The new Autumn 2017 Harp & Hound magazine published several North American fancier opinions concerning the changes made to the Standard of Excellence set forth by the Irish Wolfhound Club of Ireland and the removal of the List of Points in Order of Merit.

There were those in favor and others who were critical of the changes, especially the elimination of the List of Points in Order of Merit. A few advocated their positions by explaining that by giving the full particulars to various aspects of anatomy, these revisions would make it easier for novices and aspiring judges to interpret and understand the breed standard.

I disagree. Accepting the premise of this argument is akin to dumbing down science and mathematics in our educational systems to make it easier for students and our youth to comprehend and to apply such.

Why is it that in today's society we feel the need to deliberately oversimplify intellectual content within education, literature, and culture for it to relate to those unable to assimilate more sophisticated information?  

If such people are incapable of assimilating the information outlined in the original breed standard, then logically these people should be asking themselves if they should be adjudicating dogs in the first place because they lack the inherent knowledge, confidence, and qualifications to do so. Breeding dogs is an art form. It is the process of creativity. Judging the results is an art form. It involves the natural ability to be informed of, absorb and integrate words and expressions that which make up these living, breathing creatures.

Moreover, why shouldn’t aspiring judges and fanciers learn the history of our breed, its unique characteristics, and study the blueprint for the architecture of the Irish Wolfhound as it was founded? Our breed ancestors expended blood, sweat, and tears, sacrificing much in desperate times to preserve this exalted hound and to ensure its continuity. Our breed founders did not strive to set forth a list of excellent qualities and merits for this breed with the expectations and anticipation that future fanciers would needlessly decide to revise it in favor of generalizations and expediency for the uninitiated.

Our brotherhood requires preserving this noble hound by adhering to our forebearers original Standard of Excellence, and in doing so, we advocate the architectural principle, “Form ever follows function.”  

It is my considered opinion that this broadscale "dumbing down" mentality is one of the reasons why we are facing the degeneration of the sport and passion of purebred dogs. It is not a secret that purebred dog registrations have plummeted in the past several decades nor is it a surprise that confirmation dog show entries have markedly decreased. Enthusiasm and passion for purebred dogs have waned, and one only has to look around a show ring, whether it be an all-breed dog show or a specialty event, to observe that the average age of exhibitors is 55 years of age and older, with the preponderance over 65 years. For many, expenses and contributory lifestyle changes have made it either prohibitive or no longer conducive to raising multiple dogs.

Nonetheless, I believe the decay is also due to many long-standing purebred fanciers being profoundly dispirited and dejected over the perceptible diminished intellectual level of most modern fanciers today. They are gravely concerned about the future of the breeds; consequently, many veterans are no longer breeding or have drastically reduced their participation as they no longer are optimistic about the breed's destiny. I have heard this from acclaimed breeders of various breeds of dogs, not just Irish Wolfhounds.

Thus, oversimplifying the Standard of Excellence will in time produce distorted impressions and misunderstandings of a once majestic breed that today already one or more doyenne or doyen hardly recognize. The result of FCI uniformity of breed standards will inevitably lead to dogs of universal traits. Already, generic dogs are seen with regularity today in the show ring, and they are predictable and unoriginal; they lack refinement, distinctions, and subtlety. To have lost an elemental part of the Country of Origin's Standard of Excellence, "The List of Points in Order of Merit" is a cop-out. This list is the one aspect of the breed standard that set the ancient Irish Wolfhound breed apart from many others! It was a valuable feature that furnished the Reader the ability to assess virtues and shortcomings of this greyhound-like sighthound. Now it is gone for the sake of banality.

Here follows the unblemished Standard of Excellence of the Irish Wolfhound Club of Ireland including the List of Points in Order of Merit