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[RC] Jack Russels now: puppy selection LONG - Karen Claninbuffy and all.....yes, as far as AKC registration means a dog is quality i agree with you that registration is a joke. don't though blame AKC for everything. most breed policies in AKC are set by the individual parent breed clubs. people in those clubs are generally long time (read old and set in their ways) breeders and exhibitors, unwilling to change. and then, as far as changing a breed (not necessarily for the better) we have to look at the show system which has judges. judges that don't always chose for the betterment of the breed. judges who know that if they don't draw a large entry they won't be asked to judge. judges that to get this large entry become political in their placements -- that means placing professional handlers over owner handlers because the pro handlers show the largest numbers of dogs. breeders that exhibit want to win. to win they breed dogs that conform to what is winning. because of the above what wins isn't always the best. what wins can be an extreme -- (to make this horse oriented, grin, look at the arabs in the halter classes with those extremely level croups which in mares generally makes them dirty so that many have their vulva's stitched shut during pregnancy, extreme in other ways that does not make an athlete.) so there are many other factors to consider and places to lay blame besides AKC per se. for many years we were involved in boxers and i learned to appreciate the methods in Germany (and other european countries), like the SV that Buffy mentioned, they have strict rules in germany on breeding/showing boxers. these may have changed since i was involved but i don't think so. there are 'breed wardens' all over germany, if you do a breeding and want to register the puppies the breed warden has to ok the breeding before it is done -- meaning he looks at the dog and looks at the bitch and feels this breeding will (minimum) do no harm to the breed but more idealy it will produce puppies better than their sire and dam. once the litter is born the breed warden once again visits and will leave the breeder with no more than 6 puppies to raise, he doesn't have to leave 6 if he doesn't feel there are 6 that are worthy. and yes, you can evaluate structure in some very small puppies, i've done it at birth. granted some nice dogs may be 'lost' but they must control the number of dogs as germany is a small country. and the nice part is that to do the breeding at least one of the breeding pair must have a SchH I title (that's first level working title which consists of obedience about the equvilent of our open level, tracking that is not quite what our TD title is and protection and must pass all 3 on the same day), this maintains working ability, training receptiveness plus the structure to do these things. a breed champion must have at least a SchH I title -- what do you think the arab halter community would think if in order to have a halter championship win the horse must also have won a performance championship at some point???????????? the breed would be much better off. also, there is a publication that is published for all to see that gives the verbal commentary of every judge on every dog plus records that tell how many problem dogs a male has sired -- in boxers the problems listed if i remember them all are shape of eyes, basic white pups and cleft pallets. so in researching a line or male to breed to you can read all about what judges think of him and what he is siring. the german's breeding and showing strictures are what have kept their breed strong in working ability and quality (although i do admit they have a little more lax thought on using dogs with CHD) and why it has taken the US so many years to (one of my past vets terms and opinion which i concur with) "bastardize" the german breeds. one comment i didn't make in my previous email about puppy selection and testing is that for the best all around pet you should select the middle road scoring puppy. puppies on the ends of the scoring are generally going to need an experience handler, these pups will either be trying to be pack leader and depending upon the breed can be a real handful (possibly aggressive) or may be on the other end and be a very shy and sensitive dog requiring special handling. i agree with buffy that basic good temperament is for the most part genetic, it can be swayed in other directions by socialization (or lack of) and training. karen =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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