Mike Kowalczuk | Wussteria Irish Terriers

Interview with Mike Kowalczuk, Breeder of Wussteria Irish Terriers

1. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder? What is your kennel name?
2. In your opinion, is your breed in good condition overall? Any trends that warrant concern?
3. As a Preservation Breeder, can you share your thoughts on the sport today? How’s the judging these days? What do you think about the number of shows?
4. What does “Montgomery” represent to you as a Preservation Breeder? As an Exhibitor?
5. In your opinion, is social media good for the sport? Is it harmful?
6. What are the biggest challenges facing the dog show community as a whole today and how can these be addressed?
7. What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen in the sport over the past decade?

Mike Kowalczuk

1. I’ve been involved with Irish Terriers since 1997. I have served as President of the Irish Terrier Club of America and am currently the Club Historian, AKC Gazette Columnist, and member of the Judges Education Committee. I belong to two all-breed clubs and am Secretary for the Eastern Dog Club. I live in Connecticut and have bred or co-bred 10 champions under both my kennel name (Wussteria) and the kennel name of the late Bruce & Nancy Petersen (Huntermoon). Since their tragic passing in 2016, I have not been actively breeding but hope to in the near future.

2. Since I started in the breed, we have lost many serious breeders, and though today there are some really promising new ones all over the country, we don’t have the numbers we used to. As a result, I feel our gene pool is smaller than it’s ever been and has resulted in health issues, like Cystinuria, which were not of concern 20 years ago.

3. I know people are concerned about entries being down these days, but historically, you will see that, yes, there was an explosion of entries in the 1980s and ‘90s, but before then you see entries that are comparable to today. I don’t think there is an issue with the number of shows, but I do think many clubs are struggling financially because they aren’t attracting the entries needed to break even. What’s really encouraging is the expansion of performance sports that have gotten many new people involved in the sport of dogs. As far as judging goes, the Irish Terrier is such a rare breed that most judges don’t have the opportunity to evaluate them in numbers that would enable you to assess their understanding of the Breed Standard. I will say that I am seeing a number of newer judges doing a really fine job. I credit that to the efforts of the ITCA’s Judge’s Education Committee over the last 20 years.

4. What can you say about Montgomery?! I have only missed two over the last 27 years. It’s the time when you get together with your fellow enthusiasts from all over the world to celebrate your breed. You get to see a wide spectrum of breeding stock and exchange philosophies. I cherish my memories of hanging out with friends in someone’s hotel room, staying up all hours of the night toasting those who have gone, telling old stories, laughing till it hurts, and savoring every moment even though it might leave you a little bleary-eyed during the next day’s judging!

5. Overall, I think social media is a great resource for a community as small as ours, to reach out to each other literally across the globe. There are downsides, however. I once posted on a public forum a review of a judge’s selections at a show with a good-sized entry of Irish. I was not entered nor did I mention any dogs in particular. I expressed my opinion that their choices were consistent and possessed the qualities I felt best met the Standard. Well, this critique upset one of the owners of a dog who was not in the ribbons that day. Later, when I drove to Houston from Connecticut to show my dog to his breeder who is in poor health, the handler employed by that owner was at the shows making some not so nice comments to people about me and my dog. Not a pleasant situation.

6. We need more people in the sport, but in today’s world the public has access to a whole host of activities that they can pursue and which don’t involve dogs. While focusing on young people is important, I have always felt we should look towards the middle-aged crowd, the empty nesters who have the disposable income needed to show or breed dogs. Historically, many of our top breeders did not get involved in the sport until later in life. An example is Martha Hall who is regarded as one of the most influential breeders of Irish. She got involved when she was in her 40s, during the 1930s, and for 40 years developed a line that is behind most American Irish Terriers.

7. I think the new generation of judges coming up the ranks is very promising. They are paying attention to our judge’s education efforts and doing a pretty good job of finding Irish of the correct type.