IN THE RING
Conformation, Companion/Performance Sports, Civic Activities…
Here at Wildwood, we follow the concepts of clicker training as introduced to us in the mid 1990’s by P.J. Lacette & Sandy Guy of Best Paw Forward in central Florida. The success that we’ve achieved in multiple rings with our Kuvasz, Bulldogs and other breeds is founded in the positive reinforcement philosophy & practices initiated for us by Best Paw. The poem below expresses how we feel about earning titles in dog events. We are happy for and appreciative of all our fellow exhibitors who find as much pleasure as we do in teaming up with our dogs to train & show them. Collectively, we all contribute to the honor that earning titles bestows on our beloved canine partners.
WHY TITLE A DOG?
by Sandra Mowery
- Not just a brag, not just a stepping stone to a higher title, not just an adjunct to competitive scores, a title is a tribute to the dog that bears it, a way to honor the dog, an ultimate memorial. It will remain in record and in memory for as long as anything in this world can remain. Few humans will do as well or better in that regard.
- And though the dog itself doesn’t know or care that its achievements have been noted, a title says many things in the world of humans, where such things count.
- A title says your dog was intelligent and adaptable, and good-natured. It says that your dog loved you enough to do the things that please you, however crazy they may have sometimes seemed.
- And a title says that you loved your dog, that you loved to spend time with it because it was a good dog, that you believed in it enough to give it yet another chance when it failed, and that, in the end, your faith was justified.
- A title proves that your dog inspired you to that special relationship enjoyed by so few; that in a world of disposable creatures, this dog with a title was greatly loved, and loved greatly in return.
- And when that dear short life is over, the title remains as a memorial of the finest kind, the best you can give to a deserving friend, volumes of pride in one small set of initials after the name.
- A title earned is nothing less than love and respect, given and received, and permanently recorded.