by Quicklabs » July 12th, 2011, 7:38 pm
Retta: I love Flat Coats! They're so gorgeous. But, no, I don't show in the conformation ring--just agility. I could never stand it if someone couldn't obviously see that my girls are the most beautiful Labradors ever. LOL. I have a lot of respect for those conformation folks, but it's not for me. The handlers have to dress nicely for conformation. We dress for the weather, (some run barefoot) help each other to do well, sing and dance and laugh while we walk our courses (except in AKC, in which I am not currently competing with my silly Grace) and enjoy the social aspects of the sport. You'd never hear a conformation judge say, Make sure that your dog is having fun. Do whatever it takes to make your dog happy in the ring. Remember, your dog didn't sign the entry, you did." Most of us compete against the course, not each other (though there are exceptions, and I stay far, far away from those people). We are sympathetic when someone does not get a qualifying score and we celebrate everyone's qualifiers as if they are our own. We eat horrible, cold McD's hamburgers for lunch and feed our dogs freeze dried lobster to reward them. Yep. I'm 100% addicted.
Wag more; bark less