.com Forum · General

First,I don't like to complain or give Jeff more headaches! But this is starting to become an issue that's making me really depressed and about ready to throw in the towel!
I have been away for quite awhile and since I've returned everyday I check every Show,keeping track of what's the usual breeds winning.I have made some big strides in many breeds that are what I prefer,mostly Toys,but quite a few that seem to be the Show placing breeds.
Now if you look at all the Shows,check the Toys,all but 1 out of 5,a Pomeranian won! Since I've been back it's usually a Pom.,Pap.or Chihuahua.I am beginning to wonder if Maltese ever will be back to in 2005-2009 a few Group placements per month it seemed.I know there's a intense,complicated whole programmed way that shows run,but is there any little secret to get other Toy Breeds back to Group placements,that I'm missing? Currently my dogs were just mass entered because I wasn't sure I'd have access to my PC for awhile.But any insight advice or even some of Pom. or Pap. females that anyone willing to help me with in other kennels would be wonderful! I'm just waiting to know what it is maybe I'm missing?
Thanks in advance!
Barbara

The problem in Maltese is that we are almost 10 points behind some of the breeds.

All of the Toy breeds are in the 90s with the exception of the Maltese.

It would take the right dog and the right judge to get a group placement with a Maltese at the moment. We are so far behind that it's going to be awhile before we can ever consistently get group placements again.

I've received two 4th In Group wins in almost a year of showing Maltese. They were under Maria Campbell and Richard Wilson as owner/handles.

You might try those judges and see if you have any luck.

Yep - Hitari hit the nail on the head

Unfortunately Maltese are a huge way behind compared to the other Toy breeds un regards to SOP.

If you want to try and win more Group placements then you will need to find the best judges for your breed.

Every judge has their preference on how important they rate each trait and which traits they believe are most important. So you need to look at the Maltese traits and see which traits are listed as the most important (20), 2nd most important (15) and 3rd most important (10). And then match them up with the judges who favour those traits.

Then try to always enter your Maltese under those judges - and your chances of winning Group placements will increase. Also if you aim for shows with smaller entries under those judges you increase your chances once more

Yes, Poms have the highest SOP out of all the Toy breeds. While this doesn't necessarily translate to group wins, the competition is not as close as in other groups and breeds. There are outliers like the Pekingese which often place in group. The above users have given some good advice. But, like real life, your goal should be to produce incredible stock in your breed, first and foremost. A competitive BOB (especially BISS) win over good competition is way more impressive than a group win over no breed competition (in my opinion). GL

Thank you everyone who answered my questions. I'll try looking closer at judges and of course breeding up the SOP. I know it'll be awhile but between Hitari and myself it's difficult because our lines are always pretty closely related.We have 1 other player who's working with Maltese but hasn't been on here in awhile.I have messaged her about needing her boys to decrease the COI. I also noticed that there's many more Pomeranian players and they've entered a few dogs into each Show.So maybe that'll increase the odds,even though it'll decrease the ability to get our normal points,and therefore Championships.
If anyone would be willing to help our little breed,myself & Hitari would welcome anyone up to the challenge.I know when I came back they welcomed me with open arms. It's just sad to see this little breed kinda fall away when it used to be so popular and always had 5 or more active players! Anyone wanting a challenge?