By Jessica Allen
Typically when we first begin in this adventurous hobby, we're surrounded by positive thoughts, ideas, and images.  We purchase books that are recommended to us or that we stumble across, and in a very positive and reassuring manner, they all speak of ways to avoid the big mistakes. We meet people at clubs and dog shows that seemingly attained success from their first try. Let's pretend that you've dotted all of your i's and crossed all your t's; you've followed to the letter the rules for success, but still you find yourself bumping up against failure at every turn. You may scratch your head and try again and this time you may get lucky and attain success – or you may find yourself on the same path as before, facing failure once again. Are you thinking this is fate's way of telling you to pack up and go home? Or do you give it one more try? Maybe it's a combination of both.
Failure comes in many forms in the dog show world: A broken leg at a young age can destroy the most promising career of a young dog; tragedy can strike – look at the recent dog food-related deaths or natural disasters; a dog that has become an integral part of the family may lose what it takes to be a show dog health problems can and do creep up in healthy lines; and the list goes on. Then it happens again and again, at least for some of us – maybe even most of us.
I recently had an opportunity to participate in a puppy evaluation with three breeder/exhibitors, one of whom is a judge and another is an owner/handler, like me. In total, there were five of us. Experience ranged from 3 years to over 20 years. After we finished the evaluation, we began chatting about all things related to dog shows, as so often happens when you have a group of passionate dog lovers together in one room. The most amazing thing occurred as I sat with this group of people; they all talked about failures. The consensus was that it takes about 10 years to reach some notable success in the dog show world. This was a light-bulb moment for me! To me, this information was so profound that it literally felt like they were sharing industry secrets with us neophytes!
It's very difficult for any of us novices to suppress our enthusiasm for something we most likely have been thinking about doing for years. Let's be honest, we're impulsive because of our enthusiasm and we're naïve because of our lack of knowledge. Once we get out there and show our beloved dogs, there is an abundance of pressure, real or imagined, to stay out there competing to our best ability with what we've got. We hear about many novices only lasting 3 to 5 years in the sport. Since we don't want to be part of that statistic, we stick it out. We put our nose to the grindstone, conduct better research on judges, go to more handling classes, travel farther than we initially intended, become creative in making our dogs stand out in the ring, hire top handlers, etc. Some of these things will work. In fact, ALL of them will work, but only if the dog is at the center of the best presentation in the judge's eyes on any given day. All of the elements, all of the work and details, that go into creating that presentation are what take time, patience and perseverance to learn.
Some fledgling owner/handlers exhibit their first show dog to its championship. For others, winning first place in the dog's class is a feat in itself. Sometimes the first or second dog – maybe even the third or fourth dog – just isn't cut out for the show career we had hoped and dreamed for, but all is not lost. Our egos may be bruised and our enthusiasm dampened, but ultimately we don't love our dogs any less. And we may enjoy our dog show experiences more – win or lose – by taking pleasure in the learning and by supporting others in their learning.
Dr. Napoleon Hill said: "It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed." What if we spent as much time nurturing our human relationships in the sport as we spend nurturing the human-animal bond with our dogs? If we learn something valuable from each experience, be it good or bad, then I surmise we'd be better dog people in the long run. So remember to enjoy the ride and be gracious, appreciative, and kind. Part of the history of dog showing is good sportsmanship. Have an open mind, be an active learner, do more listening than speaking, and build a reputation based on having a touch of class. And remember to enjoy yourself and your dog.
It is said that we learn who someone really is by how they deal with success and failure.  Experience in dogs is not about how many dogs we've had and it's not about how many times we make mistakes. It's about growing steadily through the years by gaining insight and knowledge through success AND failure. Many very successful business people tell us the most valuable lessons they have learned were through their failures. So, for all of us novices out there who have stumbled at the starting gate: DON'T LOSE FAITH. If you're heart is truly in this sport, hit pause - be patient with your stumblings, help others willingly, and learn how to empower yourself through your failures. And remember, just as in Aesop's "The Hare and the Tortoise," slow and steady wins the race.
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