Theresa Nesbitt MD
1. I saw my first Glen of Imaal Terrier about 15 years ago. I was living and working in Greystones, a small Irish town in County Wicklow just south of Dublin. I had no idea what breed he was—with his massive head and expressive face, coupled with powerful, short legs ending in huge paws. He instantly attracted and entranced a small crowd with his charm and antics. He hardly seemed real—like a cartoon teddy bear. I had never seen a dog like this… I was hooked!
I’ve been involved with animals my whole life. I’ve owned and trained a variety of dogs and horses. I was fortunate enough to spend my senior year of high school working with veterinarians, researchers, and zookeepers at the Philadelphia Zoo. I learned a lot about wild animal preservation and extinction. When I began preservation breeding of Irish Glen of Imaal Terriers it combined many of my skills and interests while paying homage to the importance of purpose-bred dogs to human histories and cultures. Glen of Imaal Terriers were a perfect choice for preservation breeding and this is stated in the first paragraph of the Breed Standard:
“Unrefined to this day, the breed still possesses ‘antique’ features once common to many early terrier types; its distinctive head with rose or half-prick ears, its bowed forequarters with turned out feet, its unique outline and topline are hallmarks of the breed and essential to the breed type.” Furthermore, Ireland has been a vanguard for protection of their native breeds, actively promoting preservation. The Irish Kennel Club worked diligently to achieve National Heritage Status and government protection for their nine native breeds, including Glens.
My preservation plan has remained unchanged. Using the Breed Standard as a blueprint, and dog shows and judges as objective evaluators of the quality of breeding stock, I have attempted to breed and finish championships and then collect and freeze semen for the future. With those goals in mind, I have bred and finished 60 Conformation champions in seven years and I am the only Gold Breeder of Merit for Glens. More importantly, I have stored frozen semen on dozens of male champions. I was extremely fortunate to have the help and guidance of many experts and inherited many Glens as well as my Abberann prefix from my co-breeders, Ann and Nick White of Ireland.
2. From my perspective, the breed is doing very well. I receive a lot of favorable comments from judges, and those mean more than ribbons. There is nothing better than hearing from someone you admire and respect that the “desirable dwarves” have really grown on them and that they see a lot of improvement in overall soundness, structure, and breed type.
3. Dog shows are a double-edged sword; the excitement of competition is a tremendous motivator for all involved to do their best, but dog shows should be SHOWS, though most of the time they are more about contests. I try and remember that at every dog show there is one judge in the ring but many more watching. Just because you walk away without a ribbon doesn’t mean you don’t have a worthy dog—and the converse is also true. So, I tend to value feedback over ribbons or rankings.
4. Montgomery is an opportunity to converse with the most knowledgeable people in the world. You can only hope that they know and respect you enough to risk giving you truly critical feedback—because that is the only way to improve. It’s not really comfortable at the top. There’s no resting on laurels (or ribbons). There’s only the restless desire to keep improving, and when you achieve your goals… make new ones.
5. I’m sure social media has benefitted many breeders and competitors. It just isn’t good for me personally. I found it to be emotionally overwhelming and weirdly addictive. It consumes a lot of time and energy and results in payoffs that bring out the darker sides of competition. But there’s no denying it’s power, so I’m sure it is here to stay—I just try and “keep a healthy distance.”
6. As a relative latecomer to the dog fancy, I think I probably harbor some fairly radical views. I see signs that suggest to me change is imminent, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. History would suggest that “dog shows” in some form go hand in hand with purebred dogs. It’s a lot of work, but I think it needs to be a lot of fun too. So, I’m quite confident there will be dog shows in my future. Uncertainty is scary, but it is also exciting.
7. Things go in cycles and even the best ideas with the purest of intentions can go too far. We spend a lot of time and effort trying to fix things when we really just need to acknowledge that change is inevitable and changes in one area bring about changes in others. I believe dog shows have become too expensive and too exclusive. I think many parent clubs have become much more about people than about dogs. I think, if given the chance, many people would enjoy watching beautiful dogs and learning about their histories. I hope so—it sounds like a lot of fun!
As a closing thought… the dog I described in the first paragraph was Abberann Conan, otherwise known as “Homer.” He adorned stamps and television shows. Homer charmed me right out of my comfort into uncharted territories. I don’t think I would ever have become a dog breeder without that fateful meeting. Today I breed Glen of Imaal Terriers under the Abberann prefix, but I like to remember that although Homer is no longer with us he lives on today in every dog I have bred. And that’s an honor and a privilege.
