I agree 100%. I had a couple that came by here Thanksgiving weekend. they had purchased a puppy from us several years ago and had just recently lost him. The stories of his being the "neighborhood" dog, playing with all the kids, pulling sleds put things in perspective for me. the puppies we place in pet homes are our ambassadors for the breed. Just think of how many kids are going to remember this dog and formulate a positive image of our breed and may even consider wanting a GSD for their families in the future! John Dehope told me once that the quality of your litter should not only be evaluated by the best in the litter..but by the least. I have found this to be totally accurate. If you are breeding quality animals..even your pets should be good examples of the breed.C.Grainger > [Original Message] > From: dlauffer@xxxxxxxxxxx <dlauffer@xxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <Pamswan02@xxxxxxx> > Cc: <dlauffer@xxxxxxxxxxx>; <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Date: 12/5/2005 12:56:22 PM > Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: To Better The Breed > > I think sometimes we all loose sight of the most important fact of breeding. That is that the majority of puppies will ultimately go to pet homes. Why do most people breed? To get that super star. There is nothing wrong with that but the fact remains that most of the puppies born will never see the inside of a show ring. With that in mind, my personal opinion is that if we can tell these potential owners that we have done everything we can possibly do to ensure good health and the rest is up to genetics/nature/environment whatever, then that will go a long way to enhance the opinion of the puppy buying public about breeders. AND they won't be as afraid to buy a German Shepherd Dog. > JMHO > Dee Lauffer > ============================================================================ > POST is Copyrighted 2005. 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. > > ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. > > For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx > > VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org > ============================================================================ ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. 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. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================