There’s apparently a glass ceiling for dogs, too.
Data shows male pups♑ in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show usually compete for years, while their female counterparts are forced to stay🍌 home — having puppies.
In some instances, handlers and owners will refraiꦉn from showing a female altogether due to their hormonal “heat” cycle.
“They’re moody,” explained Wendy Kellerman, a profession⛄al handler and breeder from Hauppauge, LI.
“Some people say, ‘I don’t want to be bothered with tꩵhat, I’ll go with a male,’ ” added Kimberly Calvacca, a handler and breeder from Westbury.
The two spoke to The Associated Press this week, along with several others, about the problems plaguing female pooches that compete in the prestigi𒊎ous Westminster dog show, which is Monday and Tuesday𓆉 at Madison Square Garden.
The owners of last year’s “Best In Show” winner, a Germa꧒n shepherd named Rumor, have been learning about the♈ struggle firsthand.
“She won’ಌt show again. She’s done,” said Gail Miller Bisher, a spokeswoman for the Westm🦩inster Kennel Club.
“But males can keep going. They can be used as stud a♚nd continue showing and 💞keep their coat and keep their shape of body and all that.”
According to experts, a dog’s peak for performing is from 3 t🔯o 5 years old. This also happens to be the prime breeding age for females.
“People don’♔t likeꦜ to campaign females because they don’t like to jeopardize their breeding program,” Calvacca said.
“Males can be used to stud anytime and still show and breed at the same time.ဣ”
For that reason, females are not only less likely to compete ✱at Westminster. They’re also less likely to have puppies in the years that follow.
“The males obviously have an easier go of it, whereas the girls hꦑaving a litt🍸er is stressful for everybody,” Bisher said.
A total of 1,220 female dogs are scheduled to compete in this year’s pooch fest, compared with 1,699 male🌸 challengers.
Westminster officials insist that there’s no “glass ceiling” for the pooches, te𒀰lling the AP that each sex has a “50-50 chance” of winning.
With Post Wires