ARC MEMBER COMMUNICATIONS

Dear Gwen, Board and Committee Chairs,

This is in reference to your email dated March 10, 2009 concerning the Working Dog Sport, the Measurement Survey and the National Sieger show.

Working Dog Sport
I am pleased to know that the club has moved forward by conducting a WDS trial. To maintain the Rottweiler’s status as a respected working dog, in the US and abroad, it is vital for the club (and the future of the Rottweiler) to sincerely embrace the WDS. Because they abhor the tail and are opposed to the sport of Schutzhund, it is unfortunate that factions within our club will malign and erect hurdles to a successful implementation of the WDS. Since you requested my input I suggest the following:

1. The board and the WDS committee members aggressively promote the WDS via a full page ad in the ARK and on our Website. Open, aggressive promotion of this event is essential. These will let all advocates, as well as detractors know, that you are committed to this endeavor. Keeping it a clandestine activity sends a dubious message.

2. Ensure that those that work on the WDS trial, such as: helpers, track layers, workers and etc. are committed, enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the sport. A careful selection of these people is important.

Furthermore, I do not believe Peter Piusz is receptive to any of my ideas toward the WDS since he has blocked every effort I have made to become a part of the WDS committee. I know that he has asked others to work with him on the WDS committees that have had no hands-on experience in the sport of Schutzhund. This makes no sense and appears to be politics!

I also would like to know where the club is holding the event. You did not mention this in your email.

The Measurement Survey
You say you wish to help, yet the survey is not being offered at the national. This is perplexing? Perhaps my letter to Jim Runck and Lester Cerana has had a positive effect?

Yes, the board can do much to help the measurement survey by sincerely supporting it! The survey has encountered many hostile detractors. Why, I am not completely sure. I do know that some members avoid the survey since they do not wish to have others know their dogs are perhaps… imperfect? Others have exclaimed that the survey is “stupid” or “Who would want their dog measured?” Still others have anger towards it because of an animosity towards me, as ridiculous as it is to oppose something beneficial to the Rottweiler. In essence, the Measurement Survey is a recipient of the unbridled politics that the club tolerates.

Regardless, the survey is a most valuable tool. There is no other tool in the ARC that permits an analytical bird’s-eye view as to the direction in which Rottweiler breed type is heading, whether forward, backward or stagnant. It is also a money maker and as valuable an educational tools as any other event that the ARC conducts.

The National Sieger Show
While on the board, I suggested that a National Sieger show was a fantastic way to raise money for the club. Perhaps as much as a $5-$7000.00 profit may be made. Additionally, it would provide a venue for the members that owned undocked Rottweilers to exhibit their dogs without interfering with the docked advocates. I believe its purpose has been forgotten. After working on the venue for almost 8 months with my committee and having the previous board revise and revise, then nit-pick areas of the Sieger show rules and regulations that nearly drove me bonkers, I never lost my cool, no matter what they threw at the committee. I never received a “thank you Steve” for all your hard work and perseverance. The only encouragement I received was from Diane Garnett and Lew Olson.

It would be a mistake to hold this spectacular event with the national in 2010. It is a stand-alone event worthy of its own recognition; not an “also” or “tag- along”. By conducting it with the national, it diminishes its importance and the money it can potentially garner. Since this is a “first” for the club, those that will be working this venue should be enthusiastic, knowledgeable about this style of show and promote it aggressively. Otherwise it may flop!

This venue too has its detractors and maligners. Many purveyors of “ill will” in our club wish to see this event bomb. Why? Simply because they abhor the tail and a venue they will not be able to control; the same sentiment that they have towards the WDS.

I would also be curious about who will be judging it? This is also a vital factor for its success. The judge for the Sieger show must be a person that owes no favors, cannot be influenced, has only the breed’s best interest in mind and completely competent in this style of show.

Caveat
I implore the board to step “out of the forest” and take an objective hard look at the club and our breed. Presently, there is an inequity with the conformation and working aspect of the Rottweiler. Our club is highly oriented towards conformation at the expense of the working aspect. There is no doubt that it is easier, it garners more applause and has higher monetary gain to breed a conformation dog than it is to breed a top working dog. Most in the club prefer to take this path. Yet, is the Rottweiler not a working dog? Are the words “temperament” and “working” not prevalent in all of our writings? As a result of this, many males cannot couple naturally in the presence of a bitch in full estrus and semen must now be collected for AI; their working/protection drive is at an all time low. Impotency could not be better demonstrated. These imbalances could change provided that the club adjusted its emphasis to include a balance between conformation and working aspects for the Rottweiler.

Additionally, our Rottweilers’ breed type is eroding at an astounding pace. One only has to again, “step out of the forest” and observe. Our dogs are Europe’s bitches; our bitches are Europe’s Dobermans! We have become a club of isolationists. The present orientation of the club is like an Ostrich that sticks its head in the sand to avoid trouble, change or improvement. The direction the club has chosen is leading us to a breed apart from its international counterpart and a departure from the Rottweiler of correct breed type and respected working dog.

I hope that the board will publish this letter in the ARK. Unlike the request to publish my opposing view to Peter Piusz letter to withdraw from membership in the IFR.

Sincerely,
Steve Wolfson

BOARD RESPONSE

Dear Steve –

Thank you for your letter.

Working Dog Sport
The Board is very excited about our first AKC Working Dog Sport Trial which will be held near Orlando, Florida on November 14 & 15. There is certainly no intent, either on the part of the Board or the Working Dog Sport Committee, to have this as a “clandestine activity”; but details had to be finalized before it could be advertised. An ad for the event is included in this ARK, is on the website and has been sent to all the clubs included on the Local & Area Clubs page.

And the Trial Chairman, Amanda Hoskinson, who has had much experience in putting on Schutzhund Trials, will be working with her Trial Committee to ensure that all workers are totally educated on, and more than capable of following, the AKC rules for this venue.

The original ARC Working Dog Sport Trial Committee was made up of individuals who all had titled a dog to a Schutzhund III. When you inquired about being added to this committee, you were asked to submit your qualifications/credentials. You have never done so.

The Committee is looking for new members who have had extensive experience in putting on a Schutzhund Trial. Anyone who is interested is welcome to submit his/her qualifications to the Chair at ppiusz@nycap.rr.com.

We are not sure why you consider the decision about the committee’s make-up as “political” since neither Peter Piusz, as Chairman, nor any Committee members are using their position to either further a personal agenda or as a springboard for election to a Board position.

The Measurement Survey
The Survey was not offered at this year’s National, not because the Board was against it, but because there was no evaluator, including you, who was willing or able to go to California to conduct it. That is the reason it was not held with the previous year’s National in Minnesota either. Mile High Rottweiler Club is more than willing to offer this as part of the 2010 Nationals, but they cannot do so if there is no one to conduct it.

This appears to be the biggest problem in this event not being offered more often. According to our records, there are only 3 individuals qualified as evaluators who are able to conduct a Rottweiler Measurement Survey and all 3 live in the Northeastern part of the country. Local Host Clubs cannot afford to pay for transportation/lodging/other expenses to get an evaluator from another part of the country.

So as Chairman of the ARC Breed Measurement Survey/Seminar what are you doing to change this situation? The Board has never received any concrete ideas from you as to how to increase participation in either the Survey or the Seminar. Since those already licensed by AKC to judge Rottweilers only have to attend one Seminar to become qualified as an Evaluator, have you contacted any of these people, especially the Rottweiler Breeder-Judges, to see if there is any interest? Have you thought about trying to hold an Evaluator Seminar with a Regional or even with a Rottweiler Judges Education Seminar?

To help with the goal of having more evaluators, the Board has just approved a $50 stipend to any current evaluator who presents a Rottweiler Measurement Evaluator Seminar. This is the same stipend amount that is given to any presenter of an approved Judges Education Seminar.

The National Sieger Show
While it may be a nice idea to hold the National Sieger Show as a stand-alone event, it does take a dedicated group of people as well as a commitment of funds to pull it off. At this time, ARC has neither. As Chairman of the Sieger Show Committee, you and your committee members were instrumental in getting the procedure written and for that the ARC thanks you all (yourself, Joe Allegrini, Karen Billings, Leslie Fried, Dee Hernandez). However, since you resigned because you did not have the time to work on this, there has been no one else willing to take this on as an independent event. The Mile High Rottweiler Club offered to host the National Sieger Show as part of their National Specialty Show next April in Colorado and the Board thanks them for taking on this additional responsibility.

Financially, the ARC is not able to commit the funds to offer this as an independent event. We have just raised membership dues, and are trying to find ways to decrease expenses, so we can not afford to front several thousands of dollars or more to produce an independent Sieger Show which may or may not make money. Our first priority as an AKC member/licensed club, per our Constitution, is “to conduct sanctioned matches and licensed events for which the club is eligible under the Rules and Regulations of the American Kennel Club”.

Since any local Rottweiler club and or group of ARC members can apply to hold this event, we are hopeful that some will come forward for future years. (See National Sieger Show Rules and Guidelines, Revised April 2009on www.amrottclub.org).

Caveat
Steve, the Board and much of the membership is very cognizant of the fact that “there is an inequity with the conformation and working aspect of the Rottweiler”. This is not a new revelation. Many years ago the ARC had tried to begin to bring the 2 groups together by offering a Shutzhund Trial at the ARC National Specialty, as well as offering the RCT (Rottweiler Character Test), and it did appear to be working. However, the AKC then “outlawed” anything having to do with protection work under threat of losing our AKC license; this put an end to both programs. Now that AKC has initiated the Working Dog Sport program, we are hopeful that our participation in this venue will begin to bring more “working dog people” into the ARC and increase interest among the “breed people” to participate. And with the Sieger Show being conducted at 2010 National we look forward to both groups being able to show in one venue.

And while it is nice to point out and make these broad statements about existing situations/problems, anyone can do that.. It is another thing to make concrete suggestions on how to try/begin to find a solution. The ARC Board and all of its Committees are always open to members suggestions as to how we can better further our goals.

Steve, you also state as a fact that the European Rottweiler quality is superior to that of the dogs in this country – however, that is just one man’s opinion - yours. Having just returned from the National Specialty, we find that opinion insulting to the breeders and owners of the wonderful Rottweiler specimens that were in attendance, as well as multitudes of others around the country.

The ARC supports and encourages our membership to strive for the complete dog, including health, structure, temperament, and working ability.

The ARC Board of Directors