Kathy wrote: I moved to a more rural area and made a show place for the dogs. STILL, I keep the numbers down because I DO things with them, not just warehouse them. (I want a few good ones, not a few dozen I'm not doing anything with! They'd be better of being placed and being the center of a family's world...or am I the only one who thinks that way? ???) ------------- I think you are doing it the right way. I don't think anyone should have more animals then they want to train. I live in the country on several acres I have a kennel set up for 15 dogs. I have 5 What I can't stand to watch are dogs that are very bright rot away being kennel dogs. Every dog here gets" In time" and every dog is trained in obedience, then either agility or herding. If I don't have time to do it then I pay a trainer to do it. Owning a working breed is a huge responsibility. How does a breeder measure the working ability of the dogs they produce if they don't work them? I am so glad to see more and more of the " show only crowd" out learning about their dogs ability to work. I say good for them!!!!!! I do believe we are seeing better conformation in the performance rings. Lets hope it continues. There is no better PR than a beautiful dog who is beautifully trained. Happy New Year Terry --------------------------------- Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less ============================================================================ 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 ============================================================================