Carrie Smith
1. I live in a little town north of Tyler, Texas. I have been involved in dogs for over 30 years. My involvement includes breeding, Conformation, and being the primary kennel manager for an Assistance Dogs International, Inc. accredited service dog program. My Siberian Huskies and Yakutian Laikas carry NorthStar as my kennel name.
I began importing Yakutian Laikas with the help of my good friends, Ekateriana Klimakova and Oksana Zadora, who were coming back and forth from Russia to show. I was fortunate to have experienced handlers/mushers in similar Northern breeds help me select the initial Yakutian Laikas, which are now a critical part of the gene pool in the US. They visited Russian kennels, to help me locate breeders who focused on both Conformation shows and sledding, to select breeding stock for the US. With their help, we were able to obtain several dual-titled dogs for the gene pool here.
2. Thankfully, the breeders we worked with in Russia and other countries helped us to import as much diversity in this breed as possible. Concerning trends would be size and color. We are considering Standard changes to address these concerns. We might add disqualifications for oversized dogs and for dilute colors such as blue. The Russian National Breed Club has spoken out against dilutes since it seems to produce Color Dilution Alopecia, which we, of course, don’t want to see in our breed.
3. I think we are lucky to have so many chances to exhibit our dogs. Although I am located somewhat in the middle of nowhere, there are many events within a 100-mile radius.
I think judging is fair overall. It’s important for exhibitors to remember that the Miscellaneous phase is about the owners learning AKC procedures, policies, and expectations. It’s also about the judges learning our breed. This breed has been very well received by judges. We have had good placements in FSS Open Shows right from the start. I feel the judges have taken a true interest in learning about our breed.
4. AKC club policies and procedures are probably the biggest challenge. We have been lucky to have some great experienced guidance with that part.
5. I think social media can be a great communication tool. It does allow immediate access to a lot of information. I do think it does a lot of harm as well. I think people can easily follow those who talk the loudest rather than those with the most knowledge and experience. I do think that it can put judges under a lot of scrutiny, as everyone has a voice and no one likes to lose.
6. I think bridging the gap between learning from social media and online resources versus true in-person mentors can be a challenge. While we have access to more people these days, we need to understand that these judges, breeders, and handlers are still busy dog people. We are all very busy dog people, but we are expected to be so much more than that now.
7. I think it is great that people have easier access to health testing and learning about the positive contributions they might be able to make in a breed. The improvements in health testing over the last 20 years is especially positive for the health of future purebred dogs.
