In some ways, we live in a great time to be breeding dogs. Genome projects in both humans and dogs have yielded information about genetic disease and inheritability of traits that have improved our ability to make better breeding decisions and produce dogs more precisely tailored to our preferences.
There has, in recent times, been concern expressed about the direction which the sport of pedigreed dogs is currently taking, with a seemingly shifting emphasis and focus occurring away from the pursuit of meaningful breeding practices. A rather oddly rhetorical, and in some ways slightly nonsensical, question has been asked as to the relative and respective importance of judging versus breeding. As if the two could be divorced from one another, as if there was no connection between them. Don’t the two belong together; are they not intricately intertwined? You cannot, after all, have the one without the other and the breeding part surely has to come first. This is the anchor, which keeps the ship from drifting and ultimately ending up on the rocks. There are, of course, various layers and levels to this but the evaluation of stock going forward cannot meaningfully occur in the absence of purposeful and successful breeding. If the latter falters the whole sport will inevitably come apart, for its very essence, the development, perfection and preservation of breeds, is betrayed. Our dogs will seriously suffer as a consequence.
The Dalmatian derives his name from the province of Dalmatia in Austria, but there have been many spotted dogs in Europe, Asia, and Africa for centuries.
“I am not one of the multi-group judges who judges numerous shows each year, but even so I have to be careful of conflicts when agreeing on the phone to judge a certain show.”
Antiquity has nothing to do with Stone Age Neanderthals in early Europe. The history and culture of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome – ca. 3000 BC to the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 – is generally identified as antiquity, a remarkable period that left us abundant information about hunters and hunting.
by Herman L. Fellton From the archives of The Canine Chronicle, March, 1996 Editor’s Note: Although this article was written 24 years ago, parts of it still apply to the sport of purebred dogs today. We still seem to be discussing the same problems. This article refers to some solutions that, unfortunately, never came to […]
Trust me, handlers should not be seen. It’s all about the dog at the end of the lead.
By Amy Fernandez The second most depressing news item these days has got to be the endless delays and problems associated with comprehensive testing to detect antibody titers, latent infection–the whole gamut. With hopes of an effective vaccine at least a year away, this has become our light at the end of the tunnel. Never […]
Closet Confidential with Elaine Lessig: EPISODE 2
Your clothing questions answered. It’s all about putting the power back in your hands by letting you ask questions. Should you wear this or that? What should you donate? How do you mix and match? Should you wear sparkles/glitter? How do you ensure your clothing isn’t wearing you? Elaine answers all these style questions and so much more…
It’s an old adage, and, unlike some of the old adages, this one actually is true: It takes birds to make a gun dog. Certainly, you can train virtually any sporting dog without using birds, at least to a functional level. But, it’s not efficient and it’s not easy.
