AKC Gazette

September 2007

AMELIA AVERIL

NATIONAL SPECIALTY

The Bulldog Club of America national specialty show will take place September 30 – October 6 in Spokane, Washington. Seasoned exhibitors and newcomers from all over the country are making plans to attend.

I always find that I come away from the national with a good feeling of having benefited from the experience. What better place to make new friendships and renew old ones? Sitting ringside give you the opportunity to see and evaluate the dogs from all over the country that are being shown and offered at stud.

Going to a national weekend and talking to a variety of breeders gives you the opportunity to learn from others’ experiences. Perhaps you have suffered a setback or disappointment in the past year? You’ll find others who have encountered the same issues and can provide good advice. Talking with others helps to remind you that every new litter brings new hope. Here, breeders can compare notes, discuss breedings, and even go back to the drawing board, if necessary, and develop new plans for another litter – and the future!

The Bulldog Club of America hopes that your attendance at the national will be not only a social, but a learning experience as well. When making your plans to attend the national be sure you plan to attend some of the activities and seminars that are being offered and, of course, the banquet!

Breeding

When making a decision about using a particular dog for stud, please remember how absolutely important it is to see the dog in person. You do yourself no good if you rush to breed your bitches to certain dogs simply because they are big winners. Those wins are not a guarantee of good progeny.

Another thing to avoid is convenience breeding, done simply because a dog is located nearby. Study the pedigrees of the bitch and stud, and see – at the very least on paper – if it looks like it will be a breeding that will do you and the breed proud. The time to do your homework is before you do the breeding. Know the dogs and remember that you are breeding to a dog, not a picture.

Let us all do our part to make our breed better. The future of the breed is in the hands of individual breeders. Let those efforts offer our breed a bright future, and finally have fun doing it.

Notable

Let me wish the Bulldog Club of Philadelphia a happy 100^th birthday. Their last century has been full of activities and achievements. May their next 100 years be full of continued success.

Congratulations to Cody Sickle and his dog Rock for winning Group II at Westminster. This important win followed by a Best of Breed win under judge Doris Boyd the previous day at the Bulldog Club of American (Division I) specialty.

Amelia Averil, 8 Willow Brook Rd., Hillsdale, NJ 07612.