. Lajosmegyi Far and Away

Komonodorok are not a breed that will ever become popular, Quigley noted, primarily due to the coat and the intense work required to maintain it correctly. She said a fully coated Komondor requires anywhere from seven to 10 hours to dry. I have clear memories of watching Quigley leash walk the dogs at shows with their coats tied up and tube socks on their feet.

“Here in Western Washington, we have a lot of gravel area for the dogs because it’s so wet,” Quigley said. She added that the breed’s native Hungary and parts of Europe, where the dogs still serve their traditional roles as livestock guardians, are typically far drier climates.

The breed, like many in Europe, was nearly wiped out at the end of World War II, but Quigley noted the world wide estimated population in recent years has approached 10,000.

The breed was recognized by the AKC in 1932 and the Komondor Club of America worked proactively to expand the gene pool early on.

Summithill Save The Tiger

“Well, when we first joined the Komondor Club of America,” Quigley noted, “one of the requirements was that you could not breed any closer than three generations back. And that was to help expand the lines and create different lines.”

Quigley said it’s tough breeding a Komondor litter these days. The number of breeders, and consequently the number of dogs being exhibited, has decreased since its heyday in the late 20th century.

“… when we bought Tiger from Dottie, he was 10 months old,” Quigley said. “And he was out of an outside female and it was her puppy back. So, he was a little bit different pedigree than the rest of her litters. … often when he was used for stud, instead of taking a stud service, if the pedigree was right on the female, we would take a puppy back. …. my comment to Pat (while considering a particular stud dog) was we always agreed we’d breed to the devil if it could improve our line.”

Dahu, the dog who won the group at the garden under Irene Bivin, was originally placed in a home because Quigley and Turner didn’t want to keep another male at the time.

AKC REGISTRATION REVERSES 20 YEAR TREND

According to Mark Dunn, AKC Senior Vice President of Registration and Customer Development, more breeders are registering more dogs, reversing a 20-year downtrend.

MARK DUNN BREAKS DOWN THE REGISTRATION STATISTICS

The last four years have shown notable increases in the number of dogs registered.  Mark Dunn tells us that the number of litters registered and the number of people breeding dogs are also on the rise.

“…it says something about the role that AKC Breeders are playing in getting dogs into American homes. Which is really important to all of us, to be there for people who love dogs,” Dunn said

Good news on the overall increasing number of registrations is tempered somewhat by a different trend in the low-number breeds. Dunn notes that while the Top 10 breeds have been booming, the bottom 60 breeds are in decline or showing noteworthy reduction in registrations. Labrador Retrievers, for example, represent 15 percent of ALL dogs registered in more than 200 breeds.

Some of the lower registration breeds are new to AKC registration and working to improve their numbers, while other ancient breeds like Otterhounds and Dandie Dinmont Terriers struggle to maintain their popularity.

“I want to be there for parent clubs and provide any information or help those breeders need,” Dunn said.

The Breeder of Merit program was established seven years ago. Dunn believes it had a vital impact on these increasing registrations. Today, nearly a quarter of AKC registrations are produced by BOM approved breeders or those on that path, he noted.

Research indicates that Americans LOVE their dogs. Ninety million of them, in fact. With average lifespans, an estimated 8 million “replacement” dogs are required to meet the annual demand by dog owners in the US. Dunn says AKC breeders produce 1.3 million, with another several million available through shelter placement.

“… THERE IS STILL A LOT OF ROOM FOR GROWTH FOR AKC BREEDERS AND RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS THAT ARE WILLING TO DO WHAT WE EXPECT BREEDERS TO DO TO BREED AKC DOGS,” DUNN SAID. “I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY IF WE CAN FIND WAYS TO GROW RESPONSIBLY. AND TO DO THE RIGHT THING FOR DOGS AND FOR THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM.”

The low registration breeds are a popular topic in this area. Dunn noted that during his presentation to the AKC Delegate’s Parent Club committee, he was asked about marketing rare breeds to increase demand.

“The worst thing we can do is make a hard-to-find breed more popular,” Dunn said. “… if we simply try to market our way to success for particular breeds, we can create a real problem. …if we drive demand for a hard-to-find breed, someone is going to go try to fulfill that demand. Unfortunately, it might not be the parent club breeders and it might not be the people that are … most concerned about the proper stewardship of that breed.”

As registration and breeder numbers increase, Dunn advocates continuing the positive direction with specific actions, including education.

“So, what we saw last year,” Dunn said, “was a lot of growth in the number of people breeding that are not currently considered either commercial, by any definition. They only bred one litter with AKC. They’re very low volume. Maybe one or two litters tops. But they’re not currently on track to be a Breeder of Merit so they either have not finished dogs or they are not competing in conformation to any large extent. Now half of those breeders are very new. They’re either new as in last year was the first time they showed up on our radar. Or they’re new because they’ve shown up once or twice in the last two or three years.

LAURIE MORROW – A LIFETIME IN DOGS

I talk to a lot of famous people on this show. People who have been around the block and have enormous resources of knowledge to share. But one of the things I find the most touching about the purebred dog fancy is that for every well-known name, there are dozens of folks who have worked long and hard, paid their dues, quietly succeeded in their chosen endeavors and just never got around to the fame and fortune part.

 

Laurie Morrow Trophy Room

 

Laurie Hatcher Morrowis 83 years old. For 70 of those years she has been actively involved in one aspect or another of purebred dogs. As a young girl, she saved her allowance in order to buy the 1947 edition of the AKC Dog Book. And she studied it until she could recite all 114 breeds. And she decided that the Shetland Sheepdog was the breed for her. At 13 years old, she convinced her father to drop her off at Madison Square Garden for the day so she could watch Westminster Kennel Club.

“I look back on that and I think my god you’d be arrested for child abuse if you left your 13 year old daughter alone at the Garden (today),” Morrow said.

That day at the Garden, Morrow was given the name of a person who might hire her for summer help at their kennel. Little did she know the kennel would turn out to be one of the top Sheltie kennels in the country. She turned 14 the year she spent the summer with them.

“We played a game after dinner. I would go and bring a dog and they would be blindfolded and they could tell every dog in the kennel,” Morrow reminisced. “Eleanor taught me all my beginning obedience training and pretty soon I was doing all the training and it was just great fun and she was right there you know to correct me if I didn’t do it right.”

Morrow’s lifelong love affair with dogs grew from that summer on. Morrow tells the story that she literally broke up with her first true love because his business would have prevented her showing dogs.

Dog shows, breeding, obedience and now agility have kept Morrow busy her entire life. She handled professionally in and around Chicago. She had multiple top winning obedience High in Trial Shelties. She bred, owned and ran Vizsla’s in field trials, including a top winning National Field Champion. She now owns Miniature American Shepherds and started running them in agility at the age of 70.

Morrow is the poster child for all of us who love dogs, who have always had that passion, whose paths in life have more than once been directed or dictated by dogs.

“I just can’t imagine my life without a dog in it,” Morrow said.

Laurie Morrow