Group 8 - The Spitz Group??????

I was munching away at breakfast at 2pm earlier today and was reading through the bi-monthly newsletter for the Siberian Husky Club of Canada when I noticed in the South/Central Ontario Area Report that Joel was reminding us to get our surveys into the secretary regarding our views upon the possibility of the CKC opening up an 8th Group entitled the "Spitz Group" which of course would include Siberian Huskies. What do you guys think of this? Feedback? There were two articles written up on the issue and I''ll try and pick out highlighted facts for you guys. One is pro Group 8 and the other is con.

"Opposition to the new proposed Group 8" by Leida Wales

- would cost a lot of money which could be used for other issues
- focus seems to be on what Canadian judges want -> not the way to get more knowledgable judges
- in order to judge this new group judges would have to do a 3-day seminar in 5 regions of Canada regarding each breed -> This means 45 minutes to learn about all 28 breeds proposed for the new group which isn''t enough time at all
- international judges wouldn't be qualified to judge the new group and they're part of what attracts entries
- a lot of opposition from Group 3
- lots of changes would have to be made to publications, websites, shows, and the computer system
- other than physical appearance, Spitz breeds are not very unified -> some were bred for working in norther regions, some were bred in desserts, some were bred strictly for companionship -> confirmation is quite different in breeds and so is temperment [think of judging an Akita against a Siberian Husky and a Pom]
- risk of taking the true "working" ability away from the breed -> a dog with the true spitz characteristics will be put up against a dog with working abilities but a shorter coat
- another idea would be for a Spitz Club to be opened which would hold specialities with championship points offered at breed level


Pro Spitz Group 8 - Reprinted from the Canine Review by Marilyn Harris

- good fr the preservation, protection and improvement of spitz breeds -> some are over exposed (Siberian Husky) others are under exposed (Norwegian Lundehund)
- current grouping system hasn't prevented problems from occurring in breeds (evolving) nor would the present system solve it
- 78% of all Sled Dog respondents are pro Spitz group
- "will foster a greater depth of knowledge of these breeds and a better appreciation of what distinguishes each breed from eachother"
- opportunity for mentoring these breeds is enormous -> seminars and study groups devoted entirely to these breeds and what it takes for them to do their job well (hauling, herding, hunting and husbanding)
- the incredibly diversity would be no different than that of the "Utility Group" with its Setters, Retrievers, Pointers, and Spaniels doing more thna one job
- Diversity also in the Hound Group with sighthounds, scenthounds, and dachshunds
- many American exhibitors interested in a Spitz Group
- many people who would show but don't because they don't agree with the views of the group they're in but they would show in a Spitz Group
- show entries would go up, revenues would go up, and shows would be rejuvenated
- support is national -> even by non-spitz owners and exhibitors
- see more uniformity in the other groups without the Spitz breeds in them
- judges agree that Spitzes would be better served in their own group
- 105 judges in favour of Spitz Group 8
- with the Working Group generally being consisted of large breeds it is difficult to show the dogs to their optimum because they can't stretch out properly in a small ring full of lots of competitors
- Working Group already pretty much split into two types -> Mastiff (17 breeds with Neapolitan Mastiff and Cane Corso recently added) and Spitz (9 breeds)
- lots of breeds currently waiting in "Misc. Group" to be accepted into Working Group
- think about the time when the Herding Group and Working Group were still one giant group -> cramped space, lots of entries
- would give 4 more dogs opportunities to place in Group, 1 more dog to win Best in show, and more dogs getting Top Dog points
- easier to educate people
- public would have a better appreciation of the Spitz breed if they were in their own group like Terriers
- "The alternative to change is stagnation. We are here to help our number one interest stay with the times, and improve with age." -Roger Caras-


So what do you guys think of the potential Spitz Group 8? For more information on it visit http://www.spitzgroup8.ca then come back and post your ideas on it. I was gonna post a poll but seem unable to do that.... I''m interested to see what chazzers think!

I'm all for a spitz group. Of course, I'm in the U.S. but I do show in Canada some. The idea of making a group of dogs that are of the basic same "type" makes sense to me. These breeds share the same heritage.

I've been in contact with Marilyn Harris over the past year and a half as she has worked through much of this organization. I really wanted to be at the Canadian nationals last October where they had a spitz breed classic and couldn't make it.

I have chows, and part of the problem with this breed is that they have been stuck in the "non-sporting" group in AKC - which basically means they have no real purpose. The breed has gone from a versatile athletic dog to a ponderous, heavy-faced dog that can't perform any of the jobs it once had. I find this appalling. My dogs fit the breed standard but are still working dogs. I would prefer to see them in a group where their heritage is more important than it currently is. In addition, it makes more sense to judge akitas and poms together than it does poodles and chows (which is what happens in the U.S.).

Anyway, I hope that the spitz group is a success. I'd love to see a ring full of akitas and shiba inus and chows and siberians and samoyeds!

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

Melanie, what do you mean by the same "heritage"? These breeds were created all over the world by different ethnicities with different purposes in different time eras.

BTW I agree with you in wanting the Spitz Group

Overall they share a northern heritage, some waaaaaay back I'm sure .. *L* .. but it has led to certain traits that are more similar among the dogs than they currently share with other dogs in their current groups.

Quoted from the spitz group website:

"The eminent authority and Nobel Prize Winner (1973), Dr. Konrad Z. Lorenz maintains that the race he calls "Lupus Dogs: (Huskies, Chow Chows, etc.) have a wild ancestor that is different from that of the other breeds and he believes they are closely related to Timber Wolves (Canis Lupus). I agree. One of the many things the Northern breeds have in common is that their distinctive characteristics seen to have been arrived at by natural evolution through the ages."

I think you have a possibility to make this a reality in Canada, but I doubt that AKC ever will. They're resistant to change. They've stuffed the chows in a group not only with poodles, but with dalmatians and other "we don't know what to do with them" breeds. Watching group judging, the chow looks completely out of place.

Anyway, if you have a chance to make it to one of the spitz parades, I hope you'll go and report back. One of these days I'll make it to one of them. Right now I pretty much show in Whitehorse as everything else is so far away.

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

Ohhhh ok I get it. Thanks! I haven''t been to the website myself yet, should go check that out now...I''ll be really excited if this pulls through! Will mean that handling for Midstar will be a wee bit easier not having to be up against an Olde English Mastiff, a St Bernard, and Cane Corso all at the same time. Not nearly as diverse as the Utility Group but still quite different. Guess we''ll just have to wait and see

I''ve been to Siberian Husky Specialties and All-breed shows, but never a Spitz Parade. I bet it''d be neat though!