Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly

In 1946, a hit musical debuted on Broadway that was a fictionalized version of the life of sharpshooter Annie Oakley and her romance with fellow sharpshooter Frank Butler. The music and lyrics for the show were the work of the great American songwriter Irving Berlin, and the musical starred the late, great Ethel Merman as Annie. 

One of the songs Berlin wrote for Annie was a joy-filled, lively ditty titled “Doin’ What Comes Natur’lly.”

If you’ve ever wanted to create joy in your dog’s life, give them an opportunity to do “what comes natur’lly.” In other words, give them a chance to do what their breed was meant to do. A considerable number of show-dog owners — including some who owned dogs that were ranked at or near the top of their breed and some in the Top 10 in their group — often remarked to me during the years that I was judging hunt tests that they had never seen their dogs light up in the show ring the way they did in the field. 

Sighthounds are never happier than when they get a chance to run. Both these Afghans are dual (field/show) champions.

With my own dogs, including those that had multiple group wins and placements and even a BIS here and there, I often wished I would see half the animation from them in the show ring as I saw when I picked up my whistles, grabbed a few dummies and headed out the door. If I had a shotgun in hand, their joy knew no bounds.  

Indeed, one of my hunting partners often referred to my absolute best show dog as “Dog Astaire” because the minute he saw me with shotgun in hand, he would dance, leaping and pirouetting, jigging and quickstepping around me in his delight at the prospect of going hunting. 

In all the times he went in the show ring, despite the promise of the most delectable treats imaginable and having a superb handler, never once did I see him dance. While he was an arrogant dude in the show ring who, quite frankly, expected go to the head of the lineup every time he set foot in the ring, he never displayed the same sort of pride, nor did I ever see the light dancing in his eyes over a show ring win as he showed whenever he retrieved a bird.  

None of my show champions, including the group winners and the one who had a BIS, ever displayed the same sort of pride nor did the light dance in their eyes over a show ring win as it did whenever they retrieved a bird.  

You’d be hard pressed to find a dog more delighted at the prospect of doing his real work than this champion Bloodhound.

It really defies logic to have a breed that was developed to do a specific job and then never give the dogs a chance to do that job. Even the winningest show dogs should be more than just something that’s lovely to look at. Virtually all breeds, including those whose historical purpose is to be a lapdog, have some athletic ability, and they are happiest when they get to use that ability. If that activity is part of their heritage, even if that just means doing the work expected of a companion dog in obedience or rally, odds are you’ll see a happy dog when they get to do that job.  

While it may not be an easy task and may not ultimately result in a title, as there are simply some show dogs that won’t be able to cut it in the field or in a performance activity, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Even with breeds badly split between “show” and “field/performance” types where the show people have paid no attention to field or performance ability for several generations in making their breeding decisions, there are always some dogs that retain the necessary instincts and willingness to do that work. 

Doing a worthwhile job can bring joy to the posture of a champion in any Toy breed.

It’s wrong to pooh-pooh a dog’s ability to do its historical work until you’ve given the dog a fair chance to prove it either can or cannot do that work. Even in breeds generally viewed as the ultimate “foo-foos,” there are dogs that are able to do the job they were bred to do. Several Standard and Miniature Poodles have earned hunt-test titles, and some of them have also been conformation champions.

But giving a dog the opportunity to do what the breed was designed to do can provide something far more significant and, indeed, critically important to the future of the breed. How much value can a dog possibly have to a breed, no matter how many ribbons and trophies it has collected from the show ring, if it lacks the most basic instincts or desire to do its historical job — or some close facsimile of that job if the opportunity to do the breed’s historical job is no longer available? Ascertaining whether those instincts and desires are still present should be the number-one priority, along with health screening, before anyone even so much as entertains the possibility of breeding their show champions.

There are still some champion Old English Sheepdogs that find great joy in sheep herding.

Form truly follows function, and it is troubling to see breeds that become so divided between very strong “field” or “show” lines that there’s little or no crossover into the other discipline. It’s wonderful to have a dog that works nicely in the field or the herding or performance arena and looks beautiful doing it. It’s exceedingly important to all dog breeds to keep their dogs working at what the breed was originally intended to do.

Even hauling out the trash can be fun when one of your historical jobs was drafting.

A picture is said to be worth a thousand words. While that old saying tends to rankle someone who makes her living putting words on paper and takes considerable pride in doing quality work, that is a painful but undeniable truth. In keeping with the sentiment of that particular metaphor, this story will be short on words and long on pictures.

When you look at the photos accompanying this story, it is hard not to notice the sheer joy exhibited by all these conformation champions as they do their real work. The pure delight in these champions’ eyes, on their faces and in their body language is a joy to behold. The way to achieve this state, for many show dogs, is doin’ what (should) come natur’lly. Not only will your dogs love it, but you’ll be doing right by the breed.  

Many champion Clumber Spaniels are also very fine hunting dogs.

This champion Yorkshire Terrier is plenty pleased to be hunting rodents on a barn hunt.

With breeds badly split between “show” and “field,” there are always dogs that retain both the physical beauty and the necessary field instincts to do the breed’s historical job, such as this Ch/SH American Cocker.

This champion Finnish Spitz found hunting rats in barn hunt almost as much fun as hunting birds.

What could be more exciting for a champion Newfoundland than doing a water rescue?

Even if it’s just a treed squirrel and not an elk at bay, as long as there is something to hunt, life is wonderful for a champion Norwegian Elkhound.