First, Do No Harm…

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172 – August, 2024

By Caroline Coile

Form follows function.” It’s a mantra in the dog show world. And just about every judge’s education seminar focuses on how a breed’s particular form helps it do the job it was bred to do.

But if that were actually true, we wouldn’t have breeds divided into show type versus field or working type. That’s a not a criticism, just a fact. We simply cannot account for everything that makes one dog a better retriever, or swimmer, and another a better courser, by just using breed standards. There’s so much we don’t know–and so much we can’t measure–that it’s impossible. And because of that, our breeds diverge into show and performance. It’s easier to select for one trait than for two. It’s easier to select for a show dog while ignoring field prowess, or for a field dog while ignoring show ring aspects. If you want the absolute #1 in one endeavor you’re going to attain it at the expense of the other endeavor.

Failure to select for a trait will cease to make that trait improve, and by random drift may cause it to deteriorate, but it otherwise shouldn’t make the trait appreciably worse. But when we start unintentionally selecting for a trait that runs contrary to performance, now we’re working against the very reason for dog shows.

Click here to read the complete article
172 – August, 2024

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Posted by AnthonyA on Sep 13 2024. 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.