The rules are outlined and the handlers knew who the judge would be…

I guess you missed the point earlier. That’s exactly what the AKC is doing — dumping varieties, and it’s a pain in the ass for those of us who have breeds that come in distinctive size varieties.

How many of the vast majority of breeds actually COME in three distinctly separate sizes, such that they may as well be three separate breeds? (In Schnauzers, they actually ARE three separate breeds!)

I don’t understand why the 13” and 15” Beagles are still shown separately, or why there are still color divisions in Cocker Spaniels — my understanding is that these divisions came about during the time that there were so many representatives of the breeds in the show ring, they had to break them up somehow or the classes would be gigantic.

But if a breed is broken up by something as distinct as sizes (and I don’t mean a couple of inches like the Beagles), it seems logical to put them in the groups they fit in, such as the Poodles — a toy Poodle can hardly compete with a standard. A toy Xolo is a lot different than a standard Xolo, and imho, it should have gone into the Toy group. (Apparently it’s the same with Eskies, though I don’t really know their breed well.)

Part of the problem is that they want all Xolos to be shown together regardless of size, and the toy/miniature (the difference between Toy and Miniature Xolo being which registry you are referring to) is small enough in size that it has been shown on a table up until now, while the Intermediate and Standard varieties are shown on the ground. (You’ve seen that in Poodles, right?)

But now that the three varieties will be shown together, they are all supposed to go on the table or a ramp (including the big guys) or all on the ground (including the little guys). It’s a hassle either way — for the dog, the handler, the show-giving club, and the judge, who is going to have to bend over all those little guys to judge them. (Some judges have already complained about this, and the breed has only been in Miscellaneous since January 1.)

These things are not just arbitrary decisions designed to give different breeds a better chance in the groups, they are genuine concerns for breeds that come in distinctive size varieties. I wish it wasn’t so, but that’s the way it is with the breed I choose to share my life with. All breeds are different, all have their own issues, and it’s not as simple as it may seem on the surface.

Little birdie from NYC tells me that the dogs owners wanted the dogs shown. Not clear if he handler change would have made a difference since the handlers were listed as agents for those particular dogs in the catalog, the dogs might have been out as a conflict because of their published agents.

the thinking is that perhaps they felt Peter would have left them in but not considered them. Didn’t work that way. Frankly good for Peter for sticking to his guns.