Current Issues
	FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT National Specialty 2009 is in the books. I had a particularly memorable and busy specialty. I hope all attendees took home wonderful memories of our yearly conclave in celebration of our favorite breed. The Officers and Governors, as well as all members, extend their thanks and gratitude to the many members who volunteered their time and talents to produce the National Specialty, with all of it activities, nuances and details. Please take the time to have another look at the last page of the Specialty Planning Guide to see the names of many of our fellow members who made this specialty an event; let them know you appreciate their gift to you of Autumn in New England, 2009 ABdFC National Specialty. ABdFC year 2009-2010 brings the Club a new configuration of officers and governors, including a new president. What's with this new president? One ongoing topic is my concern and desire that our members become better dog fanciers and better Bouvier fanciers and how can the ABdFC assist its members in their Bouvier and dog fancy journey. Both the breed and the fancy benefit from informed, educated and involved members. There is a world out there of information and knowledge relative to canines. Every time you look at a dog, you can learn something. If we do not get involved in our communities, our sport and our breed may be negatively impacted by ideologists who appear to have no understanding of or respect for the sport of purebred dogs. Is there a crisis of type in our breed? Has the traditional Bouvier type been hijacked? A sad, but true story: I was sitting ring side during Best of Breed class at a SCBdFC specialty when the show was being held at San Juan Capistrano. The lady sitting next to me leaned over and asked what the breed was about "because obviously they are not built for endurance like my breed." I told her (a black and tan coonhound breeder) that actually the breed standard calls for a dog built for endurance, but that I understood why it might appear to her otherwise. The Bouvier is a basic structure square dog. How do I know this? The breed standard calls for a basic structure square dog. Early in my involvement with the Bouvier, Clay Coady talked with me about the Bouvier being a basic structure dog. A basic structure dog is a dog built for endurance. "Basic structure" is just as integral to the Bouvier as is "square." The Bouvier must move and function properly to be able to accomplish its traditional tasks. Patricia Craig Trotter claims that the basic structure square dog is the hardest to breed. Are we rising to the challenge or settling if it wins? Many dog breeds are square, but not basic structure. Many breeds are basic structure, but not square. How do we get a basic structure square dog? Do we have a clear picture of the proper foot placement, standing and moving, for our breed? Do we know where the elbow should be relative to the shoulder bone and ribs? Are we producing dogs where the reach of the forequarters is in balance with the driving power of the hindquarters and where the back remains firm and flat while the dog moves in a trot? It is not within my position as President of the Club to have a public opinion as to which Bouviers most closely abide by the standard or portray appropriate type, but it is within my position to raise the issue and encourage our members to develop as dog people and to engage in critical thinking and analysis about our breed and the breeding stock exhibited. I look forward to an exciting year of participation of the community of Bouvier owners. Judith E. Abramsohn Judith E. Abramsohn President ABdFC judith@abramsohnlaw.com