KINGS & GRAND CHAMPIONS

Henry II schools Phillip II on Titles

We have made a practice to keep our soap box discreetly stowed for most of the history of this blog, but today in researching this week’s shows we came across a couple of interesting entries that cause us to ascend that platform.  At one show we noticed that all of the entries were from one owner, not really unusual in these times of 300 entry dog shows.  However this entry has Champion and Grand Champion dogs entered in the Open Class.  Well, call us naïve, but we never had heard of such a practice.  While we have been told that such is within the permitted, we’re pretty sure that it is contrary to the spirit of good sportsmanship.

Now, we have in the past entered two or three puppies in a show with our adult BBE entry to get some help from the judges in determining who the real “keeper” of the bunch was and though we have never “built” our own major, we have seen it done, though we have frequently witnessed such majors go to an unexpected single entry owner.   In this case we wonder what the owner intended.  Were they needing some help from the judges to tell them whether their GCH, their CH, or their true class dog was the better dog?  Or were they hoping their class dog would take the points over their CH and GCH?  Generally one is a little chagrined when a class dog beats one’s special.  Perhaps when it is one’s own dog, the sting of being told the GCH lost is less? 

Such blatant purchasing of titles should be discouraged, for it demeans all of us.  What is then the value of the title?  We recall in the movie The Lion In Winter the aging King of England, Henry II, telling the boy King of France, Phillip II,  “A king? Because you put your ass on purple cushions? “  Where do the AKC and National Breed Clubs stand on this?