Thinking about switching breeds...... - Page 3

The viciousness associated with some GSD enthusiasts that post on this board is explainable.  Technicallly the dog breeding business is symbolic "skin trade", that is, a "vanity" business.  Medicine originally started as barbers bleeding folks to "relieve blood pressure" which was thought to cause disease. It was a "skin trade" , a vanity business, that is concerned with the persons skin, and related to the person's "vanity", that is, their self esteem or feeling good about his/her body and thus feeling self-esteem about himself/herself as a person. GSD ownership is often also an extension of the "self" or an aspect of vanity.  Anytime vanity is an issue, folks tend to become immature, back-biting, overly competitive, insulting and destructive, and this even may take on overtones of sexual competitiveness issues at times in a symbolic way.  It can become an undeclared "I'm better than you are" because "my dog is better than yours" or the opposite.  If folks feel their dog is accused of being junk or unworthy it is like they have been personally attacked, and so they "raise their hackles" and fight back with slick putdowns and cutesy phrases.

In a sense many GSD enthusiasts have attempted to make their hobby a business, that is they have tried to be able to transform a breeding hobby into a business, thus to be able to "play at work", the best of all possible worlds.  A GSD breeding operation that is successful is the merger of work and play, a transformation many want to make, but few succeeed.  Typically it takes a great deal of financial backing or a good source of start up money, and operating funds while the business is being built.  Few can do it successfully.  Those that can't typically are always "working at play" and it feels like too much work.  Those that can succeed in making this transformation or fusion between work and play are able to feel like they are just playing when they  are actually working hard at their hobby which was transformed into a successful business.   Some GSD enthusiasts find themselves increasingly frustrated when they attempt to move up the "food chain" of the GSD breeders world.  It is very difficult due to the many genetic/health, temperament issues of overly close linebreeding, tough odds to produce competitive GSDs, the difficulty buying and importing suitable breeding stock, the difficulty selling their GSDs to a shrinking market of pet owners due to a tight economy, and the great expenses necessary to breed, whelp, provide vet care, advertise, train and show their GSDs. All these huge complications and difficulties tend to ceate a great deal of fruastration which is often expressed on Oli's forum.  It's a good way to relieve pressure for some.

Or, to put it another way:  Some people are just jerks.  Whether or not they have GSD's.

Brevity is the essence of wit.

I've seen some nice dobes down here in VA - our helper has a couple of them.

I'll stick to my project breed....with an occasional serious dog thrown in for fun so I dont go stir crazy :)

~Cate

Yeah, I've seen some nice ones in KY as well.  My dobe is nothing special by any means.  LOL...he was my first dog I bought when I graduated highschool.....bought him from a flower shop.  LOL.  Not a good pedigree, ears were messed up (already cropped) and he's had every health problem you could think of!...but I wouldn't trade him for the world...he's a sweetheart.  I just didn't do my research! I learned A LOT by him! LOL  I've learned to do my homework!!!

"Back in the day", say the 60's and 70's, the Dobermanns were the best all around dogs.  Now, I am not so sure.  I have not owned one for a long time.  When I was being trained in the military to be a dog trainer/handler, I was told by our instructor that Dobes were very hard to train because they are too smart.  They knew that if they did what you wanted them to do, they would be doing it all of the time, so they would intentionally resist extra hard, hoping that you (we) would give up and leave him/her alone.

Sometimes it seemd like that statement was true, but the best darn dog I have ever had in my life was a red female Dobe named Brandy.  She did everything she was told, and learned easity.  She just wanted to please.  Of course I have several great dogs since her passing, but she was special, no doubt about it.

If it wasn't for the ear and tail cutting expected, I would have Dobes instead of GSD's now, or maybe Rotts.   Love them too.

Combine the best of both and start breeding German Shepoodles. I bet there's a ton of money in it! Hypoallergenic PP dogs!

Actually, I think this board has become a bit nicer the way peopel talk to each other. Just when the bashing starts I retrieve, not worth my time. On the other hand, sometimes, when it was a hard day, it is also nice to vent a bit, but imo, it has to stay halfway decent & not beeing slanderous.

Einsatzkommando,

Unser English ist manchmal hart für Amerikaner zu verstehen. So wie wir uns ausdrücken, hört es sich manchmal an, als würden wir sie persönlich angreifen, obwohl das gar nicht unsere Absicht war. Die meisten hier sprechen keine 2. Fremdsprache, oder nur sehr wenig, daher ist vielleicht auch deren Unverständnis etwas leichter zu verstehen.

German Shepdoodles......... hmmm, I bet a Pup would run for at least 3000$, maybe more !

Regards Ulli

AlliGSD...do you know SwiftRun Dobes in KY?  They've got some very nice dogs that I wouldn't mind getting my hands on.

I could get a Dobe, you can keep your Standard Poodles and I'll keep my GSD stud muffin and we'll start up the German DobaShepadoodle thing.   All you other wannabe's can start sending your deposits.  We could even throw in a Rott for a little weight.

Poodle people make the news too! a woman who was hoping to promote breast cancer awareness dyed her poodle with beet juice and has found herself in hot water with her ACO for animal cruelty.

LOL I saw that on the news.  $1000 fine for dying her dog with beet juice.  The world doesn't have enough to worry about?  We have people being robbed, murdered and raped and the economy is going downhill fast and they have to go after a pink Poodle?