I'd been involved with educating AKC judges and prospective judges for a while,even prior to the AKC and WSSCA Mentoring programs were initiated. Attending breed seminars on Welshies and other breeds allowed me to observe that all these seminars provide a laser-beam focus on teaching judges what they need to know to be successful in their judging. But, it was strange to me that the educational needs of the breeders and exhibitors who show dogs to these same judges are almost totally unnoticed. Hmmmm. Seems to me that if you want judges to do a good job in the ring, you have to a) give them good quality dogs to judge and b) give them knowledgeable breeder/owner/handlers who can become future mentors and offer judges helpful feedback to sharpen their skills.
I've attended seminars by the late Quentin Laham and Carmen Battaglia, who focus on teaching breeders and exhibitors structure, movement, and critical evaluation of breeding stock. And the content they provide is a good start for anyone interested in doing further self-study. But their programs are breed-neutral, and it's hard to apply their concepts to your own breed without a framework based on the breed standard, common vocabulary, and consistent points of reference.
Then, in the early-2000s Val Young (Glenevan WS) and I attended a national breed club conference sponsored by AKC in Cincinnati. One of the events I attended at that conference was 'The ABCs of Dog Breeding' by Claudia Waller Orlandi, PhD. Dr. Orlandi is a well known judge and highly successful Basset Hound breeder, and she prepared an entire course around this concept of educating breeders and owners. The idea she started with was to provide basic materials covering structure, function, genetics, movement and other components of dog breeding, and allow interested people to teach themselves what they needed to know to be successful. The content was aimed squarely at breeders and exhibitors and people with an interest in improving their own dogs.
If you are intrigued by the idea of a self-study program to solidify your dog breeding IQ, then go to the link I've provided above and read about her educational program. You won't be disappointed. Tomorrow, we'll talk about how we can bring this information to Welshie folks.
I've attended seminars by the late Quentin Laham and Carmen Battaglia, who focus on teaching breeders and exhibitors structure, movement, and critical evaluation of breeding stock. And the content they provide is a good start for anyone interested in doing further self-study. But their programs are breed-neutral, and it's hard to apply their concepts to your own breed without a framework based on the breed standard, common vocabulary, and consistent points of reference.
Then, in the early-2000s Val Young (Glenevan WS) and I attended a national breed club conference sponsored by AKC in Cincinnati. One of the events I attended at that conference was 'The ABCs of Dog Breeding' by Claudia Waller Orlandi, PhD. Dr. Orlandi is a well known judge and highly successful Basset Hound breeder, and she prepared an entire course around this concept of educating breeders and owners. The idea she started with was to provide basic materials covering structure, function, genetics, movement and other components of dog breeding, and allow interested people to teach themselves what they needed to know to be successful. The content was aimed squarely at breeders and exhibitors and people with an interest in improving their own dogs.
If you are intrigued by the idea of a self-study program to solidify your dog breeding IQ, then go to the link I've provided above and read about her educational program. You won't be disappointed. Tomorrow, we'll talk about how we can bring this information to Welshie folks.
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