An epiphany...... - Page 1

Stolen from another dog board.

This is a post from a guy who just came back from Europe.

Hello all glad to be back. I have found the answer to a long asked question .
Why does Europe have such good dogs? The answer is ( drum role please) They don't love dogs, they love dog sports and they don't want crappy dog messing up their sports. the 17 days I was in Europe I visited and trained with french ring ,belgium ring and knpv clubs and they all has the same
mentality. they train and breed dogs for yrs and a person comes over to their country with money the
dog is gone. Almost no matter how good a dog is when he can't compete or has served it's purpose
he may be gone. Also they are not impressed with titles. I saw a dog that won a championship but had no breeding oppotunities. the sch champ gets a million breeding even if he is no good. If we want better dogs we need to fall out of love with dogs and in love with the work dogs do.

Think what better quality of dogs we would have here if we shared this mindset.

Lets just say he  needs more than 17 days in Europe to know what the majority do and think, I have lived here 5 years and still do not know But then perhaps i am a bit Thick
Steve1

"Dog breeding must be the work of a dog lover, and cannot be a profession."

"The work of breeding service dogs must, first and foremost, be the work of dog lovers."

- Stephanitz

He said it twice, and elaborated on it in many ways in his book... is it not true?

Okay, I didn't want to say it, but amysue said it for me.  Breeding dogs as a business is the philosophy of the puppy mill, NOT the philosophy of someone who truly cares about this great working breed.

I'll also risk saying this. Spending a small fortune for a pup with a fantastic pedigree is no guarantee of success. Yes, the genetics have to be there, but it's the WORK you're wiling to put into that dog that's going to make or break it. I've seen this in the riding/show world: the talented amateur with a $1,500 former school horse wins over the rider with the $20,000 pedigree warmblood, because he/she is willing to put the work and sweat into bringing out the best in the horse, and take the time to understand what makes it tick. Riders have won jumping championships and Olympic medals with  former plough horses (Snowman/Harry DeLeyer) and even ponies! (British rider Marion Coakes won a silver Olympic medal in jumping with Stroller, her 14:2 HH Connemara pony.)

I think the success of the Europeans has a lot more to do with the availability of places to train, and experienced trainers and helpers than the availability of good dogs. Many people in the U.S. and Canada have to drive 2 or more hours to find a schutzhund club, while many people in Europe live close enough to their club to be able to train every day, if they want to.

This might not be my most popular opinion but I kind of read GARD's post a different way.

When I think of the number of people over here who talk about breeding or breed their dog based on the following quotes...

"Oh I just love this dog so much, she's the perfect dog for me so I'm going to breed her because I just know people want puppies."

Or something similar then yes I can see where 'being in love' with our dogs is detrimental to our choices in breeding.

I've often said here that I love my female.  She has been a Godsend ever since my mother died, she's titled Sch I she's passed all her physical tests (hips and elbows, thyroid) she has no allergies and is size standard. 

Yet I still spayed her because she's not spectacular at the 'work' of a GSD.  There are other bitches out there with the same qualities she has and MORE to offer to the breed in the 'work' they do, whether it be sport, SAR, herding, etc.

I think that is where we need to be able to seperate our emotions from our breeding sense.  There is nothing to say you can't love we can't love our dogs but that should not be the first reason on the list to breed puppies from them.

The OP makes little sense to me, and I don't believe it's so.

If you want to breed better dogs whats stopping you?

Raise your standards.
Expand your criteria of what makes a great dog.
Breeders come together and leave out the money.

Making wiser selections can not be that hard.

Decide once and for all your idea of the perfect specimen and dedicate yourself to that end.
And then be willing to invest the time and money to achieve this lofty goal.

Yes its probably easier in Europe, and thats where the history is, but thats no excuse.

Yes, that's certainly true, RLHAR.  I agree 100%. There's a lot of breeding going on for sentimental reasons that should never be done.  We should only be breeding the best to the best.

Sunsliver
you are right you get nothing unless you work hard at it, The Price does not mean you got the right one until you work then you do not know, When i practiced Karate i trained 5 days a week, Morning before work a 3 to 5 miles run 5 days a week straight from work to the Multi gym three hundred exercises later home Good Wash light tea,  on the motor bike drive 30 miles to train  with my instructor did this for over 10 years 
On the weekends i  rode the Steeplechaser's out for the race horse trainers for two hours a day,  the rest of the day was mine, Yes, work at it and you may get there i got to be the best at my weight in the Country was it worth it yes, Regards training the Dogs it takes me an hours driving each way to get to the Clubs three times a week twice in the evenings we work by lights and Sunday mornings I love it when i am working with the Dogs and i see an improvement it is great but you do not get it sitting on a comfy chair, Izzy now nearly 5 months old is great on protection,
Walks on a loose leash by my leg, at command will slow the walk down to mine still loose leash and back to normal walking pace on command, Nor bad for her age
Steve1