I make a motion that this be made into a Statement that is a MUST READ before and after reading the German Shepherd Dog Standard. ( Please read in its entirety ) THANK YOU, THANK YOU Mr. Dave Fritsche!! You have said in ONE POST what I have wasted my time trying to articulate and failed in hundreds of posts!! AWESOME!! Carolyn marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.marhaven.com -----Original Message----- On Behalf Of David Fritsche Subject: Fear not Evan, this is why I consider you a friend, butalso a challenge. You have masterfully articulated the position, not only of many in our GSD breedingworld, but of our current liberal philosophy. Youare, as I have seen, a brilliant and bright attorney. You are the master. From Evan... "I have never understood why some fear change so much." Dave Fritche's response. Is it possible that we who are happy with the standard as it is, do not fear change at all? Is it possible that we simply understand that change is not always for the better, but that the unsettled need to change things is in contrast to the principle reason for a standard in the first place: To have a settled definition by which we judge, breed and measure our progress. I would argue that moving the line and the definition will ultimately find us in the same place with a different dog and that regardless of where the line is moved to, it will ultimately find those who need to move it again to include their own personal preference. And that is the nature of a standard. It defines for a group, what our goal is and will be. The more flexible it is, the less definitive it is. The purpose of any standard, regardless of what it says, is to determine a goal for a diverse group of people. It is, by its very nature the 'constitution' around which we gather and its design is to document our values and principles. Change then, is reassigned to the people who gather within the group, rather than to the document they create. Change is what happens to the breeding focus, not to the standard. The converse question is, why do people breed away from the standard and then push to change it? Did they not read it before they decided to be involved in breeding within the definition of that standard? To argue that a dog who does not meet the standard is genetically the same as the one which does meet the standard is flawed. It is genetically different or it would meet the standard. However slight is the DNA variation in a given animal, it is a variation of the standard description none the less. It has little to do with health, little to do with history, little to do with being within the greater approximation of the DNA for the broader definition of being a GSD. It has to do with a sport, a culture and a goal and a standard that is, by its very nature exclusive. It excludes a lot of things. It is not fear of change that drives those who want to adhere to the standard, but a satisfaction with the definitions that exist and a willingness to accept it. The converse question is, why do people need to breed in contrast to what is the standard, whatever it is, and then to demand that the standard change to meet their personal differentiation? As a youngster, if I can remember back that far, we would go into the field and throw rocks at targets and compete in the clearly undefined art of marksmanship. We soon learned that the winner was not the kid with the most accurate throw but the one who called the target after the rock hit something. We stopped that fellow by demanding that the target be defined before the rock was thrown. That changed everything, although it was clearly not in the best interest of the fellow who wanted the target to be whatever he hit. It is much harder to hit the target that is predefined than to simply change the standard to be what you are producing. Why do people fear the standard is the question? Should the standard never change? Maybe it should as we move along and see that it is confusing or that modern concepts and word usage leave its descriptive language less than clear. That is, are the exclusion that define our breed in need of change to better articulate the goal or to better prescribe the exclusions? Then certainly, let's clear it up. But the drive to redefine the goal, whatever it is, should never be easy. If it is, then we will continue to move the target. And that is destructive to the reason to have a target in the first place. Which should we do? Move the target or ask that those who play the game to improve their aim? Respectfully submitted, Dave -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- ----- Evan writes:...... I have never understood why some fear change so much. The standard is just a group of goals that over a hundred years ago, a group of normal people decided to set up, in order to find a way to judge our breed. It was based on what two men decided a few year prior as what they wanted to use for a new breed in a far off country which to that day had never heard of a Schufferhund. Here we are today, with some thinking that what was decided then, must be true forever. It somehow was determined by people wiser, smarter, more clever, and with better judgement than can be found with a few thousand members of the GSDCA today who have dedicated themselves to this breed. To avoid change is to cause ourselves to be stuck in the past, and to make the same mistakes that have been made before. We need to learn from accumulated knowledge and decide based on reason, intelligence and experience. I hear from too many we can't change the standard because it is the standard. I read time and time again we should never change our standard, since it was already decided. That does not work well for me, but then again, I only get one vote. But, everyone else does too. I trust that the membership has an accumulation of learned experiences that will serve our breed well, not just for today, but for the years ahead. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Evan ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2014. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. 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