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Date Posted: 20:34:23 10/19/03 Sun
Author: Dan G.
Subject: Appraisals Pro's and Con's
In reply to: TMoran 's message, "Appraisals Pro's and Con's" on 10:00:31 10/19/03 Sun


I believe that one of the major faults that the appraisal systems have, is the scoring system. I believe that this is one of the reasons that you can end up with a high scoring dog that has HD.

Terry as you saw in the class that Carel gave, the scoring sheet used in the appraisal is a complex and total breakdown of the dog. The appraiser uses this sheet (in basic terms) to come to an overall average of the pro's and con's of the dog. So the final score is one number and this number is what is used to describe the dog to the public on how close it comes to representing the breed. For showing off. This is where the problem lies.

I believe that the original intent for the appraisal system is for the advancement of the breed by pointing out breed worthy dogs (the reason for the appraisers sheet). But it eventually becomes a competition (the reason for a single score). So why does it become a competition?

1) I believe the thinking on this would be that if it were to stay as originally intended, it would be boring, drawn out and used for the most part, by breeders only. By drawn out, I mean that the filling out of that full sheet would actually have to be done carefully and some extra time would have to be put into the appraisal of each dog.
2) People in the dog world are very eager to show off their dogs and they're willing to spend a good deal of money on them as well.
3) Competitions create rivalries and this combination can bring in big money. Problem is that eventually the money brings along corruption.

At the NABC event, they proposed using a pass or fail type of scoring rather than the typical appraisal system. The intent was to bypass the obvious problems that the current appraisal systems have, but it also has it's own set of problems.

1) For competition purposes, it doesn't work. Not that this was the intention in the first place. Everyone walks away happy if their dog passes, but no one walks away knowing how they parred up to the guy next to them and no one walks away as #1. So the same excitement and participation level will not be there.

2) For breeders purposes, it is too simplistic and doesn't give enough information. If you were to use the pass or fail system on its own, you would be just throwing dice by combining two pass scoring dogs.

So what is the solution? Eliminate the single scoring system. Possibly make the scoring more of a complex number. Sort of the same way a VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is used on a car. It's not only an ID#, it gives you all sorts of information (eg. where the car was built, etc.). :) You could call it a DIN (Dog Identification Number). Or something along those lines. Most importantly this will eliminate the competition and rivalry that we see on the boards everyday. Every breed worthy dog will have its strong points and its weak points. No winners or losers. No big time dog celebrities. Breeders can compare DIN's and find the best match for their dogs. Or even the organization could recommend a certain line or dog for the breeder to consider pairing up with.

Is this realistic? There are alot of people currently comfortable with the long established systems. Maybe, maybe not.
Is this going to hurt the income of the organizations? I'm not going to try to pretend that I know the business of running an organization, but I will say that the purpose of the organization and the importance of appraisals must not be forgotten in this process. So I would hope that there are other ways to sufficiently keep bringing in the same or close to the same amount of income.

I believe that there can be an enormous positive or negative impact that an appraisal system can have on any breed, but this is determined solely on the quality of the organization.

Just some thoughts,
Dan G.

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Replies:

  • Re: Appraisals Pro's and Con's -- DKH, 05:36:58 10/20/03 Mon
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