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cliffson1 · 03-11-2013, 04:50 AM

I am going to try to have some intelligent discourse on this subject, but if people get mean or defensive will moderators please pull the plug.

It seems to me that the lack of entries in ASL is making it really difficult to create champions these days on a reasonable budget. Furthermore, it would also seem to reason that if the numbers for a Major is as little as 15 or less in many regions, then in many classes only one or two dogs are competing. This would not reflect any competition in the class ring more times than not. Certainly, this is not economics alone, because I see SV like conformation shows that are often overflowing with applicants,(though I feel my following premise applies to them also).
So my thought process is....why doesn't the leadership of the GSDCA through their Judges program reflect a more moderate dog being able to finish. I think many people who enjoy conformation do not participate because they know their dog does not have the extreme traits to be capable of winning. Why WASTE money?.....yet we have many hundreds of people who compete in SV trials that have been bitten by conformation bug, and have AKC registered dogs. If a fraction of these people competed then the begging for numbers to make a Major wouldn't be necessary. It stands to reason that the leadership of the GSDCA would recognize this and by opening up the winning criteria to a more moderate dog, they could strengthen the numbers, the competition, the quality, and ultimately the breed.
This makes sense to me, so what is the reason why this approach couldn't be taken to make Majors more attainable?......Just curious.

03-11-2013, 04:50 AM	#1 (permalink)
cliffson1 Crowned Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 3,879	Attaining a Major I am going to try to have some intelligent discourse on this subject, but if people get mean or defensive will moderators please pull the plug. It seems to me that the lack of entries in ASL is making it really difficult to create champions these days on a reasonable budget. Furthermore, it would also seem to reason that if the numbers for a Major is as little as 15 or less in many regions, then in many classes only one or two dogs are competing. This would not reflect any competition in the class ring more times than not. Certainly, this is not economics alone, because I see SV like conformation shows that are often overflowing with applicants,(though I feel my following premise applies to them also). So my thought process is....why doesn't the leadership of the GSDCA through their Judges program reflect a more moderate dog being able to finish. I think many people who enjoy conformation do not participate because they know their dog does not have the extreme traits to be capable of winning. Why WASTE money?.....yet we have many hundreds of people who compete in SV trials that have been bitten by conformation bug, and have AKC registered dogs. If a fraction of these people competed then the begging for numbers to make a Major wouldn't be necessary. It stands to reason that the leadership of the GSDCA would recognize this and by opening up the winning criteria to a more moderate dog, they could strengthen the numbers, the competition, the quality, and ultimately the breed. This makes sense to me, so what is the reason why this approach couldn't be taken to make Majors more attainable?......Just curious.