Learning From The Masters
I started training dogs at the age of 12 when I acquired a dog aggressive male Golden that I went on to train both in the field and obedience ring to a CDX title. I learned from the masters at that time, Jack Godsil and Bob Self were considered not only great trainers and exhibitors but also great teachers. I have since learned from many people who I consider tops in their field.
In the dog fancy (breeding specifically) I began learning from Emily and Rick Preston- they started in Cocker Spaniels in the 1960’s and introduced me to “applied” dog genetics. They also introduced me to books about dogs and today I found a book I had not looked at in years. It is called Breeding Better Cocker Spaniels by Alvin Grossman . This book dives into how to breed better dogs, it talks about pedigrees at length, about problems in cockers like cataracts and hip dysplasia- in current books you get a paragraph that tells you to look for OFA numbers. That’s it, nothing about keeping track of production or data on litters. There are ways to get that information but I do think it is not acceptable to write about breeding dogs anymore in the U.S. With all the dog police out there, current authors are afraid to teach people how to improve- most of the books I see today are truly generic and written to stock the shelves at Barnes and Noble.
It is a shame as we are losing a generation of knowledge about what works to improve pure-bred dogs. Do we really NEED to breed dogs with so many in the shelter? I mean really- there are a ton of Labradors out there right now. But what if I don’t want a shelter dog? What if my shelter has all herding dog mixes and I can’t fly to Montana to rescue a hunt’in Lab? And what if I hunt? What if I don’t want a Chihuahua, they don’t really like to chase ducks! What if I want a puppy and not an older dog (guilt, guilt) What if I really enjoy breeding better dogs and raising puppies to place them in search and rescue homes or as service or guide dogs or as great pets? What if there are plenty of folks out there that do get rescue dogs? Do we really have to make a choice here? Isn’t it great that breeders care as much as they do about the welfare of all dogs? Breeders are the solution here not the problem.
Bottom line here- It is not illegal to breed dogs right now. It just seems that way. So who is really going to breed dogs if it is now something only the pet shop folks have access to with all the new laws in place? ONLY the puppy milllers! We are making sure that only the very worst breeders on record are breeding dogs by making it harder to breed and hurting all dogs in the long run. In the short run who really cares if there are no healthy Labs out there? You can bet the un-healthy short-lived crazy Labs are still available- at the shelter.
But what if I want to take a line of dogs- get rid of some annoying straight shoulders (so they actually can swim the way they are supposed to) work on that nice otter tail, breed only healthy long lived dogs that like children, old people and other intact male dogs? What if I want to take someone’s hard work of the last 20 years and built on it? How exactly do I do that? The only way right now is through trial and error, it is getting harder and harder for anyone to even want to teach or for that matter talk to anyone about their breeding programs or write about it.
Al Grossman wrote a great book in 1954- I happen to be a bit jaded right now about how to learn from folks but I will share with you his advice as it is likely the best I have heard this year.
This is from chapter fourteen on “The meaning of a pedigree” .
The following are “Grossman’s Cardinal Principles of Breeding” :
1. Breed only to a dog that is old enough to have a history of producing top-flight stock
2. Stay close within your own bloodlines
3. Be sure the breeding stock you are using has an unbroken producing line
4. Do not breed to the current winner unless it meets the above-stated standards.
For those of you that now think I am just a horrible person who breeds and contributes to the problem of pet over population- I do rescue more dogs then I breed, I spend a lot of money doing this (because it is the right thing to do=- all dogs deserve a good home) and if you are not a breeder please do go to your local shelter- be very careful if you have children that you get a good dog and not a resource guarding child eater- especially if the dog you want is over 12 pounds. If you are a breeder- keep learning- any way that you can. You will know you are on the right track if you start to piss off all the local breeders and no one talks to you anymore.