Buying dogs from Europe - Page 7

Bavarian Wagon last post really got me thinking about something. I am an inexpercienced handler and am really new to the sport of IPO, the overwheling majority of IPO will never see or hear of my dog. My current dog paired with a more seasoned trainer and recognizable name in this sport would be bred to not just because of podium finishes but also because the dog has a really good pedigree. A dog like mine will probably never reproduce because i am not able to get him exposure, nor do i have any knowledge of breeding and therefore would never try to find a female to pair him with.... That is a bummer

Cutaway, maybe this will calm you a bit but it’s more than likely that even with a better handler/trainer your dog wouldn’t have been bred to that often. Pedigree is a piece of it, but from what I’ve seen in the United States, the breeders don’t care about who’s winning and who’s placing. I’ve seen more negativity towards the “podium dogs” than I have anything positive. The majority of it comes from people that could never sniff the podium at a regional or a national today, and they know it. They’ve been breeding mediocre dogs that five generations ago might’ve placed high when the standards were lower, but today, they barely have the ability to pull off a 250 at their club trial. Take a look at dogs like Extreme or Bolle, they have hundreds of breedings in Europe. We have the world champion on our shores and there aren’t too many people calling to stud to him. Why? The majority of breeders want all the notoriety for the dogs they produce. Many will not give any credit to the handler/trainer when talking about their dogs. It’s not enough that their kennel name is on that dog, they need people to believe it was all done by them. I’ve seen a breeder advertise that a WUSV team member was a great-grandchild of a dog they imported. They didn’t say that they didn’t do the following two breedings that eventually led to that dog, and in all technicality there wasn’t a single dog in that pedigree with that particular breeder’s kennel name, but I saw it posted on facebook and other placed numerous times that the dog was out of “their breeding” (3 generations ago). I don’t even think the trainer/handler was mentioned once in any of the posts, it’s as if the dog got there themselves, all due to the genetics from the one great grandparent.

Breeders want to breed that dog that comes from no where. They don’t want the credit to go the popular or proven stud dog. They almost avoid it. How often have you heard about those dogs being called prey monsters, not true GSD, not like the “old time” GSD? I laugh because it’s all rooted in jealousy rather than any real truth.

Fact of the matter is that if your dog is “the dog” in your local club you’ll get some breedings. If it does well at regionals you might get a few more. Go to a national, place well, you might get a few more phone calls. Most breeders don’t care much though. They know their puppies are going to pet homes 99% of the time and they’ll breed to whatever is closest that is good and that gives them something to market as well about the sire. Friendships and convenience always seem to matter more than anything. Most breeders can easily find reasons or shed a good light on why their breeding pair match is a great idea. Most of their customers don’t know the difference between Bolle Ja Na Ka and the local club male with an IPO3 or even IPO1 for that matter. This is why the bloodlines in the US start to thin and we always have a need to bring in the latest and greatest from Germany. Too many people get complacent, don’t care to breed for the top levels, and don’t preserve or improve upon the types of drive levels that are currently sought after. No name breeder X knows that the chances of one of their puppies being put in the hands of a talented trainer that can make it into a national level dog is slim to none because they themselves don’t prove that their dogs are capable of achieving anything to that level…so they just breed for their club, or truthfully for the public pet market that wants something with some drive, but not really the type of drive that a higher level dog needs to compete today.

@Bavarian Wagon - I really think you're right on the $$ with that posts, it is right in line with the behavior i see 

Bavarian Wagon, thank you! Your posts make a lot of sense and bring into question a lot of things I have wondered as well. I'm more of a pet person who wishes to someday compete in different venues and not focus on just one. I can honestly say that after research in multiple breeds over the years, I think its important to have an open mind when it comes to buying any puppy/dog. I can only see importing as necessary with a breeder who wants to bring something fresh into their breeding program who doesn't find it in their home country OR for my case I have fell in love with certain studs and some of them are out of the US, I have looked through various breeder's websites here in the US and found some that have breed to certain studs I have liked, but others the studs stay in their country of origin. Unfortunately, in the last few years as well some of those studs have passed away. I just think that pet owners who want an import need to really think hard, its expensive and due to the new law in place you have to think of a long term plan if the puppy doesn't end up working out for your lifestyle. I have read many cases where at first the dog/puppy was imported and the first year was okay, but afterwards the owner started having health issues. That is something that should concern a person who wants to import a puppy from another country. In the coming years I wish to work with the Mudi and if I don't find what I want in the US because of the very few breeders starting in the breed here, I will have to import. I'm researching as much as I can and what it would take to be able to import the Mudi into the US. So this discussion is food for thought for me.

I also have to say that any country can have issues as well when it comes to a person importing a dog into their country including the US because of all of the problem (miller) breeders here in the US. I also know of breeders here who won't export to a country with a long quarantine period either.

CelticGlory, to what law are you referring? I'm curious.