[Dailydrool] dog Shows

[rebec at execpc.com]

There really is no such thing as a "National Dog Show",
except for National Specialties which are for just one breed.  There
are dog shows all over the country nearly every weekend and yes, basset
hounds do win Best in Show.  I haven't checked the results for this
past weekend yet, but if memory serves, a basset hound took a Best in Show
somewhere the weekend before.  There have been weekends when more
than one basset takes Best In Show somewhere.  However the shows that
tend to be televised - the Eukanuba Invitational, Westminster, etc. may
not have had a Basset ever win Best in Show.  At Westminster, over
the 100+ year history of the show I do not believe any basset has
one.  Terriers win more often than any other type of dog at
Westminster.  There have been several bassets who have won Group 1 at
Westminster, 2 of them in the 25 or 30 years since I've been paying
attention.  The Eukanuba has only been around a few years and no
basset has yet won.

There are a few reasons why bassets seem
not to win as often.  First, there are fewer basset hounds being
heavily "campaigned" and shown by big name handlers all over the
country than there are, say, springer spaniels, so springer spaniels win
more often.  Whether we like it or not, the dogs that are handled by
the pro handlers DO have an edge over the ones that are owner-handled,
especially at the group and best in show level.  Especially when some
of those heavily campaigned dogs have advertising budgets of over $1,000 a
month and overall annual show budgets exceeding $50,000 or even
$100,000.

Second, and possibly a bigger reason is the trend
towards what is called "the generic show dog".  The dogs
that win in the group and best in show tend to be flashy, showy,
well-trained dogs that fly around the ring like irish setters and then
pose themselves into a perfect "stack".  Bassets don't do
that.  Bassets just arent as flashy and showy and for the most part
they tend to move like basset hounds, not Irish Setters, although it seems
to be that the trend is towards trying to promote bassets that move like
irish setters.  (sorry.  Pet peeve).  Breeds are inclined
to gravitate towards that generic showdog look.  Glue a tail on an
Australian Shepherd and paint it yellow and it might as well be a golden
retriever.  Cut the tail off a Border Collie and you couln't tell it
from an Austrailian Shepherd.  

Finally, Bassets are
a what-you-see-is-what-you-get breed.  You can't create a picture by
sculpting the hair or hide faults with skilled grooming,.  On a
basset, everything is just right out there for anyone to see.

I
would guess that in an average year, maybe 6 or 8 different bassets win
Best in Show in this country, and some of them win Best in Show many
times.  You just don't see them on TV

crazy basset
lady


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