The Seven Deadly Sins (Of Dog Showing)

Paul | blog | May 3, 2011

Does showing your dog bring out the Angel or Demon in you ?

Wrath also known as “rage”, may be described as inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger

I’m sure we have all felt this at some stage when showing our dogs, most times directed at the appointed judge for down garding our prize exhibit, and then other times at fellow competitors, in instances when the run up behind you etc, or fail to congratualte you when you have a deserved win

Greed also known as avarice or covetousness, is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess

This can be directed at the exhibitor who continually shows their champion dog at every Championship Dog Show in the country not giving the upcoming dogs any chance of getting a foot on the green star ladder. It can also apply to some of the exhibitors that choose to camp at the show grounds and party on until the early hours of the night, keeping us and or dogs from a well deserved rest.

Sloth - The sin of laziness

This can apply to the exhibitor that arrives at the dog show with little or no preparation work done, They can be seen grooming their dog at the last minute and desperately trying to de-scale any plaque from the dogs teeth. The same exhibitor has also not spent much time on their own appearance, and when asked to do a couple of circuits of the ring, raise their eyes to the heavens.

Pride – It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self

I’m sure we all know people in our respective dog breeds that are full of bullsh…..I mean pride. Some of these people are on every breed club committee that they can possibly be on, attending every breed seminar, open show or event that is remotely to do with dogs. As per my blog yesterday, and in relation to failing to acknowledge the good work of others,some of these exhibitors storm out of the ring when given a grade that obviously couldn’t be correct, and can be heard muttering things like “The judge should have gone to spec savers”

Lust - lechery is usually thought of as excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature

This of course can be applied to a lot of Dog Show exhibitors, not only in regards to ogling the handlers in the tight fitting and sometimes inappropriate attire, instead of the dogs on show, but also in regards to show titles like Champion, Annual Champion and International Champion. Some exhibitors lust after these titles so much that they loose sight of everything else, and will do anything legal, or sometimes not, to make sure they obtain the same.

Envy – As described in the bible “Neither shall you desire… anything that belongs to your neighbor”.

Now in the world of dog showing this mainly applies to another exhibitors dog, even though when asked about the same dog, this same exhibitor would run it into the ground no end. It doesn’t stop just at the dog in question though. It could be the mode of transport that the other exhibitor arrives in, the equipment that they have to groom and kennel their dogs in, and of course the titles and achievements achieved by this kennel over the years of hard work and commitment to their breed and showing dogs.

Gluttony – Derived from the Latin gluttire, meaning to gulp down or swallow

Making up your dog into an Irish or International Champion is of course a perfectly good reason to celebrate.  Where better to hold this celebration than at the next dog show. The main ingredients for this celebration is of course a humungous cake, with the obligatory picture of the dog centre stage, and excessive amounts of fizzy alcohol. Normally an open invitation is sent out on one of the social networks, which possibly is the first and biggest mistake. Some people prey on these celebrations, and manage to put away more cake and fizz than the intended recipients put together. There is no end to these peoples gluttony, as sometimes they will attend two or sometimes three celebrations at the same dog show. Don’t be fooled though, their cards have been marked, and soon they will become outcasts in Irish Dogdom, and maybe move on to miniature pony exhibitions in the future!