Third Golden Necklace World Famous Dog Championship photos by Xuan Su
This is now the second time we have judged in China. The first time (four years ago) was in Shanghai, and it was a specific invitation to judge. This time, in Beijing, we were originally invited to cover the show strictly as 
observers from the media, but we were pressed into service due to Bud McGovern having become ill. (By the way, Bud is doing extremely well now.) Presumably, the media invite was the result of some questions we raised with regard to the overall treatment of dogs in China, particularly with regard to the rabies problem there and the ensuing harsh and inhumane reaction of certain governmental departments to the treatment of same.
It was with hesitation and reluctance that we accepted this invitation, but I must tell you how glad we both were that we went. You learn much more about what is going on anywhere by talking to people than you do by shutting them out. A dual lesson nationally for President Bush with regard to Syria and Korea and to those delegates and people within the sport who react similarly to Hunte, HSUS, et al. So I think anyways.
Beijing is a sprawling city with a double-million-digit population. It is one of four major cities in China. This is important to keep in mind, since these four cities (the others being Shanghai, Tianjin (less than an hour from Beijing) and Chongqing) act independently from all of the surrounding provinces. None are considered to be within a province, and all have populations of over 10 million people! I stress this fact in order to distinguish the attitudes that can prevail in the major cities, as opposed to the provinces, which can be provincial, if not barbaric, in attitudes towards dogs, for sure. While there is no central government to tell the cities and the provinces how to interact nor how to react, the Communist party of China rules overall. But within certain 
areas, these other two entities (the four cities and the provinces) are pretty independent. This may explain the basic revulsion of those in Beijing and in Tianjin to the newly established “Three Birds Market” in Guangzhou Province, a 60-acre site costing over 33 million pounds and with 900 businesses. It is a slaughterhouse area of dogs, replacing the Xin Yuan Animal Market, which closed last year. It is said that 10 million dogs are slaughtered annually in China for food. This custom is, I am told, one followed by a particularly low class of people who live in select and remote provinces. This doesn't excuse the practice at all, but it is somewhat comforting to know that an extremely large segment of the Chinese population is as against this practice as are most people throughout the world.
Now for the dog show, which was held in Langfang, not Beijing. Langfang is a new and professional-looking city, with a population of one million people. It is located outside of Beijing, equidistant from Tianjin. This means, of course that in this concentrated area, close to 30 million people live—10 percent of the entire U.S. population! The venue was a more than acceptable exhibition hall, somewhat similar to the Raritan Center where New Brunswick was held. Except for the toilet facilities, the Chinese venue was newer, larger, better lit, and truly a more than adequate site. Not elaborate, not fancy, but extremely functional. This was a three-day show with five specialties held the first morning. There were 32 Siberian Huskies, 50 Chow Chows, 41 Shelties, 25 Miniature Schnauzers, and 39 Golden Retrievers. Two rings ran side by side and were efficiently run—dogs were in and out like clockwork. The immediate comments by all the judges were a pleasant surprise at how well conditioned, handled, and presented virtually all the dogs were. The handlers were well 
dressed, courteous and respectful. The afternoon consisted of all-breed puppies 3-6 months, which totaled 138. Basically the same reactions, but of course, 3-6 month-old puppies are just that—3-6-month-old puppies! Dinner was one of several banquets of endless Chinese delicacies, which became the norm night after night.
Saturday was all-breed classes of six months or older, with the highest class being Open. As I understood it, there are no real Chinese championship dogs, since dog show exhibiting is in its infancy there. Chinese-bred dogs seem to be in a minority. There are many dogs from foreign countries shown, but they basically carry the Ch. of their country. The Chinese mark of distinction is a BOB or BIS or BISS. So that on Sunday—“The Golden Necklace” Championship day—only dogs with a BOB or higher could compete. There were 320 dogs on Saturday in competition but only 252 on Sunday. Many dogs were ineligible to compete on Sunday, whilst some dogs' owners chose to compete ONLY on Sunday, which was technically the day of the highest level of competition.
Jon Cole's BIS, a Golden Retriever, on Saturday won the Sporting group on Saturday. This is a Chinese- or Korean-owned dog that was Top Dog of the Year last year in China. A Shetland Sheepdog owned by Mr. Xiao, which was not shown the first two days and whose name is “Model” and who came with an unknown (so far) kennel name, was Mr. Indeglia's choice. He was a flamboyantly and ultra-professionally handled animal and looked to be a glorious Sheltie. Since there were no catalogs and entry forms require only the breed, call name, (possible kennel name) and owner’s name, information is at best unreliable. It seems an awful lot of dogs are sold to China without papers. There is, as yet, no registration system on a national (or even local) 
scale. It's a mite confusing to get reliable information about the dogs’ backgrounds, that’s for sure.
It took me two full days to figure all this out, since communication and extent of sharing information was either difficult to get or presumed to be understood on our part, when it was not. While some of the quality winners were bred in China, the Shih Tzu group winner was from Korea, and the Boxer bred in Canada but owned in China. I'm still waiting for more info on other group winners.
Now then, who is running this show and why? The show, which drew over 700 dogs, is the largest ever of its kind to be held in China, so I am told. Mr. Shi Zhao Xin is the apparent owner of the sponsoring club, called “The Noted General Kennel Club.” This is now the third Golden Necklace World Famous Dog Championship Show held by this club. Mr. Shi (as he is called) appears to be a devoted, longtime owner of dogs. His goal is to bring what appears to be a burgeoning interest in dog show competition in China to some form of sanity and centralization. He is attempting to establish a central registry for all dogs and has a definite approval from top governmental agencies in China to do so. His model is the AKC, not FCI. Naturally, and analogous to Russia 15 years ago, there is much competition in China in regards to dog shows and possible registration agencies.
Since Mr. Shi's orientation is towards America (and there may be others with whom I am unfamiliar who also so lean), I believe his attitude should be encouraged rather than discouraged. FCI has aligned itself—much to the unhappiness of at least the Japan Kennel Club, as I am told at least—with a minor German shepherd club from Beijing. Why FCI chose this minor club, except for it being GSD-oriented, is anyone’s guess. While Mr. Shi’s interests, naturally, are in part financially motivated, I believe he truly is trying to bring China into play as a major contributor to the dog show world, using AKC as the guideline. If there are others to be heard from, fine. No one says this has to be an exclusive one-way playing field. Why not at least hear his side of the story and find out if it makes sense? •
