Thoughts on CCA and AKC National Owner-Handler Series
Those of us who own and love "undesirable" Goldens which are cream in color have two opportunities for our dogs to strut their stuff in the show ring-- sort of. If you participate in the Certificate of Conformation Assessment program and your dog is deemed to be of very good to excellent quality, the dog will earn a CCA certificate which gives you bragging rights. If your dog is in the conformation ring and is owned and handled by you (or a non-professional handler, apparently) then if you stick around in that same ring, he or she may be judged again. If, however, your Golden is selected as the best of the owner-handled entries in this second round of competition he or she receives NO award, NO certificate, NO points toward a championship.
Both of these programs may have value, in that your Golden is considered to be an outstanding example of its breed, but I believe each of these programs provides a good deal of insight into how the dog show venue operates.
On the GRCA website it points out that the CCA program "is an educational gateway for everyone to reflect on the written description of what is 'ideal' for this incredible breed, the essence of a Golden Retriever, that is timeless, without prejudice and not subject to changing fashion or popular style."
The original intent of the CCA program is to "...provide a NON-COMPETITIVE area of participation in conformation where dogs are assessed against the Breed Standard rather than merely against other dogs present..." And it also provides information about your dog which can not be gained in the conformation ring.
Merely? Really? The prevailing belief (or is it a myth?) is that every dog in a show ring is judged against the breed standard, NOT against the competition. This is said to be true in the Group as well as Best In Show judging. Have those show commentators on television been lying to us all these years? To their credit, they do add a disclaimer of sorts. The winning dog exhibits that "extra something" or shows that he "really wants it." Or whatever.
Sounds like a CCA certificate is a better judge of quality than a CH in front of a dog's name. But does anyone really believe that? Do we line up to use a stud dog because he has a CCA designation after his name or a CH title in front of his name?
Sadly, cream-coated Goldens who earn CCA certificates rarely if ever win points toward a championship when they enter the conformation ring. Does anyone see the disconnect here? The parallel universe as it were? Assessors found them to be "very good to excellent" representatives of our breed. Why is that not good enough to assure success in the conformation ring?
The Owner-Handler Series presents a bit of a conundrum as well. First and most important, why is such a program necessary? If the judge is doing his/her job, that individual should be concentrating on the four-legged animal at one end of the leash, NOT on the two-legged animal holding the other end of the leash. Is this newly-instituted program a recognition of the fact that judges are often too impressed with the professional handler? How he does his job? Is competition between owner-handlers and professional handlers patently unfair? Are judges unduly influenced? Nobody seems to want to go there; which begs the question.
Is it fair to believe that judging in the show ring may well be rigged, third only to the performances offered in professional wrestling or the judgments made in figure skating? Some might add gymnastics to that list-- especially in international competition.
The chance of a cream-coated Golden doing well in the Owner-Handler Series is slim to none. Wouldn't you agree?
