[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: I only know the question
- From: Gsdman2@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 20:07:27 EST
In a message dated 12/9/05 8:54:02 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
Stormy435@xxxxxxx writes:
Someone once
posted that with the strides that have been made in breeding, is it a good
thing to turn back? I am not saying that, but wondering if that could be
right.....that going back to past studs is not in the best interests of the
breed?
---------------------------------------------------
As far as I know, over the past thirty years or so, we've not eliminated a
single problem or fault from the breed. Unless that happens, going back to
past
studs is merely another option. Many dogs of the past freely gave good
traits, some of which the breed could use today, in my opinion.
I won't spend many words criticizing today's GSD, but whether or not we've
made "great strides" is actually a matter of opinion. Think of it this way ...
While you sit back and enjoy the quality you see today in the AKC ring,
someone else is seeing faults. When the average specialty gsd person looks at
a top
German dog, they are not watching with the same eye that the German breeder
is. For that matter, the same is true for any of the many factions this breed
is blessed with. I see some of the most beautiful and handsome dogs ever in
today's specialty ring, but I also see a general need for rear drive, and a
need for correction to shoulder assemblies. Now ... It is easy to just shrug
the
other person's opinion off as if they know nothing, but it is smarter to
consider their opinion, and how it works with the standard in mind.
I can anticipate some potential arguments to my point of view: Someone is
thinking that since we've seen general improvement in hips, breeding back to
one
of the old dogs might negate that. I disagree. Even before the OFA was
created, there were dogs that produced better hips than other dogs. It's been
decided, at least by one author, that Sundance Kid gave good hips. If that was
the case, then heavy breeding on Sundance Kid should get much of the credit for
improved hips in the breed today. Breeding back to that dog would give the
same good hips in general, and possibly offer even more improvement for future
generations. Someone is also likely thinking that general quality in today's
ring is better than it was thirty years ago. It probably is, but are you
considering all of the factors that lend to that observation? Thirty years ago
it
was a whole lot less expensive to show a dog, even if you factor in the value
of today's dollar compared to then. Back then, we all took extra dogs to
show, if only for their experience and often just to help to boost the entry.
How many of you will pay the hundreds of dollars that it costs to show one dog
today, just for those reasons? Quality just might be up primarily because
lesser dogs are filtered out by the cost of showing dogs today. That is a more
likely observation because it also explains fewer entries. I think also that
we are less naive now than we were then. Back then, the big name handlers
generally won most of the time, but we still thought we could beat them at any
time. After twenty-five to thirty years of most of those same handlers still
winning almost all of the time... reality tends to set in.
We should also consider breeding practices in general. Most of the more
successful breeders I know, breed for quality ... not away from the lack of it.
There is no perfect dog today anymore than there was yesterday. Selecting stud
dogs is a matter of finding a dog that will give improvement in the area you
are attempting to improve. If anything, dogs of the past... with their track
records already written in the history books, would offer the clearest
choices.
Tom Langlitz
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