Dog Show Tips with Will Alexander
Stay in Your Own Lane
I was just speaking with my friend Colin, which we do every couple days. Most of the time we talk about news going on at the shows. Colin is very intuitive and tends to know what’s going on before most, so it’s really a gossip catch up, which is always fun, lol. On this day he was going on about a Facebook post. In the post, the person was starting a new venture. Colin clearly thought they were not experienced enough in that field to go ahead with such a project.
“Will,” he said “why don’t people just stay in their own lane?” This phrase got me to thinking. Uh oh.
Staying in your own lane is a phrase we hear time and time again, but what does it really mean?
If we understand it to mean don’t venture out of your comfort zone, or where you feel the most comfortable, then there would be zero growth. I always think back to when I was handling, and a dog was offered to me that wasn’t my norm. I would ask myself, do I feel comfortable with this breed; will I do the dog justice? If I really felt compelled to take it, be it for the challenge, or merely that I needed the business, what would be my next move? Well, I would start at the beginning, read the standard, try to understand why I felt this dog was competitive. Secondly, the breed history, books and articles, knowing why a breed is the way it is and what it’s for, really clears things up. Then, onto individuals. I would try to figure out who has had success with this breed, be it breeders or handlers. I was always lucky, as there were many choices. I always felt easier asking another handler who wasn’t from my own area. I don’t think I ever came across a colleague who didn’t want to help. I, in turn, have tried my best to pay it forward. That’s one example of not staying in your own lane. But, I don’t think this was what Colin was trying to convey to me. Again, as a handler there were many times I had wished people would stay in their own lane. I remember a time when I was showing for a dentist. We had a great relationship most of the time, that means, when we were winning.
In this one instance, it was when we were not. I had just come out of the ring, unsuccessful, and we all know where our heads are at during these times. I just wanted to go back to the setup, relax and prepare to fight on another day. My client didn’t see it this way. He was determined to put his two cents in and proceeded to tell me what I had done wrong and how I could save the next day. I’m always open to constructive criticism, but there is a time and place, and this was neither. I do my very best not to speak without thinking. It only leads to trouble. On this day, immediately after I was given these instructions for the future, a calmness fell over me, but I didn’t want to say something I would regret. Remember I said this client was a dentist? Well, he was actually a dental surgeon and very good at his job. He did carry around a sense of bravado, which kept me busy apologizing to other exhibitors in direct competition with us. He had a tendency to voice his opinions, and rather loudly. Anyway, back to that instance. Like I said, a calmness seemed to flow over me and a clarity of thought. I paused for a moment, turned to him and asked when his next root canal surgery was? He looked a little confused but came up with “Tuesday morning, why?” “Well, I just wanted to see if I would be free that day so I could come to your office and show you how I would do it.” The Doctor did not know what to say, but his wife sure got a chuckle from my response.
I’m sitting here trying to think of other examples, and the answer was staring me in the face. Me. Writing, I never thought I would get enjoyment from writing. In school it always seemed like such an arduous task, one I would put off as long as I could. Who am I kidding? I still procrastinate. I don’t really have any deadlines. I just write when the spirit moves me. I wrote a book a few years back, For The Love of Dogs. I was driving to Chicago International. My dear friend, Lynda Torrence, was with me and we were discussing the state of dog shows, both in Canada and the US. With numbers dwindling, we decided it was due to the aging population of our peers. Not us, of course. We needed new blood and more young people to have an interest. If you look at the average age of most club members, well let’s just say, they get a discount every Thursday at most pharmacies. Young people just don’t seem interested in doing the work. With all of today’s distractions, it’s hard to keep them entertained. Working at a dog club doesn’t really lead to instant gratification. It’s a lot of grunt work and long hours. Not a favourite for most young people these days. So that’s where the idea of the book came from. It tells the story of a young boy moving into a new house and across the street lives an older man. He, at first, appears grouchy. Well, he may be grouchy, but he has a dog, a purebred irish setter. From there it goes on to tell the story of how the boy gets interested in the sport of dogs, and yadda, yadda, yadda. Lol. Buy the book (click here to see more about Will's book).
Anyway, I stepped out of my comfort zone to write that, and another dear friend, Shawn Bennett, helped me get it published. His exact thought was “if one young person joins our sport because of this book, it will be worth it”.
Not sure where I was going with this. I just sat down at the keyboard and starting banging away. I was going to tell the story about showing a certain sporting dog at the specialties before the garden, where the owner kept shouting advice to me. They weren’t really shouting, but at the time it sure felt like it. Anyway, being me, I called them over to the other side of the rope and asked if they could hold her for a minute. I’m sure they thought I needed to tie my shoe or something. When I handed over the lead, I wished them good luck, and proceeded back to my set up. I immediately came back and took over but I’m pretty certain they got the message loud and clear. With these two stories, I don’t want you all to get the idea that I was some kind of prima donna and had to have things done my way, but yes, I like to have things done my way.
So, I guess the moral of the story is, staying in your own lane is smart if you are not schooled for such a lane. But, being brave and trying new things is important as well. Just take the time to learn and do justice to the new venture.
Careful driving.
