tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post701687988347902205..comments2024-03-16T12:45:12.251-04:00Comments on Raised By Wolves: The Emperor's StripteaseHeather Houlahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-21211976366615523962013-01-07T18:00:55.875-05:002013-01-07T18:00:55.875-05:00re: Deb and her Tervs, forty years ago, I was invo...re: Deb and her Tervs, forty years ago, I was involved in breeding, training and showing German shepherds. After many years without dogs (I was too busy making a living, in a profession that made it nigh impossible to own dogs, and do them any justice) I went looking for a dog to acquire. And though the GSD's we bred went variously to the Air Force, police, cattle ranches, dairy farm, local sheep operations, obedience, and conformation homes (from the same litters), that was not the dog I saw in the modern breed. We had one HUGE male back then, that if he hadn't dropped dead of gastric torsion at fifteen months of age, could likely have gone a long way to being a champion. And HUGE then was 85#. My Mom's last GSD, the smaller of the two males, was 115#. And in show condition (i.e. not terribly overweight, though carrying more weight than I like to see on my dogs, who are very active). And when she decided that she really didn't like sending him off to shows, he did have a couple of points toward his championship, so he was the norm for the ring. So, over time, the conformation ring did indeed change the breed, and not for the better. Plus breeding for more extreme angulation meant breeding for looser ligaments, which is what causes the wobbly gait that you see in show bred GSD's, and why now those same police departments, military, etc., look outside our country for almost all the dogs they use. Or go to other breeds, like the Malinois. So, though I was proud that *my* breed still worked, it really was only a matter of time before it too went the way of the Lab, Irish setter, wire hair fox terrier, and others, with so much emphasis on what the show ring dictated.<br /><br />AKC, kind of like guns, doesn't kill dogs, people do. But the culture that created and fosters the whole mindset of canine eugenics, and judging a dog's worth based solely on what it looks like, is from whence the AKC arose. And it's all part of the larger picture, and has created a lot of problems, in both the health and temperament, in a whole lot of breeds of dog. Closed gene pools, which preserve the "purity" of the breeds, also ensure that deleterious mutations become widespread in those populations, with no way to fix them (re dalmatians, ALL of whom have liver issues, Rotties, 70% of which carry a gene predisposing them to osteosarcoma, Shelties, most of whom have the MDR1 gene which can make drug interactions potentially lethal, etc.) Breeding for looks alone also means that working characteristics can and usually do, over time, get diluted or disappear completely in a huge proportion of a breed's population.Erin McKeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-63203180867830600772013-01-07T16:44:27.866-05:002013-01-07T16:44:27.866-05:00Well Heather, you did say, "Yet the dogs who ...Well Heather, you did say, "Yet the dogs who actually perform this function in the modern world do not share this genetic deformity". There are working Corgis - including 2 that work dairies in upstate NY that I know of. I am not saying that all AKC Corgis can & do work, but at least some do. <br />However, you & I agree on more than we disagree. There are many things about AKC that I don't like. <br />Deb EAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-86422272592340142932013-01-07T15:51:59.202-05:002013-01-07T15:51:59.202-05:00"Don't knock all our dogs."
I promi..."Don't knock all our dogs."<br /><br />I promise not to as soon as you actually demonstrate that you have read and understood what anyone actually wrote.<br />Heather Houlahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-55985937360397575502013-01-07T15:00:38.932-05:002013-01-07T15:00:38.932-05:00I have herding dogs - AKC dogs no less. I have act...I have herding dogs - AKC dogs no less. I have actually had 3 herding breeds work on our small farm. A farm which could be managed without dogs but dogs make it much easier. *My* breed is the Belgian Tervuren & there are actually a fair number of Tervs who do both beauty pageants & work (in herding, obedience, tracking, agility, etc). Our parent breed club has worked hard to keep work ability in our breed - we do go through cycles where the beauty queens may triumph but it has come back every time so far. <br />And, heaven forbid, my daughter had a Pem Corgi that I would have put up against ANY working dog when it came to drive, instinct & work ethic. She is the dog who in a sleeting/snowing/freezing rain storm leapt in & swam across the creek, then forced my sheep into the flooded culvert & up to the barn. Yes, only 21 sheep but a "dwarf dog" owned/trained by a little kid. She outran many a BC time in agility & worked up until 13 yrs of age. A top agility handler asked if we would consider placing her as that handler felt they could make the World Team with this dog. A top BC handler asked if we would consider placing her as they felt they could run her in BC trials. Flash was handicapped by belonging to a little kid but she made her mark. Perhaps an exception, but that still proves there are those exceptional dogs out there. <br />And my latest Terv pup (from the first litter I have bred after 27 yrs in the breed) did finish his breed CH at 8 mos of age but a day later passed his TD in 6 min flat depsite having to drag me up & down a steep hill. He is working in rally, agility, obed, herding & more tracking. So there are breeds that can continue to work even within the confines of the AKC. Don't knock all our dogs :) that said, I don't agree with AKC 100% either.<br />Deb EAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-24968763437138847882011-09-12T19:52:56.203-04:002011-09-12T19:52:56.203-04:00AKC. Probably in response to that registration no...AKC. Probably in response to that registration nosedive, they finally relented to the non-breed folks and created 'Canine Partners' allowing mutts to compete in agility and obedience at their shows - when the organizers allowed it. <br /><br />BIG whooha here in Phoenix when the organizers of the AKC Fiesta Cluster decided it would only allow breed-registered dogs to compete in ANY of the cluster shows last year. Want to play in agility? Too bad ya cur, we don't want your kind here. <br /><br />Resolution? They are moving the agility competition away from other events at Westworld and into another venue. And allowing us mutts in. Sort of separate but equal, I guess. Nice, huh? Don't know about the dock diving or other trials. <br /><br />AKC folks do seem to like to shoot themselves in the foot, don't they? <br /><br />My mongrels? - a rescued designer dog that needed a job (Rat Terrier/Chi) and my up and coming Patterdale terrier/pound dog.Jennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15597630887713954960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-19158734702123673492011-01-28T02:52:34.679-05:002011-01-28T02:52:34.679-05:00"The Politics of Dogs", at UWSP.edu.<a href="http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/s/275/Breed/AtlanticAKC90.pdf" rel="nofollow">"The Politics of Dogs"</a>, at UWSP.edu.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18015219452269186971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-75068976138427630632010-04-29T10:14:07.407-04:002010-04-29T10:14:07.407-04:00The AKC FSS department just declined to present th...The AKC FSS department just declined to present the Finnish Lapphund for the board's consideration to move out the Miscellaneous class. The reason? The fancy has not bred enough litters since inclusion in the Miscellaneous class. ISYN! <br /><br />The Lappie will be considered again in six months. I guess AKC is giving the fancy time to generate enough registration income (ie. shit out some puppies) to see if they will be considered worthy of full recognition.Meghanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08621735598597787811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-90243746136668552662010-03-11T13:23:27.351-05:002010-03-11T13:23:27.351-05:00This isn't the first exchange I've had wit...This isn't the first exchange I've had with Joanna-- the first one wasn't pretty.<br /><br />There are heeling breeds that don't have short legs, and I can find them pretty easily. We call them Australian cattle dogs, but most rural people call them blue heelers or Queensland heelers.<br /><br />Corgis are out of a different time and different place-- a place that no longer exists. Wales no longer has an open field grazing system. There are not thousands of small crofters living on the land, relying upon their cows for their only sustenance.<br /><br />The Enclosure opened the door for the strong-eyed collies, and since we've not returned to feudalism, I don't think we'll be seeing must use for the Cardigan or the Pembroke.<br /><br />Nice pets, though.Retrievermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15780519136583108632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-2523544091060892122010-03-11T12:44:51.642-05:002010-03-11T12:44:51.642-05:00I bet there are Kenyans who I can outrun in a dist...I bet there are Kenyans who I can outrun in a distance race. In fact, I'm sure we could find some. This proves nothing. It certainly doesn't make me the winner of the Boston Marathon.<br /><br />I'm sorry Ms. Kimball, but the Scarecrow does not live here, so no one will be playing the part of the Straw Man to engage your nonsense. If you want to argue about something that someone actually said, then hop to it.<br /><br />Kirsten/Kerstin's wunderhund notwithstanding.<br /><br />You breed and show, but do not work or train, a dog which <i>by design</i> suffers a hereditary deformity that qualifies a human sufferer for handicapped license plates and, if he's lucky enough to have good insurance, lifelong maintenance by medical specialists.<br /><br />You <i>know</i> that you are positively selecting for a physical structure that overwhelmingly predisposes the dog to the excruciating pain, devastating disability, and frequently early death of disc disease.<br /><br />And you select for this physical structure because to do otherwise would knock you out of the ribbons, and because you have a story about how it was "functional" at one time.<br /><br />Yet the dogs who actually perform this function in the modern world do not share this genetic deformity.Heather Houlahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-12897286146014756042010-03-11T10:54:00.982-05:002010-03-11T10:54:00.982-05:00A Cardi might be useful for flyball, where the hei...A Cardi might be useful for flyball, where the height of the hurdles is based upon the height of the shortest dog.<br /><br />Interesting little dogs. It's a shame the Welsh crofters were nearly wiped out because of the Enclosure. Those little dogs were functional little "curs" for their families. The corgi evolved without fences. Their job was to round up and control free roaming stock that bred relatively freely on the commons.<br /><br />I don't think they can make it in the border collie and Aussie world.<br /><br />Same with curly-coated retrievers, whose real talents are never really tested in the modern world. They are more independent thinking breed than goldens and Labs. And more so than flat-coats, so even flat-coats are going to be more numerous than they are.<br /><br />If only we had bird poaching contests!Retrievermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15780519136583108632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-31616061656286745852010-03-11T08:54:32.508-05:002010-03-11T08:54:32.508-05:00"My Cardigans can out-corner and out-accelera..."My Cardigans can out-corner and out-accelerate Aussies and BCs, so they can work appropriately in very small spaces."<br /><br />Joanna, I recognize that you love your dogs, and have a lifetime of buy-in to what you do. That kind of thing is hard to escape. <br /><br />But your statement shows a degree of kennel-blindness that's really hard to swallow. <br /><br />No, there weren't any Cardis in the speed jumping agility finals at the USDAA World Cynosport Games (which perhaps says something in and of itself) but the BCs and Aussie had faster times on bigger courses than the smaller dogs. And you don't get those kinds of times without explosive acceleration and spin on a dime turns. <br /><br />http://www.usdaa.com/article.cfm?newsID=1342<br /><br />Look at the back half of your dog. Look at the back half of a BC, Aussie, McNabb, Heeler, what-have-you. Your dogs don't have the structure or the musculature to out-perform real working dogs. Not on acceleration. Not on a turn. And not on a straightaway. Probably not even on escaping a kick from a nasty steer.<br /><br />That doesn't mean they're not nice dogs -- I have always liked corgis a lot -- but you have to be honest, at least with yourself.Ginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06269415397411374828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-41606413209612253032010-03-11T05:38:15.482-05:002010-03-11T05:38:15.482-05:00Hi again.
Ms. Kimball grew up on a small working ...Hi again.<br /><br />Ms. Kimball grew up on a small working farm and raised dual-purpose sheep, dairy goats, meat rabbits, horses, and (gasp!) English Shepherds (unregistered) before she married someone who preferred not to have manure fill up the yard. Our first dog together was a field-bred livestock guard dog. I can talk about DHIR and USDA and scrotal circumference with the best of them. I've bred under half a dozen registries of various species, some with open herd books/stud books and some without.<br /><br />My herding dogs, who are supremely useful little dogs who are not allowed to be bred before they demonstrate not just herding instinct but capability (Bronte lived on a working farm for six months, for example), are achondroplastic dwarfs. It's a deformity but a functional one; it was an ancient preference for a dog who had the instinct but was physically restricted by the shorter legs. Fabulous for working up close and extremely protective to the dog when they're presented with a threat or a kick; they tuck and roll and are back up again instantly. My Cardigans can out-corner and out-accelerate Aussies and BCs, so they can work appropriately in very small spaces. Short-legged herders existed as a landrace for thousands of years in areas where the pasture was an acre or two and not a thousand; they're fantastic in that type of situation and have the added benefit of needing almost no food to work all day. <br /><br />Kerstin's mom's old dog is a champion, CD, RAE, NA, NAJ the last time I saw him. He's also a service dog who detected her mom's last stroke. <br /><br />See? When it's real people, it gets messier. You make big statements about how dumb the dog must be and then it turns out the dog's not so dumb; maybe it turns out the human's not so dumb either. <br /><br />It ALWAYS comes down to personal responsibility as a breeder. You can do it right in any registry; you can do it completely and totally wrong in any registry. I've talked to people in NAVHDA who proudly showed me their Korthals and talked about how much better he was than an AKC dog; he was a complete trainwreck conformationally and I'd be surprised if he made it without injury until he was three. I've watched trials where the BCs made me wince as they bunnyhopped anytime they slowed down from a dead run. NO registry means "healthy dog." NO registry means "dog who can work." You stick in the registry that allows you to do your best work as a breeder, but when you have to make an accounting nobody's going to be saying that they should blame (or praise) your registry. It's up to you. <br /><br />And, yes, it is the individuals who choose the registry, which has been my point all along. Nobody held anybody under a gun and told them to go apply to AKC for FSS recognition.Joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178480102282961954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-5939417396465843832010-03-11T02:26:24.525-05:002010-03-11T02:26:24.525-05:00This one is new to me, and definitely on-point, co...This one is new to me, and definitely on-point, covers most of the bases:<br /><br />http://www.psychopup.com/tb/dontbuy.html<br /><br />This one, from HSUS of all critters, is good, but relies on a lot of links:<br /><br />http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/tips/buying_puppy.html<br /><br />This one, good, simple:<br /><br />http://www.dogguide.net/pet-store-dogs.php<br /><br />In the last year or so I have seen a change in the standard-issue warnings about pet shop pups; I used to be very frustrated when the boilerplate said that pet store puppies "often" came from puppymills. Because <i>only a puppymill sells through pet stores</i>. So the correct term is <i>always.</i> The "often" gave plenty of space for sales spin in the store.<br /><br />But now I am seeing more and more "always" or unmodified statements -- "puppies sold in pet stores come from puppymills."Heather Houlahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-61675166407898745792010-03-11T02:01:51.764-05:002010-03-11T02:01:51.764-05:00Rob --
Neither short nor bullet-pointed, but more...Rob --<br /><br />Neither short nor bullet-pointed, but more on-topic:<br /><br />http://cynography.blogspot.com/2008/11/at-least-dont-buy-this.html<br /><br />I had a couple of pages that more fit your bill bookmarked way back, and they seem to be gone in site restructurings now.<br /><br />But maybe some of the other readers have favorites that are to-the-point.<br /><br />I have a handout for clients on training a puppymill puppy that goes over what challenges and problems to expect -- it assumes they've already screwed the pooch.Heather Houlahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-9450770278947302762010-03-10T19:30:07.023-05:002010-03-10T19:30:07.023-05:00Heather --
1) I didn't see the original links...Heather --<br /><br />1) I didn't see the original links for the graph images above, but I was wondering whether you were attempting to link the images straight from the AKC's website. If so, it's likely they have a offsite referrer restriction that forbids it.<br /><br />2) Let us say that I have a friend who is considering buying a puppy from a pet store, or talking someone else in his family into doing so. As good as this piece is, it has the singular disadvantage of being rather long. Is there a bullet-point summary of why pet stores are a bad idea laying around in your archives, or elsewhere that you would recommend?Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18015219452269186971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-72771805947638324842010-03-10T17:58:30.000-05:002010-03-10T17:58:30.000-05:00I'm with eleanor, either a dog is what it does...I'm with eleanor, either a dog is what it does or what you call it. If a dog is what it does then who cares how many herding 'breeds' make up your dog, it's a herding dog. period, by definition. A dog is what it does. Who cares how many different retrievers are in my dog, he is a retriever, because he retrieves. Once you accept that who cares if the AKC 'appropriates' the border collie, that is just a name. People raising and working herding dogs still do so. If you want a herding dog you go to a breeder who makes herding dogs. Unless maybe there is some value in being a West Yorkshire droving collie. Maybe the only reason people care what the AKC does is they think a dog is more than what it does, but also what it is called. <br />Jacob L'EtoileAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-6763888265487605942010-03-10T17:41:13.763-05:002010-03-10T17:41:13.763-05:00In about the same time that I cared about such thi...In about the same time that I cared about such things, I was also naive enough to think that the AKC actually stood for something and that they really did intend to look out for dogs, or at least purebred dogs.<br /><br />Their willingness to support PAWS II showed me the folly of that belief. <br /><br />If the market wants and permits their demise, that's fine with me. I just hope somebody comes up with some decent alternative to their retriever field trials. The UKC already has alternative hunt tests and obedience trials, so I've got that going for me.<br /><br />Otherwise, yes, they're guilty of a lot of empty promises and false posturing, but that's true of most of corporate America. The problem comes with expecting better of them. One can't.Eleanor Sobkowiakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475564873465056102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-10899400430825616282010-03-10T16:36:26.958-05:002010-03-10T16:36:26.958-05:00Institution arrogance is going to lead to institut...Institution arrogance is going to lead to institutional obsolescence.<br /><br />This whole thing is based upon being a quality control organization-- a consumer reports for dogs, if you will. But when their shoddy practices are called out, they go -- "We're just a registry." <br /><br />You can't be both. You're either the "dog's champion" (as they call themselves) or you're just a registry.<br /><br />And that's where the emperor is totally naked.Retrievermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15780519136583108632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-90775770823325705372010-03-10T16:31:19.862-05:002010-03-10T16:31:19.862-05:00Now to argue about something I actually care about...Now to argue about something I actually care about.<br /><br />Donald McCaig has written about what happened to the poor border collie when the AKC Moloch cast its view onto that working breed.<br /><br />http://books.google.com/books?id=oJjNVx8SrPAC&dq=Dog+Wars+mccaig&source=gbs_navlinks_s<br /><br />The AKC looks for quislings, and then it does what the communist parties in virtually every Eastern European country did to consolidate power: Salami tactics.<br /><br />Take a piece here and there.<br /><br />Until they have the whole thing.<br /><br />That border collies and others have been able to hold out even after recognition says a lot.<br /><br />I'm seeing the same debate happening now with the Lacy dog. Virtually all Lacy people are anti-AKC, but I've run into a few who are doing all they can to get the breed recognized. The AKC can find its quislings there.Retrievermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15780519136583108632noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-53918733385073770642010-03-10T12:34:06.712-05:002010-03-10T12:34:06.712-05:00Once upon a time in a land far away, I cared about...Once upon a time in a land far away, I cared about this. As an owner of a breed where the split between show and field is well established, I no longer do. It just doesn't matter.<br /><br />I like field trials, so I have field trial bred Labs. Yep, they're butt ugly. I used to show Labs, and I still have one bench bred Lab. She's cute as a bug's ear and actually looks like a Labrador. Unfortunately, she can't count past two. Ya can't have it all...<br /><br />"The work" of the breed (which is to be a hunting companion capable of helping to put food on the table, no competition involved) is somewhere between these two extremes, and ALL of my dogs can do that.<br /><br />I like AKC games, and therefore, I have AKC registered dogs of an AKC recognized breed. Different games need different types of dogs even within the same breed. It doesn't bother me that they're both called the same thing.<br /><br />I understand fewer people are registering their dogs. That's fine. I also understand the AKC's problem with this - they've got a business to run.<br /><br />What I don't understand is why this is such a big deal. As Heather said, it's a free country. Clubs can join the AKC or not, people can register their dogs or not. Whatever.<br /><br />We've got so many more, bigger, problems to worry about these days.Eleanor Sobkowiakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475564873465056102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-82231433383324715592010-03-10T09:36:22.371-05:002010-03-10T09:36:22.371-05:00Because I own an American breed, and the two other...Because I own an American breed, and the two other working breeds whose histories I know best are either American or effectively non-FCI, I underestimated the effect of the FCI hammer on the AKC's ability to blackmail the clubs for breeds that originate elsewhere.<br /><br />Effective genetic isolation from the bulk of the world population is a slow death sentence -- but faster than the Death By Kennel Club that awaits all closed gene pools. Hobson's choice for people who love both their dogs and their breed.<br /><br />Ms. Kimball is passionate in her defense of a version of reality that paints the HQ on Madison as a sort of massive ova, passively waiting while the spunky little spermy breed clubs thrash about to see who can "get in."<br /><br />Since Ms. Kimball breeds and shows, but does not work, train, or trial, an AKC "herding breed" whose primary field mark is extreme chondrodysplasia, and which had no history in this country as a functional dog when it was "recognized" 75 years ago, she may not be as familiar as she believes with either the process of defunctionalizing a working breed via fancy breeding, or the actual political machinations involved in the last two decades of hostile breed takeovers.<br /><br />I'm sure the dog fanciers she meets on her weekends who are so excited about finally getting to hang out with the popular kids at the winter formal tell a certain story of their struggle for "recognition." That doesn't make that story The Truth, or even true. (But I bet it includes tales of another group of Mean Girls who selfishly voted against their cool plans to put on a show -- maybe even voting well north of 90% against in each account. 'Cuz being a tiny minority means that you are automatically a <i>victim</i>, not that you are <i>wrong</i>.)<br /><br />"Kirsten" is a very compelling character who may actually exist and even have the elderly immigrant mother et. al. No way to know, as "Kirsten" has no surname. Ms. Kimball was not so forthcoming as to even identify the type of dog in question. Nevertheless, I submit that even in reference to an exclusively pet breed, characterizing the process of trotting or ambling in a circle and then standing still for a few minutes as "competing like a lion" shows a poverty of appreciation for any dog's potential for real achievement in the world.<br /><br />However, if Ms. Kimball believes that I have not called out individuals to their faces on their breeding and husbandry practices, <i>as well as</i> the unintended but predictable consequences of their other actions -- well, she can just come on down.<br /><br />Which brings us back to the whole point of this post, doesn't it?<br /><br />Dog buyers do not want this.<br /><br />The numbers don't lie.<br /><br />If Ms. Kimball wishes to continue breeding dogs from a closed gene pool, presenting them to be judged on fancy points, and courting the approval of her fellow fanciers for the next five decades, well, it's a free country. Lots of people have stranger hobbies. I don't condemn my friends for spending money going to Buffy Conventions or collecting anime.<br /><br />But to expect the rest of the culture to applaud that hobby is presumptuous and silly.<br /><br />To expect those whose passion is the conservation of working dogs <i>and</i> companion dogs as functional, healthy animals to do so exposes too much time spent in a self-referential milieu.<br /><br />To believe that anyone gets a pass on genuine animal welfare concerns -- including the suffering caused by avoidable genetic deformity that is written in to breed standards and the big business of puppymills, from which the entire "Fancy" has drawn a subsidy for decades -- because one's own dogs are impeccably-groomed, well-fed show dogs who see the vet twice a week -- betrays both a glorious absence of self-awareness, and the infectious nature of institutional arrogance.Heather Houlahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891198124130533198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-77326300040391928682010-03-10T06:02:28.731-05:002010-03-10T06:02:28.731-05:00Dear Doggers,
Ms. Joanna wrote: "I am very we...Dear Doggers,<br />Ms. Joanna wrote: "I am very well aware that it's often a splinter group of breeders that ends up wanting to get into AKC, but the fact remains that it is BREEDERS who APPLY."<br /><br />I thank Ms. Joanna for repeating this particular AKC mantra. My earlier responses were snarky but didn't address her central error.<br /><br />Most of the AKC's "Recognition" (aka "Stalking") process occurs offstage, so I cannot speak knowledgeably about what happened to other breeds. Typically. the first I'd hear was when some frantic officer of the stalked breed club called to ask what they could do to prevent the very few from giving away their breed to AKC administrators who knew nothing about their dogs and cared less. <br /><br />I do, however, know in detail how the AKC recognized the Border Collie and Ms. Joanna's view as cited is false.<br /><br />An American Kennel Club Vice-President actively solicited Border Collie people to form an AKC-friendly club to seek AKC membership at least three years before the AKC admitted interest in our breed.<br /><br />I can produce witnesses and their affidavits.<br /><br />Donald McCaigDonald McCaighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11890894628274998487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-58918231805946997772010-03-10T04:43:42.251-05:002010-03-10T04:43:42.251-05:00I am very well aware that it's often a splinte...I am very well aware that it's often a splinter group of breeders that ends up wanting to get into AKC, but the fact remains that it is BREEDERS who APPLY. You can say all the nasty things you want about those breeders (and for all I know it may be correct), but it is not AKC involuntarily annexing. AKC does not get involved in club politics; if you satisfy the FSS requirements you can start the process. <br /><br />In many breeds a dog can be registered in one of half a dozen breed clubs and group clubs; the AKC doesn't decide that one of those is the legitimate one and refuse to let the others apply for FSS. If you have the numbers, the standard, and the pedigrees, it lets you begin. So, yes, go blame the breeders. Don't state something completely unfactual about the way AKC accepts new breeds. <br /><br />And, Heather, I don't know how difficult it is to go to the home page and click on "About AKC," but that's where the board minutes are so spectacularly well-hidden. Top of the About page, with a picture to encourage you to click. Read through the minutes for a few months; go look at the Delegates minutes (same section). Lots and lots of detail about exactly how many registrations there are and how much the club is making and whether revenues are falling or event fees are rising. <br /><br />You're welcome to talk to my friends who worked on some of these breeds, as long as you agree to look them in the eye and tell them that they're puppy-millers who don't care about ethics. <br /><br />It's awfully easy to be vicious on a blog when you don't have to face the actual person you're accusing, and don't have to look at their dogs, or listen to them tell you about the way they've devoted their entire lives in some cases to this one breed. <br /><br />I don't really care about what registry you do or don't belong to; I manage to raise a herding dog in AKC and my practices wouldn't change a bit if I were in a different registry. It's the breeder, not the registry, that does or doesn't do things to a breed. Personal ethics are always the ones that count. <br /><br />What I object to is either making completely unfactual statements OR being offensive and cruel to people who actually exist and who are better dog breeders than I or you or 99% of the rest of the world. <br /><br />When you accuse someone of being a puppymiller who loves to breed diseased dogs, you're talking about Kirsten, who brings her mother, an immigrant, in a wheelchair to every dog show weekend so her mom can watch her beloved elderly dog, who she imported from her home country, compete like the old lion that he is and get scritches and pats from the hundreds of people who know him. That old boy has been bred, who knows, maybe twice? Three times? <br /><br />So come to a show; I'll be happy to introduce you to Kirsten.Joannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08178480102282961954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-72802014720164914082010-03-09T20:00:50.187-05:002010-03-09T20:00:50.187-05:0011. Karma >> Dogma11. Karma >> DogmaBorderWarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09410343987050560739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5810033429461791744.post-15630584219289376992010-03-09T15:50:14.283-05:002010-03-09T15:50:14.283-05:00Australian Shepherds were recognized due to the ef...Australian Shepherds were recognized due to the efforts of a very small percentage of Aussie owners and breeders. The Australian Shepherd Club of America - a very large and active registry for Aussies - conducted a vote and the majority of the membership said no to AKC recognition.Liz Palikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10743548949925848815noreply@blogger.com