Showing Thoughts on Showing

Scintie · Feb 16, 2012

May regret starting a discussion in this section but here goes.

What are your thoughts on showing an animal?

Just to point out I'm 100% against it. I've just haven't met many people that has a problem with it.

It encourages breeding for one obviously, but putting breeding aside the actual showing part?

In my mind I compare it to that toddlers in tiaras show. I don't believe you should dress your kid, (or in this case your pet) up all pretty and parade them around a stage against their will for your own enjoyment and attention.

Remember, I'm not talking about the breeding aspect of showing. I just want to know where people stand on the actually showing of an animal.

Thoughts?

pocketmonster · Feb 16, 2012

Well, I don't have a problem with it. Purposeful breeding for show is wrong, but if I wanted to take my rescue Scout to a show and see if he was as pretty as all the other Abyssinians, I don't see anything wrong with that. I would never dress him up or make him do anything except sit there and be cute.. I'm obviously not going to do any of that, because college students don't have that kind of money.
For those that are opponents of showing, is it all animal showing? Is it only small animals who are subjected to inhumane breeding and costumes? How do you feel about horse showing (NOT RODEOS).
Just wondering.

Scintie · Feb 16, 2012

Sorry. I miss worded my post.

Not sure how to fix it. I didn't mean literally dressing them up. That was just my comparison between child showing and animal showing.

HannibalLecter · Feb 16, 2012

It's stressful for most animals, and not enjoyable at all. Especially not to a prey animal with all the noises, poking & prodding, new environment & such. Anything that's not natural behavior or fun for the animals should be avoided in my opinion, except necessary vet visits & such.

It's a selfish act for the owners, nothing else. The exception being the larger animals where a small percentage enjoy it.

kourt1313 · Feb 16, 2012

I see no point in it whatsoever. It's nothing but a confidence boost to the owner/handler/breeder anyway, what exactly is it doing for the pet? Nothing. Dog shows, cat shows, gp shows, all pointless in my mind. Horse shows... Jumping is a natural act for the horse anyway so I suppose in a sense the horse is getting exercise and partaking in natural behavior while the rider shows sportsmanship, training skills, etc, so that one I'm not against, but all these other ones just for the "I have the best/prettiest/most perfect animal" are ridiculous.

SurfingPigs · Feb 16, 2012

Why stress your pig out with a car ride, then jam it in a tiny cage, then let strangers lay it on its back and stress it out even more? I seriously question the mentality of owners who would show their cavies. A guinea pig could not possibly care any less about a stupid ribbon.

People need to get hobbies and try to win awards based upon their own achievements and merits. I feel sad for show pigs.

kittymalone · Feb 16, 2012

I've been to rabbit shows (we have 4 angora rabbits and I was curious) where I've also seen cavies. Most of the people that show are breeders but a LOT are kids in 4H. Out of curiosity I talked to one family whose children were active members of 4H and was educated about the whole thing. 4H clubs help kids to learn the "proper" way of caring for their animals, whether it be cavies, rabbits, chickens, cows, etc. It helps to promote responsible breeding practices and helps teach the child responsiblity (oftentimes, the children are required to care for the animals with little to no help from the parents) and the importances of being in charge of their care. The show I went to didn't have any animals dressed up or in silly poses. They were judged on appearance which can be a sign of good health. All of the animals I saw were very well taken care of and didn't seem stressed at all. The kids beamed with happiness and pride over the animal they were showing and could tell you very useful information about them, as well as how they take care of it. That being said, I did not see the conditions they live in at home, which might be very different. Guinea pigs and rabbits are very different from dogs, as they tend to be a bit more skittish and don't adapt to new environments as well as our canine friends. I think it is a personal decision that one has to make as to whether or not they want to show their cavies. Mine are beautiful and I don't need a ribbon or other people's possibly germ filled hands to tell me that.

piggies1331 · Feb 16, 2012

Last year my kids and I went to a fair where they showed animals.They had a guinea pig section.My kids and I came out with tears,we felt so sorry for the piggies and the other animals.The piggies were in small cages and clearly you could see them in distress.It was super noisy there too. Yes, you can teach kids with proper handling at 4H but why not teach kids to adopt animals.

kittymalone · Feb 16, 2012

piggies1331 said:
Last year my kids and I went to a fair where they showed animals.They had a guinea pig section.My kids and I came out with tears,we felt so sorry for the piggies and the other animals.The piggies were in small cages and clearly you could see them in distress.It was super noisy there too. Yes, you can teach kids with proper handling at 4H but why not teach kids to adopt animals.

I totally agree! It's important to teach kids that there are lots of animals in need of good homes, but breeders and shows are an unfortunate side of animals. I wasn't saying that I agreed with the showing of cavies I was simply pointing out one of the reasons why they exist. I'm sure it is very stressful for the animal, as it would be for me if I had a million people poking at me.

HannibalLecter · Feb 16, 2012

kittymalone said:
I've been to rabbit shows (we have 4 angora rabbits and I was curious) where I've also seen cavies. Most of the people that show are breeders but a LOT are kids in 4H. Out of curiosity I talked to one family whose children were active members of 4H and was educated about the whole thing. 4H clubs help kids to learn the "proper" way of caring for their animals, whether it be cavies, rabbits, chickens, cows, etc. It helps to promote responsible breeding practices and helps teach the child responsiblity (oftentimes, the children are required to care for the animals with little to no help from the parents) and the importances of being in charge of their care. The show I went to didn't have any animals dressed up or in silly poses. They were judged on appearance which can be a sign of good health. All of the animals I saw were very well taken care of and didn't seem stressed at all. The kids beamed with happiness and pride over the animal they were showing and could tell you very useful information about them, as well as how they take care of it. That being said, I did not see the conditions they live in at home, which might be very different. Guinea pigs and rabbits are very different from dogs, as they tend to be a bit more skittish and don't adapt to new environments as well as our canine friends. I think it is a personal decision that one has to make as to whether or not they want to show their cavies. Mine are beautiful and I don't need a ribbon or other people's possibly germ filled hands to tell me that.

I disagree. No matter where in the world, I've found that 4H usually takes horrible care of their animals. They have little to no knowledge which then rubbs off on the kids. The children have an even more lacking respect for animals than others concerning my local 4H. I often hear the same news about 4H in the US where many animals are mistreated.

SurfingPigs · Feb 16, 2012

"Responsible breeding" is an oxymoron, and in the age of technology lessons can be taught without contributing to overpopulation and death. 4H programs are archaic in my opinion.

sarah0712 · Feb 16, 2012

We show our horses. I can honestly say that they thrive at shows, they love it! I can't really speak for smaller animals. I can see why it would be stressful for animals of a more nervous disposition

SurfingPigs · Feb 16, 2012

Horses are not prey animals and are shown and reared in quite disparate conditions than cavies, especially 4H cavies. It would be a rare guinea pig to thrive being separated from its herd and prodded by strangers.

sarah0712 · Feb 16, 2012

SurfingPigs said:
Horses are not prey animals and are shown and reared in quite disparate conditions than cavies, especially 4H cavies. It would be a rare guinea pig to thrive being separated from its herd and prodded by strangers.

Of course horses are prey animals. Their whole lives revolve around their flight instincts

SurfingPigs · Feb 16, 2012

Pardon my ignorance, you are quite correct. I should restate it as "horses aren't scared for their lives and dashing for cover when they are around beings that are approximately 50 times their size, pick them up, flip them over, and otherwise completely physically manipulate them in the most uncomfortable of ways".

kittymalone · Feb 16, 2012

I was just commenting on MY experience with our local 4H clubs and the few shows that I went too and also repeated what I was told and what I saw. I don't think I commented either way what my thoughts were on 4H clubs. I don't know very much about them except for what I was told by members and what I saw.

kittymalone · Feb 16, 2012

SurfingPigs said:
"Responsible breeding" is an oxymoron, and in the age of technology lessons can be taught without contributing to overpopulation and death. 4H programs are archaic in my opinion.

This is also what I was told by 4H members, not necassarily what I believe to be true.

SurfingPigs · Feb 16, 2012

kittymalone said:
This is also what I was told by 4H members, not necassarily what I believe to be true.

I understand; I didn't indicate that it was your opinion, nor does it matter to me whose opinion it was. I was merely stating my disagreement with the statements made.

Scintie · Feb 16, 2012

You all bring up very good points.
Personally I don't believe in showing any animals whether it be a guinea pig or a horse, to me it's selfish. The way an animal has to be deemed perfect to be considered important is just infuriating.

sarah0712 · Feb 16, 2012

Scintie said:
You all bring up very good points.
Personally I don't believe in showing any animals whether it be a guinea pig or a horse, to me it's selfish. The way an animal has to be deemed perfect to be considered important is just infuriating.

How is it selfish? For a horse to do well in showing it has to be a good example of it's breed, has to have a good temperament and be in excellent condition. It's all about celebrating good breeding and how well presented and looked after your horse is. It takes lots of hard work to keep a horse in 'show condition'.

I can see why showing of other animals would be selfish and unfair on the animals, but horse showing is completly different ball game. Of course I'm speaking of experience of british showing, I have no idea about other countries.

But anyway that's my two-pence. I'm not going to turn this into a debate about horse showing...

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