Pure Dog Talk

Commentary: Fun Matches and Rethinking Rankings Host Laura Reeves sat down with Lori Wilson-Paust to talk about fun matches, the need for "picnics in the park" that build the sport from the ground up and rethinking the "rankings rat race." For more thoughts on the topic, following is a reprint of an article Laura wrote for the online magazine Best in Show Daily a few years ago. Sadly just as applicable today... As the Wheels Turn by Laura Reeves, PHA Rankings Remix The latest statistics, for the first half of 2015, hit the airwaves today. Everyone from junior handlers to owner handlers to the top dog in the country of any breed is ranked in every possible format. While I acknowledge the appeal, and certainly am not immune to bragging on the success of the dogs I show, I wonder, along with almost everyone I know, if this system is not a huge part of the problem we are all complaining about in modern AKC Conformation dog shows. Simultaneously, I received an unexpected gifty from AKC in the form of a Grand