Sometimes you need to look past the koolaid - Page 3

Oh you don't breed GSDs?   Good to know.  Glad to hear it.

LOL!  Sueincc - your snot is duly noted.  :)

Rlhar, isn't that the dog you had at the Debbie Zappia Seminar last week?  She is a very nice female, with an excellent temperament, high drive, super personality and really nice in the bitework.  I'd be happy to own and work that female.  I think I told you that I really like your dog.  She is super and you both make a very nice team.  

Have fun with her and good luck trialing her,

Jim

Hi, Jim!

Yes she is!  That's my little girl and thank you for your words about her, I think the world of her -obviously!- so I love it when people get to meet her and get to know her. :)

I tried to contact you, btw, I have pictures for you but they're big so I'm not sure the best way to get them to you. 

No snot just fact.  I put myself in the same boat as RLHAR.  I have a nice dog, but he's not breed quality.   I know a little bit  about GSDs and schutzhund but not near enough to throw my hat in the ring and call myself a breeder. 

I also have seen way too many so called "breeders" who  egos are so overblown they think they can make up their own "tests" and determine for themselves what dog is breed worthy.  Those who would eschew the standard - usually conveniently because their own dog or dogs or the only dogs they can breed to just don't happen to meet the standard.  Or they can't afford to show or are too lazy to join a club and find out what it takes to title a dog in a grip sport.  Or worse yet, display either their complete lack of understanding  or gigantic pretzel mental justification rationalizations by calling it "reverse" discrimination or some other nonsense.  People like that come and go, they usually enter the dog breeding arena for a while, until they see it's not as easy to make bank as they thought.  Then they fold up their tents and move on, leaving behind a bunch of shitters as their legacy.  That, or they finally wake up and realize maybe the people who actually jump through the breeding hoops knew what they were talking about,  and try to fix their shitter  mistakes.  Yep, unfortunately we see know nothing  know-it-all types come and go, but each time they decide to breed a dog they bring the breed down.

No, I have way too much respect for how hard decent breeders work to even just maintain the breed standard to EVER buy from no class breeders like that and I will always make sure to steer everyone who asks away from breeders like that.  They don't deserve the puppy dollars.  The puppy buyers don't deserve the heart break.

Sue,

Yep it does sound like we're in a similar boat, I feel like I'm learning just enough to be dangerous but haven't even scratched the tip of the iceberg in what knowledge is out there and which needs to be had to be a proper breeder of dogs.

What often catches me flat-footed is the way so many people forget that Schutzhund was designed to be a breed rec, with the phases designed to show the over all quality of the dog to pass on traits that could be useful to any area of work.  I am also seeing where the sport itself has allowed itself to move away from that original purposing so I guess it's a two way street of breakdown in understanding.

Still, something I've found interesting is how in doing Schutzhund, I learned to see the faults and the strengths in my little girl and if I had wanted to breed her, how the sport had taught me what traits to look for in a male to match up to her weak points.

Just to be clear, I hope no one thinks I am  complaining about or disappointed in my dog at all either.  If it was vital to me that my dog be either top sport or breed quality I wouldn't have bought a little pup.  Also I recognize I am not "top sport" material myself, so it's not only all about what the dog brings to the table!

So, true, Sue!! It is about a team for sport competition. Nevertheless, the "sport" began and continues to be a breed worthiness test and, as pointed out, just the training tells you much about the dog you have...or think you have.