[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Great ALL Breed Dogs
- From: Peggy <pmick@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 23:59:47 -0500
Nah...I can't buy that. There are very, very few great dogs in any
individual's lifetime. That's not to say that there aren't dogs with
great show records...that's the handling part (and these days, the money
part)...a lot of big winners are really mediocre animals.
Great dogs are recognized by the fancy...and they can change the
breed...if they are truly great, they could be handled by the kid down
the block.
With good management and a lot of influence over a number of people,
the money for a lot of advertising, and a certain amount of
salesmanship, an average to good or very good dog can become a famous
one with a great record...as a show dog or as a producer. Would that
dog have done that winning or that producing without the management,
etc....that's a test of whether a dog is a great one.
Great ones come along very seldom. Tossing out the names of dogs
that may have been good, even excellent, doesn't make them great. There
are people who have been in dogs for 40 or 50 years who have never seen
a truly great dog with their own eyes. There are also a lot of people
who wouldn't know a great one if it bit them in the butt. It remains to
be seen whether there are any great dogs amongst those whose names have
been bandied about here.
Lance was a great dog..he changed the breed.
The Golden Retriever, Goldrush Charlie, was a great dog for the same
reason. To be sure, there were problems he brought, but he did
standardize the breed...especially in the areas of head and size; he
also had an impact on fronts in the breed (some would say not for the
better), --and there are a lot of people who knew Charlie who today
couldn't tell you who the handler was.
The Smooth Fox Terrier, Ttarb the Brat, was a great one...in spite
of great oppositon from the most well known and respected people in the
breed, breeders wanted their dogs to look like the Brat and so they used
him. No one promoted him as a stud dog...people sought him out...and he
changed the breed (for the better, I think).
Yes, people knew Brat's handler... a lot of people didn't like him
then and a lot still don't...but breeders saw that dog and wanted dogs
just like him..so they bred to him. He was extremely prepotent...it was
lovely to see how quickly his descendants rose to the top. Of course,
just as with Lance and Charlie, not everything from the Brat was
wonderful...but the bloodline is recognizable, and people in the breed
like it.
So there are three...and while I don't remember whether there was
the level of management involved with Lance as there was in more recent
dogs...I do remember everyone I knew going ga-ga about the dog without
ever speaking to another person. I don't remember who handled
Charlie...I think it was his breeder...but I know the Golden breeders
couldn't get bitches to the dog fast enough.
There is no doubt at all that these dogs changed their breeds
forever...the entire "look" of those breeds changed, just as the GSD
breed changed after people saw Lance and that extreme gait.
Great ones are not nearly so controversial as some of the dogs
people have named here on the list are...if they are really great, they
are pretty much universally recognized as such without any promoting,
any pushing, and without tons of advertising.
Handlers can help make a big show record, especially in this day and
age, but with a really great one, as I said, you could have had the kid
down the block hold the lead...people find them without a face or name
on the end of the lead......
Peggy
Ginger Cleary wrote:
>Both.
>
>
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