PANDA SHEPHERDS ("RARE/UNIQUE") FOR SALE? Check this crap out... - Page 4

An awful lot of what is going on here is not rational discourse, but emotional outbursts.  I can see this is a subject that is very sensitive for many of us, but we do need to keep clear in our thinking (unless this is a support group).

First, we are all preaching to the converted here, so wild cries of anguish will not change a single, naive buyer's mind.

Second, color is just not important in a working breed.  It's not as if people are breeding dogs that run and hide from strangers and calling them working dogs.  (Actually people do do that, but that's not what we are discussing here.)

Three, they are calling them panda shepherds, not panda german shepherd dogs, no?  We do not have a copyright on the word shepherd.  In fact, a shepherd is a person, so panda shepherd is as funny as calling a dog a german shepherd.  (Deutsche=German, Schafer=shepherd, Hund=dog.) 

Fourth, there is simply no way that any of these mismarked dogs, who may or may not be cross-bred dogs, will significantly infiltrate the bloodlines we care about.

On another note, Cate shows respect for the professoriate, but I am also a professor and while I probably agree with the genetics guy in CA, I don't think his Ph.D. grants him special authority here.  Professors, like everybody else, are biased.

I would also like to note that I think that they should be able to charge whatever the market will bear for their pups. Free Enterprise at it's best,  Two quotes come to mind:

"There's a sucker born every minute."

"A fool and his money are soon parted."

I dont know if he is the know all or say all to this....but I imagine his data is just that - data....and that it is based on scientific thought and process.  lol...I do know proffesors are biased...I have butted heads with a few of them in my program - but I think that there is actual Genetic Data here that he as a Scientist has.  I think if people are so deadset on their opinions maybe they should have some actual factual data to back it up.

I contacted Dr. Neff last night about some questions I had regarding shepherds and coat color and undercoat genetics.  I imagine his response wont be quick - I have seen researchers at Virginia Tech running around like headless chickens often enough....but I will post what I find when I get it.

Does anyone else here have a degree in Genetics?  I would be interested to hear what they have to say as well...I suppose on this subject different informed, studied opinions would make alot of sense...my degree is only Animal Science so my knowledge of Genetics is limited to determining modes of inheritance mathematically as well as the inbreeding Coeff...but I am trying to learn as much through research as I can.