Changing times By Patricia Doescher I have been showing dogs for over 30 years! Reflecting over the past and how changes have made our sport easier, I came up with the following thoughts. You are an old-timer to the dog sports if you remember when: * You had to wait three months for the American Kennel Club Gazette to arrive in order to check your show wins for points. * You could enter three dogs in a show on what it now costs to enter just one. * Sleeping in your van overnight at a dog show was thought of as an adventure, not torture. *Everyone called a qualifying score in obedience a leg and not a Q. *Your favorite judge had a full head of hair! *You filled the tank of your vehicle on the way to a dog show for under $12.00 and an attendant pumped it for you. * Winning Best of Breed from the classes over specials meant only that you got to show in Group and not an additional count towards points * Rally was considered a road race and agility meant being agile * You mailed show entries with a 13-cent stamp after filling them out by hand. * The thought of having your dogs positively identified using DNA or microchips sounded like something out of a science fiction novel. *You took pictures of your dogs on 35mm film and had to wait a week for them to be developed to see the results. *Word of your big win took weeks to trickle through the grapevine instead of only minutes. While some of the changes are the natural progression of aging and improvement, most of the changes have come about through the advanced technology we call the Internet. The Internet has opened doors and given us opportunities we could not have imagined 30 years ago. Making entries, checking win points, attending dog club meetings and the ease with which we can communicate with fellow breeders and potential puppy buyers is incredible. These fantastic benefits have not come without an unpleasant side effect. Google “Shiba Inu” and you will get 92,200 sites. It’s always been a fact that there have been breeders mass-producing puppies for profit with little or no regard to the health and well being of the animals and caring little who purchases them. This is truer today then ever with the ease of selling on-line. Yes, things have changed over the past 30 years but one thing that stays the same is the fact that education is the key. Using the Internet or old-fashioned word of mouth we need to spread the word to those interested in the Shiba Inu before they purchase. Those of us with years of experience may not shirk our duty now. Mentoring those new to the art of breeding and showing our dogs is a must. More then ever education must proceed so those following in our footsteps can continue to safeguard the Shiba Inu.