Sunday, June 7, 2009

Little rambling

Been doing a lot of talking to friends this weekend, especially since they are playing at the shows while I stay home. Happy to report that Ruff Ruff took breed yesterday down in MO and then CM got a Group 3! Nothing else other then Rosario was in the house and his mother got banned from ringside this morning. To which I must congratulate the winners today-Nancy and her open bitch took BOB over the specials. She is a very nice bitch but I do have to make a comment and this is in no way a bash on Nancy's dog, but on something that most people know I have an issue with overall in the breed-size.
Let's get one thing out in the open-this is my blog, my right to have an opinion, just as much as everyone else has a right to voice their own-I do believe that's called freedom of speech.
Now to the thorn in my side. The cardigan standard! It states in the AKC standard-"General Impression-A handsome, powerful, small dog, capable of both speed and endurance, intelligent, sturdily built but not coarse. " Ideally, dogs should be from 30 to 38 pounds; bitches from 25 to 34 pounds. Lack of overall balance, oversized or undersized are serious faults. "
Here's where I have the issue-a small dog, 30-38lbs? I will be honest, I have two large dogs in my house. Moose is 41lbs and 13inches, his sister Abbey is roughly the same. BUT when I walked Moose out into the BOB ring at the National Specialty, he looked normal!!! I don't showing him as a special often as it goes against my interpetation of the standard, but did so this time to prove a point. Will I never use him or Abbey in breeding, no, but will only breed to a more moderate dog or bitch and only keep them ore moderate offspring.
My poor Russ is 36lbs, little over 11 inches, well within the standard and constantly penalized as not being big enough or having enough bone. Poor Music is at the bottom end of the bitches and even though being more correct then most out there, never gets a second look. If we are going to point fingers at the coats of some dogs, the heads, and the bone, which all have serious faults associated with them, why are we not doing the same with size?? Shame on you who feel bigger is always better then correctness. Shame on those "responsible" breeders who brag about testing and what not, yet show oversized dogs!
And on that note, before I leave to teach a class, here's my take on another thing going on in the world of dogs. Responsiblity.
A responsible breeder fputs aside personal agendas and for the sake of the dogs they produce, keep all parties fully informed of the health of their dogs. This is not posting it on a blog or hiding it deep in a website, but calling, emailing or writting a snail mail letter to those concerned.
This goes for those that use those breeder's stud dogs, or lease a bitch from them or that might use an outside stud dog in their breeding program. If you produce or even own a dog, you need to keep the lines of communication open.
How responsible are you if you let your personal agendas get in the way? How responsible and what good is all the broohahah about testing do, if you keep those with your bloodlines in the dark about the simplest thing, that in fact has a great deal of impact on them and the choices them make for the dogs they love?
Full disclosure is the only responsible way. Ever play the game telephone? Word of mouth is more damaging and misleading then getting the full story direct from the source.
Shame on those breeders who taunt being responsilbe, who post about their testing but can't put aside a personal agenda, feeling more of the need to hurt others and the dogs they love, by not being open and honest and not going direct to those that could be affected most.
For me-I have a yahoo group for any one who owns a dog I bred, owns a dog I once owned or owns a dog that comes from my bloodlines. You are invited to join and we all have a place to share information. I email, I call, I write everyone when I can and more importantly, if there is something that comes up that might affect you or decisions you make with your dogs in anyway, I let you know, regardless of what kind of relationship we might have-good, bad or ugly.

So off my rambling and on to bigger and better things-teaching some kids about the wonderful world of dog ownership and training!

Later gators...
C

4 comments:

Sharrie said...

The Yahoo group for your "extended" dog family sounds like a really good idea. It certainly would make it easy to keep in touch.

Anonymous said...

Cindy,

Thanks for the reminder about the yahoo group, I have Solstice family yahoo group set up that I had totally forgotten about. I've only placed one GSP puppy "away" it was never really active so I closed it down. Guess I'll reactivate now that I'm placing dogs again. Of course the blog is now a great tool too.

coopercreek said...

Didn't Russ go BOB yesterday?

Cindy said...

Yeap-sure did. But was told on Sunday that he was too small-funny he's almost at the upper end of the dog weight and height per the standard recommendations, but still considered too small????? Makes me wonder, is he really too small or is everyone else too big?