Showing dogs is thought by those who are not involved in it a peculiar hobby especially when a majority of exhibitors are in a different age bracket, looking back over the last few years I now find it hard to remember what I did with all my time before I did show, like most of us all my spare money goes on the dogs whether it be showing expenses, vets bills or grooming equipment.  The sad fact of the matter though is that there are very few new young exhibitors.

Most of my non doggie friends are still doing the same things I used to do partying at the weekends going on shopping trips and spending there weekends getting up late, what they don’t understand is how this hobby “takes you over”.

I had always joked when I had my first shih-Tzu that I would go to Crufts one day so actually getting there was somewhat of an achievement.  I have to say though for all intents and purpose it was not a hobby I had actually “planned” to take up, already owning 2 Shih-Tzu and wanting to keep a 3^rd I was asked repeatedly “why do you need 3 dogs ?” I answered simply “because I’m going to show him” and that was it once the words were spoken I had to follow through.

Over the last few years I have seen less and less of my “non doggie” friends not because I have chosen to but simply because I no longer have interests in doing what they do and secondly because I now have a very special circle of friends – my fellow exhibitors, granted they may not want to go shopping with me but we share a much more special love that of our dogs and the breed in general.  I feel very privileged to have been accepted in to their world and been helped and mentored by them.

As exhibitors I suppose by the “outside” world we are seen as a funny bunch travelling many miles just for a few seconds in the ring with our beloved dogs, I see us though as living in our little universe, where for that few hours or that day nothing else really matters except the dogs and each others company.

So why do so few younger people take up the hobby, a question that have been pondering on is it because it is harder to obtain a good quality specimen to show because those of us that are already showing are more competitive, or is it simply because the expense of the hobby puts a lot of younger people of ?  What ever the answer is we must not forget that without fresh people coming into the breed how is it going to survive ?  I have never really thought of dog showing being about the age of the exhibitors but looking around at recent shows it seems that the only youngsters there are ones whose parents already show so it is to some extent there way of life already, there really are very few new young people

So next time a young person speaks to you, and starts asking questions about showing and breeding, remember that they are the generation that will carry on with what we leave them so to leave them with your many years of wisdom, that is really what the art of dog showing is all about.