Respect
by Mark Threlfall
This year I celebrate my fortieth year of active participation in the sport of dogs. That might sound like an eternity to some, like a pittance to others. To me, it signifies that I’ve chosen the life that I love, and I still love my choice.
I think I was very fortunate as a young person entering the sport back in 1969. I met, associated with and learned from some very dedicated people who shared their knowledge and experience with me. They were vastly different people in many ways. Some had been born into the sport, some came to it after a successful career in another field and others dabbled in the sport for years as hobby breeders or simply owners of purebred dogs. They each had their own story to tell, their own perspective on the sport and their chosen breed. They had their own likes, dislikes and opinions on dogs they bred, people they knew, judges, shows and all the other myriad ingredients that make up the dog world. As different as they were, they all shared one common sentiment, one overriding principle from which they never varied. They all had a deep and unwavering respect for the sport.
This was not simply a respect for the past or for some individual who had helped them somewhere along the way. This was a respect for the sport as a whole; its past, present and most importantly, its future. The quotation “Primum non nocere,” or “First, not to harm,” comes to mind. These people were ingrained with the principle that is probably the most important precept taught to medical students; "given an existing problem, it may be better to do nothing than to do something that risks causing more harm than good." These people may have been unduly wronged or were made aware of some other injustice that today would become fodder for gossip mills and the general condemnation of all those involved. Instead of sounding the alarm and responding as though they were guests on Jerry Springer, they endured. This is not to say they let things pass unnoticed or without comment. They discussed these things privately and with a degree of gravity too often missing in today’s dog world. They understood that to announce the issue to the world would not only hurt those directly involved but would harm the sport as a whole. Their respect for the sport was such that they would not harm its reputation in order to attack an individual.
I think that a number of factors fostered this circumspect attitude. Like a good recipe, each ingredient played an important part and contributed to the success of the meal. The main ingredient was, perhaps, the character of the individuals themselves. These were people who would not gossip publicly about others, because they understood that to do so made them no better that those who were the subject of such gossip. They understood that when you get down in the mud with someone else, no matter the result, you both come out dirty.
These people had spent years learning the fine points of their breed or breeds. Not one or two years; they’d spent decades. They had spent years listening, not talking. Breed experts or knowledgeable dog people were well known and respected as such. A win under such a judge was likely to bring several more wins, as the expertise and integrity of these individuals was beyond question. So education and its dissemination played a very important role.
Perspective played a major part in these individuals’ ability to thrive in the sport. They knew tomorrow was another day and that sometimes a good loss is far more valuable than a win. If they lost, they simply lost. The world wasn’t going to end, they still had the same dog at the end of the lead when they walked out of the class that they had going in. Sometimes losing in good competition was just as good as winning. Others seeing a good dog, shown well and enjoying himself as he walks out of a ring unrecognized might well feel the dog deserved a win and jump on his bandwagon. After all, we might appreciate a winner, but everyone loves a loser. And because they knew that there were other shows next week, these people didn’t rant about one loss. Today was part of the journey, not the destination.
So, what’s my point? Simply this; to become a person of respect, you have to have respect for others. If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. In my many years in dogs, win, lose or get the tar beaten out of me, I never refused to congratulate the winner. It might have hurt to lose, but it didn’t hurt to congratulate the winner. That was what I’d been taught to do.
I’ve always thought that in dogs we survive on the opinions of others regarding our dogs, but we survive on their opinions of us, as well. Oh, sure, I know it’s all about the dogs and putting up the best one. But I can tell you this, that as a Judge, every time you walk into a ring you don’t find a perfect dog looking back at you. They all have faults. And Judging, my dear Watson, is a subjective exercise. Remember, this is not about your opinion of your dog, it’s about the Judge’s. Many times there is no clear winner, so it’s probably best that the Judge doesn’t have a really bad opinion of you going in. Yes, if you clearly have the best dog in the ring, even though you may have backed over the Judge’s cat with your car, your dog should win. But if there’s not a clear winner and the win could go any of several ways, it’d probably be better if you hadn’t called the Judge a bloomin’ so-and-so on the message board. That’s not politics, folks, that’s human nature.
So, my message is this. Spend each and every day learning about dogs. Not just your own breed, but learn about all dogs. What you learn about a Greyhound can help you learn about your Bichon. Listen to others. Once you have spent years and years and years listening, then you can venture an opinion. By then, if you’ve learned about dogs, you’ve earned a right to have an opinion. Until then, be quiet and continue to listen. If you have a problem with someone, deal with it privately. Don’t do your laundry in public. And if you have any self-respect, then demonstrate that by showing respect for others. Forty years from now, someone will appreciate it.
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