Tell me about - ?? - Page 2

Watch the flak from this one!

It could just be that we as breeders don't want to share our experiences with every Tom, Dick or Harry that tries to be a breeder with no mentorship. Good intentions and the web don't make you an expert. Good mentorship does. Find a mentor. They are out there.

  I totally agree with all of you , it took me years and I'm still learning.
  I all the articles and comments by Mr.Louise Donald,Mr. Fred Lanting,Videx and others
  on the progeny parade  in the Sieger Shows.

  To me the critique of the sires is a true reflection of their prepotency,
  as it is reflected in the progeny presented. This evaluation is carried out by experts
  Thus we derive at the virtues and shortcommings of the bloodlines.
  While always being aware of the genetics of the bitch.

  I'm sure many web sites carry this info in U K and Europe, but if those who know do not highlight and share
  the others will not know.

THUNDER9

Watch the hornet's nest stirred up by this one !

Sonora, you mean Louis Donald...............massive respect.

Fred Lanting.................... a man who has done so much for the breed.

Davud Payne I love looking at the Sieger Show through his eyes.


But without a mentor it will take a looooooong tiiiiiime.


Very often I see substandard opinions, driven by substandard judging.


In India we are quite fortunate we have a decent increase in the speciality shows judged by SV judges who stand and give a critique on each dog at the end of the class, that is the most important part of a show. The more critical a crtique the better.

We do have a couple of excellent Indian judges.

Dog breeding is highly competetive scene, and nobody wants to help off hand.

The other problem is many people think they already know all there is to know. 

Dog breeding is a very competitive sport, yes, but no breeder out there can exist without working in conjunction with other breeders. Sooner or later, one wants (or NEEDS) to introduce new blood. How can this be done without having relationships with other established breeders? Either in buying a pup, or using an outside male as a stud. I think part of the reason no one's saying anything much is any great dog can throw a sub-standard puppy, and the more a dog's bred to different females, the more chances somewhere along the line a pup with some sort of defect will crop up. T'is doesn't mean either parent, or the line is defective. But a little bit of knowledge misused can be a dangerous thing. If I were to say I bred to hypothetical stud Bobo Vom Kennal Haus, and he threw a dysplastic pup, people might start bashing him, even though we all know good hips can produce bad (and vice versa). Say I wanted to breed to Bobo again, people would bash me for "breeding to a site who produces bad hips." There's no win in that sort of discussion.

recently someone wrote that Canto threw heamophilia when crossed to certain lines........woldn't it be "fair" to let others know this so that these lines could have been avoided and the puppies wouldn't have to suffer?
instead it was kept quiet and the flaw was passed down and the problem is larger then it was before...

being competitive is great, but who's looking out for the puppies?

Its not about the breed,....hasn't been for years!

@Gustav, you are correct, it has been about the money and the flavor of the month.

@JC.Carroll, you are correct in no breeder can work without another, BUT research into the lines once you have an established mentor will get you the information needed to make those decisions on breeding. Mentorship opens doors to "those hidden secrets" we all would like to know about. We know perfectly good parents can and will throw a pup with health issues, it is just a matter of nature. But as guardians of the breed we should do everything in our power to keep those instances to a minimum.


@SitasMom, We as guardians of the breed look out for the pups. No if, ands, or buts about it. It is our responsibility to work to IMPROVE the breed not breed some over angulated, roached back freak that cannot perform the job(s) intended.


There are a lot of independent breeders out there that feel the way I do and just don't talk with one another and that is a bad thing. The good side to this is they are starting to, slowly but surely we will get the GSD back to where it belongs, one breed that can and will do everything without regard to S/L, W/L, European/American.

Agree that people act all knowledgeable on forum but when you ask for information on studs they clam up.  Would be nice if they shared their exerperience. Isn't that what a forum is for????

I am coming from the horse world. We have no problem saying X Y Z about a stud and sharing both the good AND bad traits they are known for. No animal (or person) is perfect! It's important to know the bad traits as well to make sure they are not duplicated in a breeding. 

I asked on the main forum about a dog named Zamp. I had never heard of him and read the article that was posted. I asked what traits he was known for and nobody answered. Also, it said he died at age 8 and I asked what he died from..was it genetic or an accident and not one single person answered me. Just silence........not good, my friends.

Sara

I agree Smiley! I too am in the horse world and there is a large breeding farm in the US that gives full profile's on their stallions. They say what they tend to pass on and also what certain conformations faults in mares they recommend staying away from. How great is that?! Not that these are bad horses in any way, just that they are not always suited for every mare. They are not doing themselves any favours by producing poor offspring, so they help make it easy for breeders.

For example:  http://www.ironspringfarm.com/stallions/consul/breeding/803

@Conspiuous

 "and there is a large breeding farm in the US" with this partial quote you have answered your own question. Most GSD breeders are small hobby breeders that produce one or two litters a year (if even that). The quality breeders already have in mind the stud they want to use and the research is done by word of mouth from one hobby breeder to another. Producing quality litters is the name of the game not producing one or maybe two quality pups from ten litters as some show breeders attempt. A litter of quality may only have one or two that make it in the show world but does not mean the whole litter was incapable of making it but that the new owners just had something else in mind for their pup ie: pet/companion, working (and I mean a real job) or sport. I do believe that to much emphasis is placed on the male. A great producing bitch is hard to beat.