Disparities In Type

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250 – October, 2021

By William Given

In a recent discussion with my mentor, he stated, “…the disparity in type sometimes seen in a large entry is due not so much, I think, to what is being produced by breeders as it is to what is being selected to be shown by exhibitors.” At first read, his assertion may seem contradictory since the selection of a dog to show is contingent upon the production of a litter from which to choose. Therefore, I feel a clarification of the observation is in order.

I would guess we have all attended a show where, in a given breed, dogs in class after class bore little resemblance to one another except they all had for example docked tails and cropped ears, as in the Doberman ring. Even though they were all the basically the same breed; on close examination there were not two which were truly alike. This is disparity in type.

In some quarters, this is a matter of grave concern because, as true breed enthusiasts see it, too many poor specimens are being bred and shown; as they see it, too many breeders do not seem to know what they are doing; too many exhibitors are quite pleased to show dogs with elastic fronts, backs like a mountain range and heads with every variation in type imaginable. To these fanciers, such disparity is an indication that breed type is disintegrating.

Disparity in type can be found in all breeds to a greater or lesser degree. It is not exclusively a problem of any single popular or low entry breed.

What is breed type?

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250 – October, 2021

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Posted by AnthonyA on Oct 20 2021. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.