What's Going on Here?

What’s Going on Here?

The Blood-Horse Magazine which is one of my favorites is all about horse racing, breeding and sales trends.  One of the editorial sections is entitled “What’s going on Here?”  It seems apropos as one looks at the dog game to ask the same question.

Dog show entries are down as are registrations.  The AKC in their infinite wisdom has seen fit to license far too many shows just to help pay the bills.  Likewise they have recognized many strange breeds, some of which were created to kill, not for some silly purpose such as herding, hunting or killing vermin.  In further efforts to boost sagging income we have competition for Grand Championships and Reserve Best In Show along with various titles too long and numerous to mention.

Legitimate breeders are being legislated out of business or going broke because of the cost of vet bills, show expenses and the multitude of fancy dog feeds that modern canines seem to require.  Gone are the days of a few simple choices of what to feed and dogs that could thrive on them.  Today’s pampered pooches need to be tested for food allergies, fed small meals lest they bloat, and beware of raw beef bones!  The nasty cows get growth hormones, antibiotics, and all sorts of bad things.

With the exception of absolute puppy mills, most breeders are so fascinated with breeding the exotic show dogs that they forget what John Q Public wants in a dog.  They forget good health and sound temperament and concentrate on show points that in many cases create a dog that is a sad caricature of what a real dog should be.  There are many examples of such thinking, but one of my favorites is the Pekinese.

This breed used to look more like a Tibetan Spaniel than the Pekinese of today.  We have intensified the breathing problems, eyes popping out, and added coat that hides the characteristic lack of soundness.  How would you enjoy taking the Westminster BIS Pekinese for a walk around the neighborhood?  The poor soul would probably suffer a heart attack.

Just so you know I’m not picking on Pekes, the breed I’ve loved for sixty-five years, the Collie, has its own problems.  There are far too many squinty little eyes, excessively long, open coats, and little tiny phony ears that need to be molded in place.  The temperament of choice is one that shows non-stop and never mind if the dog ever relaxes and enjoys being with its owner.

More and more we see people adopting dogs from shelters whether purebred or mongrel in preference to going to a breeder for a puppy.  Though these adoptions are seldom cheap, and often come with lots of baggage, the new owner feels noble in having saved a life.  Now Phyllis and I have “rescued” several dogs and cats as well.  Some of the dogs were collies and some were not, but between vet bills and adoption costs, they weren’t cheap, but they did need help and I make no apologies.

Breeders need to step up and recognize what the puppy buyer in the real world wants.  They need to be responsible and be willing to take back dogs that don’t work out and encourage people to spay and neuter to avoid shelters full of unwanted pets.  If a perspective buyer wants to show or breed they need a clear picture of what’s involved and some help along the way.

Now I’ve been a dog person all my life and still am, but the cat is becoming very popular as a pet and, in many cased, is replacing the dog because of our changing life styles.  The cat doesn’t need to be walked, and does quite well with bowls of food and water and a clean litter box.  They are subject to ailments just like dogs and many can be annoyingly independent, but many people enjoy that trait.

Those of us who believe in Creation can also understand that things don’t stay the same.  Evolution is a process that is natural and occurs in wild creatures without our help as well as in domestic creatures that we control.  The wild creatures evolve in ways that help them better deal with the life they must face.  If we wish to truly be successful as breeders our goal must be to breed animals that can live as companions as well as show dogs.  One of our main goals should be to produce puppies that mature into happy, fun to be alive dogs.

Car companies over the years have evolved into some habits that are quite annoying.  To get item “A” you must purchase a package that includes “B” and “C”.  If we who love purebred dogs pursue that line of thinking and insist that people who want a happy, healthy, pretty pet must accept a lot they don’t want the shelters and cat breeders will be full of smiles and we’ll only have ourselves to blame. 

Think about it!

Stud Dogs and Stuff

Stud Dogs and Stuff

It’s been a busy last two months.  In early Sept. Phyllis and I spent a few days in Lexington, KY,  one of our favorite spots.  We visited horse farms, The Kentucky Horse Park, and Old Friends, where they keep retired racehorses.  In October Phyllis went to visit our daughter, Alexandra and her husband in New York City.  When she got back it was hard to tell who was most tired.  Our Daughter lives on a fifth floor apartment with no elevator and I had to do the chores we normally share for five days.  Now you all know why no blogs for a while.

Steve Field, my mentor and friend, was also the most astute breeder I ever met.  He realized the importance of good bitches and finished several over the years, but he always was in search of his next good young male.  The reasons behind this are fairly evident at least to me.  Showing a good young male is good advertising for your kennel and, if you own his sire and/or dam it’s even better.  A good young male until old enough to hopefully have winning puppies sells himself by his wins and appearance in the ring.  Steve had a powerhouse line of stud dogs starting with Ch. Silver Ho Parader, to Image, to Venture, to Country Squire, to Reflection.  Of Country Squire’s offspring, however, it was not Steve who owned the most prolific.  That honor went to Ch. Two-Jays Hanover Enterprise.

Though I would never compare my dogs or success with Steve Field, there were similarities in what we believed.  Coincidentally the start of my kennel’s success started with a dog closely bred to Steve’s Ch. Silver Ho Parader.  I used to say that Ch. Gingeor Bellbrooke’s Choice could carry the costs of the kennel with his stud fees.  No doubt Steve’s studs did that or better and he also bred and sold some darn good pups.

There are seldom more than a handful of really worthwhile stud dogs in this country.  If you can own such a dog you have a profound impact on the breed.  A bitch at most has one or two litters per year.  A desirable stud can literally have near one hundred.  The price of a good stud’s fee used to be roughly the cost of a top notch show puppy.  Breeding a bitch to a well trained stud takes a lot less effort than raising a puppy, but the return is just as great.  Remember it only works if you have a well bred, top quality male with producing credentials.

Today a lot of breeding is done by artificial insemination.  When I was active the breedings were almost 100% natural and a stud needed to know his job as did his handler.  With a bitch ready to breed and without any obstructions, a good stud would have a tie in five minutes or less.  You had to have a bold eager dog who probably started breeding at 9-10 months on a limited  basis.  For safety the bitch would be muzzled and held until the tie broke at which point I got a sample of sperm to put under the microscope.  The stud dog was disinfected before and after the breeding to prevent any transfer of disease.  The care, feeding, and exercise for a top stud could take a book and many have been written so I’ll not try to compete.

In the dinosaur days of my breeding and showing hardly anyone showed bitches past what it took to get them finished.  The feeling was that their value was in the brood box producing the next generation.  The stress and exposure to disease, worms, and all kinds of goodies just didn’t make sense.  The males were in coat longer and generally took top honors anyhow.

It’s beyond me to figure out if bitches today are better than they were.  I only know that they are shown a lot more and go BOB much more than they used to in years gone by.  The dog show game has taken on many changes over the years.  The people involved as breeders, handlers, and judges have gone from being largely men to being at least equal numbers of women.  Perhaps the ladies understand and can get more out of bitches than men used to years ago.

More bitches may be shown today because less people want to breed than to accumulate ribbons or titles.  Over my years of judging I certainly don’t recall any preference based on sex, color or anything but quality.  Dog shows and breeding dogs have many issues, but preference based on  prejudice has never been included.  In Collies one of the most respected breeders and judges years ago was Dr. J.P. McCain, a black man.  He was one of those few about whom I have never heard a negative remark – ever!

If we as just people, whether dog breeders or not, could just aim for such a reputation as his it would be a much better world.

Think about it!!

Times They Are A Changing

Times They Are A Changing

My thanks to Jerry and Kathy Zehetner who brought us a lovely surprise recently.  It was a CC of A 2013 catalog signed by a number of old friends and some new ones, too.  Almost as good as being there!  Thanks Jerry and Kathy.

The Indians (or Native Americans if you prefer) had a saying “nothing is forever, but the stones.”  You can call it progress or evolution or whatever suits your fancy, but things do change.  The AKC now recognizes breeds of many more kinds than when I was breeding and showing.  It used to be a rather long drawn out process to get a new breed accepted, but now they’re coming out of the woodwork.  A number look like refugees from an animal shelter, but they do add up to more registrations and show entries.  The Grand Champion brainstorm adds up to showing dogs for longer, but I still can’t validate it meaning much.

It seems that the judges approval process is constantly being reviewed and or changed, because people think it’s faulty.  There is no way of getting complete agreement on how it should work.  The quality of judging doesn’t seem to change much no matter how the process goes.  There are judges with a background and “the eye” to do an excellent job and some who could work at it for a lifetime and never have a clue.  All breed clubs pick judges based on how much they can do for their fee and not how good they are.

The world of purebred dogs and dog shows is constantly being manipulated and it is changing.  We constantly see laws cropping up to restrict various aspects of breeding.  Many of these are caused as a reaction to “puppy mill” operations.   When this dinosaur was getting started there were kennels considered “pillars of genetic strength” where one could breed or buy to acquire certain strengths that they had acquired over the years thru careful selective breeding.  Many would now be called “puppy mills!”

Years ago the number of blue merles at any show, specialty or otherwise, was a minor factor.  Smooth Collies were even more rare and the quality of many of those smooths was really questionable.  The first specialty I judged was in California.  My best of breed over 175 Rough Collies was Ch. Black Hawk of Kasan.  Later Svend Jensen put him BB at the National and took me off the hook.  Hawk started a change in Collies which today sees the smooth entry at many shows equal to or surpassing the Roughs.  The quality of Smooths has been steadily improving and it’s no longer a rarity for them to go BB at many specialties including the National.  They are also making inroads on the pet or companion end of things because people don’t want to battle the grooming associated with Roughs.

Expecting things to stay the same is not going to happen, but we need to guard against change for the sake of being different.  It needs to bring an improvement or benefit with it to be worth the effort.  If we want to change the Collie is it to improve the breed or to make it easier for us to breed what we want.  Years ago when the size was raised in the standard it seemed to be OK with most, but the value to the breed was negligible.  The standard calls for no size disqualification, but for penalizing dogs or bitches “that appear” over or undersize.  If we’re breeding dogs that supposedly can herd sheep Border Collie size seems to work just fine.

Over the years this old dinosaur has seen many changes in our breed and in the dog game in general.  Some have been of benefit to the dogs, but unfortunately most have been to benefit the people involved.  Collies used to be a breed largely handled by their owners who were also their breeders.  Today’s top awards, particularly at the highest level, seldom go that route. Could be discouraging if you can’t afford a handler.  We have lots more dog shows and finish many more champions, but I have to question whether we’ve made that title somewhat meaningless.  We seem to be able to “doctor” up the appearance of most dogs so they can finish and then breed them and get more of the same or worse.  Real breeders have become few and far between.

I know sometimes these blogs seem to be written by an old grouch.  It’s one of the blessings of being able to write what you want without being edited.  I applaud the advances made in areas such as veterinary medicine.  Our dogs are healthier and that’s a great benefit to breeders and pet owners alike.  Just don’t let that send you down the road of breeding dogs of limited natural vigor just because you can save every puppy.  It’s ok to save the weak ones, but don’t breed them!

When General Douglas MacArthur (one of my heroes) gave his final address to the cadets at West Point he said, “When I pass away my last thoughts will be of the Corps.”  Let’s try to make our thoughts of the Collie and what’s good for them, not just what fits into our plans for winning dog shows! 

Think about it!

We All Have Heroes or Something

We All Have Heroes or Something

Most of us have heroes as we grow up and some continue to have them even as adults.  Qualifying as a hero to me requires not only requirements, but longevity of excellence in a given field.  There’s a tendency at present to jump to conclusions and label someone as a hero or superstar somewhat prematurely in my opinion.

My childhood heroes included General Douglas MacArthur who commanded our troops in the Far East in World War II.  A brilliant soldier with a great understanding of the people in that part of the world he was also something of an egotist.  My old grandpappy always said, “it ain’t braggin’ if you can do it!”, but MacArthur lost his job in the Korean “Police Action” because he couldn’t handle politicians telling him how to fight.

One of my other heroes was Joe DiMaggio who played for the New York Yankees.  I’ve been a Yankees fan all my life having been born in the Bronx, NY and Joe was the best all around player I ever saw.  He could hit for average and power, had a great arm, and was fast enough to make hard plays look easy.  He did all these things for years in spite of taking time off to be in the military, was an easy Hall of Fame pick, played sometimes in severe pain, and besides he married Marilyn Monroe.  What’s not to like?

In dogs there are several categories that one might explore to find our heroes.  Breeders, judges, handlers, and writers come to mind.  Obviously you can name more than one in each category but since we’re talking about my heroes, we’ll make one of each suffice.  Since I’m an old dinosaur you’ll find that these folks have all gone to their reward.  That fact will also preclude some jealousy that can arise when you deal with living people.

My hero as a breeder is hands down my old friend Steve Field of Parader fame.  There are folks today who have bred more champions but it’s like comparing apples to oranges with all the shows we have today and people who show year around.  Steve had the best stud dogs of his time, the best show dogs were owned or bred by him, he was in great demand as a judge, and though not given to a lot of writing, it always made sense.  He gave credit to the people who helped him attain his success such as Ed Pickhardt and Bill Van Dyck and he was the soul of modesty regarding his many accomplishments.  I miss him and the times we spent together talking dogs, wildlife, sports and politics more than I can say.

Though Steve was a great Collie judge, my hero as a judge falls to an all-rounder who judged shows almost every week and seemed to know the breeds very well.  Alva Rosenberg knew Collies and what made a good one better than many specialists.  He was in great demand, but always made time to say hello and often shared some ideas about different aspects of judging.  He also had a sense of humor as evidenced when he gaited the buxom ex-stripper showing a corgi over and over.  Each time she stopped and bent over he looked over at me and winked.  In those days they started an award given to the best judge in the country.  After Alva won it the first three years running they stipulated that you couldn’t win more than three times.  He like Steve Field taught me a lot.

My hero handler would have to be Bill Trainor.  I’d learned much from watching other handlers before I met Bill.  I first saw him showing StoneyKirk Reflection when the dog was still in the classes and owned by his breeder, Priscilla Alden, Bill had great success showing Reflection after he was purchased by John and Evelyn Honig.  The dog was always groomed immaculately and Bill was completely unflappable.  Over the years I saw Bill show many Collies and sometimes we competed.  Win or lose he was always the consummate professional.  His success in other breeds was also well known and he was admired and respected for his treatment of the dogs in his care and his skill in their presentation.

There are many people who have written well and served the dog press in general and Collies in particular.  Some have been doing it for years and achieved great success.  Gus Sigritz classic “The Degree of Fault” comes immediately to my mind.  My hero, however, comes to us from a different persuasion.  Albert Payson Terhune was an author of fiction about dogs, mostly Collies, and sometimes based on fact.  His writing drew me to this breed as well as legions of others.  His ability to describe dogs and their exploits made many friends for our breed and made him a household name.  Though he bred some fine dogs including some who finished their championships, it was not as a breeder that this man would carve his niche.  He was not incidentally beloved by all he encountered, but we all know that’s not a surprise in dogs.  Terhune was bigger than life, famous, wealthy, and a rather private person in many ways.  He had a close circle of friends whom he valued, but showed little liking for dog shows or impromptu visitors to his home.  It’s not surprising that his personality didn’t endear him to everyone, but his books made up for it.  There have been many fine dog novels written over the years including some about Collies, but no one comes close to the number or warmth of those by Terhune.

There you have my list of dog heroes.  I could include many others in each category, but then you dilute the final product.  It seems to me that heroes can be healthy in helping us to mold our own lives.

Think about it!!

Breed 'em and Weep

Breed ‘em and Weep

Pat Merrill in her 2012 yearbook president’s message brought up a good point.  Why do Collies continue to fall from favor in AKC popularity records?  Size won’t fly as an answer because there are other large dogs in the top ten where Collies were for years.  Coat would certainly seem relevant when you consider the effort it takes to “properly” groom a Collie.  As with many other coated breeds some seem to continually think that “more is better.”  Proper fit and texture seem to be forgotten since we can sculpt the outline and doctor the texture with spray.

We will not get Albert Payson Terhune back again and Lassie in movies or on TV has been replaced by a sad collection of nightmarish special effects creations.  No point in dwelling on things we can’t change, so we’d better address the ones we can.  The public wants a pretty dog, a healthy dog, a dog with a good stable disposition, and one that the average Joe Public can care for himself.

Years ago back in the days of the dinosaur you still had to work to be successful at shows.  I worked like crazy and learned to groom and train dogs to compete.  I went to shows to see what good dogs looked like and absorbed the advice of successful breeders like a sponge.  I read books and articles and attended symposiums to learn and it worked!  I also never used anything to groom but chalk (Foo-Foo), water, and elbow grease.  Oh yes, and the dogs had proper coats of proper colors and didn’t need faking.

In addition to going crazy on coats we shot ourselves in the foot with eye problems.  Some folks not content with working on the problems quietly and sanely, advertised puppies and studs as “clear of eye problems” instead of just saying “good health guaranteed.”  The public and the vets jumped on that and the breed soon became suspect to almost everyone.  Who wants to buy a family pet that’s blind or may go blind?

In addition to Pati’s President’s message I noticed something else in the yearbook, which is amazingly once again on time.  My compliments to Michelle Esch Brooks on this extraordinary feat.  Having known her dad and late mother for many years I would say the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.

The other feature which I noticed is the color inheritance chart, which I’m sure is very concise and correct.  Over the years I’ve seen many such charts, but don’t remember any of them being accompanied by a warning as to what problems some breedings can be expected to produce.  The warning at the end of this chart should be taken seriously.  Even back when I was breeding and showing some people bred some things that most of us shied away from but they were generally experienced and had a plan in mind.  Any defective pups were generally put down not put with the public.  Nowadays you get the impression that some folks do some weird breeding just to prove they can.  Some would alter the standard to make it more acceptable forgetting that attractive dogs can win without any changes to our standard.

This is not a plea to abolish the breeding of sables to blues if it’s necessary to get what you need in your breeding program.  Just remember that many sable-merles look like sables to Joe Public.  If he wants a litter of pups and breeds to the “sable” belonging to his friend, which also happens to be a sable-merle, we could have some problems.  Over the years I bred, showed, and put up as a judge many blue merle Collies.  I tell you in all honesty that the merle color is one to be used with utmost care or you’ll regret it.  You can breed any color combinations you wish.  This is the land of the free, but don’t bemoan the long range outcome.

When you speak to people about Collies many recall one from their childhood.  Most were sables with sweet dispositions who loved kids above all else.  If we continue down the road of artificial dogs that need artificial aids to look good and make breedings that are fraught with possible disastrous side effects just because we can do it, don’t expect to have a popular breed.  The AKC won’t stop you and the ethics committee won’t stop you so you can breed anything together including blind dogs.

Entries at most shows are pathetic with only a handful of dogs needed for a major.  The National still draws well because of the social aspect and “the something for everyone” aspect.  If we want what we’re getting please don’t change a thing.  If, on the other hand, you think the Collie deserves better it’s not too late.  Start thinking of the breed we’re supposed to want to improve not your next “major”.  If we don’t, you can just continue to “breed ‘em and weep!” 

Think about it!

How Long to Persevere

How Long to Persevere

The dust has settled on another National.  There will be happy winners and not as happy losers, but it’s always been that way.  We have more winners than in the past because we give out more awards and some even talk about how many “cuts” they made.  It’s all part of the game. 

The old dinosaur has had an interesting past few months.  Fell and cracked my pelvis in October, pneumonia in January and just diagnosed with a hernia that needs surgery.  Getting old is so much fun, particularly when you’re too dumb to admit it.  As the boy said when he swallowed the pincushion, “even this shall pass!”

Dog breeding and dog showing have been changing over the years even though some basics stay the same.  One thing that hasn’t changed is the need to honestly evaluate your dogs.  Some folks drag a dog around forever to get it finished.  Once your dog earns the right to have a “Ch.” or “Gr. Ch.” in front of its name, it’s still the same dog it was before.  Titles are the result of opinions by judges who may or may not be knowledgeable.

I used to tell folks if they took a dog or bitch in good condition, groomed well, and trained properly to ten shows and had no points it was time to quit.  You can drag them around and perhaps finish them eventually, but you still have nothing.  Be honest in your judgement of your dogs, cull ruthlessly, and if you have a good eye you will achieve success.  If you don’t have a good eye for what’s correct, get some help from someone who does.   Some of the pictures I see of dogs who have finished give me the shudders.  The old evaluation game of “it’s my competition dog and it’s no good, it’s my friends dog and it has lots of good points, and it’s my dog and should have won the National if the judge was decent!”  is a sad plot to fall into, but shows how some people think.  (all the same dog)

Frank Sinatra made a lot of money with a song that said among other things “regrets, I’ve had a few!”  It further indicates he did it “his way.”  Whether breeding or showing we all will have some things we wish we’d done differently, but need to have the courage to admit we did it our way.  If you buy a pup that doesn’t turn out, you pay your money and take your chances and when you breed to someone’s stud dog you face the same criteria.  When all is said and done it’s easy to brag about your good decisions, but much harder to not blame someone else for the ones that didn’t turn out so well.

When I was breeding and showing some regrets certainly showed up.  But most weren’t too bad.  A few were not so minor, but they were all my decision and I lived with it.

I had a beautiful bitch courtesy of my friend, Barbara Woodmancy (Ch. Gregshire Little Honeycomb).  She was heavy coated, showed like a champ and finished with four majors when majors were hard to get.  Her first litter produced Ch. Jadene’s Breezalong who won the Naitonal for me in 1967.  Breezalong was sired by my Ch. Gingeor Bellbrooke’s Choice R.O.M., who was a fine sire.  Bellbrooke’s Choice was sired by Bellbrooke’s Master Pilot, an outstanding dog who sired two first rate champions with hardly any opportunity.  I always regretted not having tried breeding Honeycomb to him.

Later I had the good fortune to acquire a bitch who became Ch. Sontaw’s Trudy Fair.  The day she finished at the Cleveland Specialty was a real high point.  Her daughter, Ch. Marnus Evening Breeze won the Kem Sweeps, her son, Ch. Gingeor’s Jack of Tamarack was Winners Dog and Trudy was Best of Winners to take five points and finish.  Days to rival that are few and far between.  The others that come to mind are the Mason-Dixon Specialty under Oren Kem where Phil Blevin had Winners Dog with Gingeor’s Patent Pending, I had Winners Bitch with Gingeor Comanche’s Legacy and Breezalong took the Breed.  There were also two shows where Steve Field gave me both sets of points for Majors.

After that great litter by Breezalong, I thought it made sense to breed Trudy to his sire, Bellbrooke’s Choice because he was a great sire and theoretically would be done at stud sooner because of his age compared to Breezy.  Alas, after winning the C.C. of A.  In 1967 Breezy developed a skin problem, the treatment for which rendered him sterile while his dad was still going strong.  The Evening Breeze litter was never repeated.

Breezalong’s skin problem led to probably my greatest regret as an exhibitor.  In Columbus in 1966 Breezy fought it out with The Clown Prince of Floravale for B.B.  Next year in San Mateo, CA he took B.B. and was top Collie in the country.  In 1968 the C.C. of A. was at the Mason-Dixon C.C.  in Virginia, a show that Breezy had owned.  I believe he won it three years in a row and the judge for B.B. was John Lindeman who had put Breezy up at the C.C. of Conn. and saw him take the group and nearly B.I.S.   The catalog for the 1968 C.C. of A. has a silhouette of a dog and handler on the cover.  It was a silhouette of me showing Breezy and a tribute to a grand dog who the club was honoring.  I know of no other catalog for a National that offered such a tribute.

The folks who decided on the catalog and the rest of the club knew nothing of Breezy’s skin problem.  I had had him to the Univ. of PA School of Veterinary Medicine, but we found no answer better than the low dose of predisone to stop him scratching and chewing.  His coat came in, but in nothing of the former beauty that it had shown.  We went to no shows leading up the the C.C. of A. National

As entry time approached the pressure to show him seemed to intensify.  This dog had a big fan club and the show was in his backyard (I lived in NJ) with a judge who really liked him.  As I sent the entry my thought was still not to take Breezy, but as the show approached I became sure he’d look decent.  To the National we would go!

This is absolutely in no way a reflection of the winner that day, Ch. Noranda Daily Double.  His owner, Dorothy Long, and his handler, Les Canavan always had my whole hearted respect.  “Buster” and Breezy traded wins over the years, so I bear him no ill will in any way.

The only ill will in my heart was of a young fellow from New Jersey who let himself be convinced to show a dog who should have stayed home.  This dog who had carried me to the pinnacle any Collie person could aspire to had been let down by the guy who should have shielded him when he wasn’t his best.  That was my greatest regret and I’ve never forgotten in all these years.  Don’t ever take a dog out that should have stayed home.

Think about it!!!  I still do.

Times - They Are Changing

Times – They Are Changing

As time goes along things change.  Sometimes for the better and sometimes not.  When we talk about things being different than they formerly were, I like to differentiate between change and progress.  Change just means not the same as it was and progress means it’s changed for the better.  As usual I’ll let you decide which is appropriate.

Over the years it’s been my pleasure to judge the CC of A National on three occasions and my good fortune to go Best of Breed twice.  On all five of these occasions it was a one day show with judging going on for dogs and bitches at the same time.  You tried to stagger your entries so you didn’t get caught with two in different rings at once.  In early shows we had futurities where you nominated a bitch’s litter before the pups were whelped.  This was eventually replaced with sweepstakes and now we have puppy class awards.

The point of futurities was to have enough faith in your skill as a breeder to put your money where your mouth was.  It was similar to horses where they nominate for the Kentucky Derby, Breeder’s Cup, etc.  The sweepstakes was something where you could enter any puppy without pre-nomination and gave people a chance to evaluate their pups until entries closed.  Both systems had their supporters.

The National has now grown to a week long event if you want to take in the whole thing.  In addition to the conformation classes and obedience, we now have herding, agility, and a variety of activities with something for almost everyone.  The size of the entries have grown to the point where it takes multiple days to judge and the social aspect has exploded.  In addition to the annual meeting and dinner, we have the Quarter Century Group the Collie Health Foundation, The top Twenty Competition and breeders, judges, and/or grooming seminars.

The CC of A at one time hosted yearly seminars with speakers from allover the country.  Held in the summer when most dogs were out of coat they gave us a chance to learn while not having to worry about the dogs.  Acconeus Collie College in Connecticut and the CC of MD also offered excellent chances to learn and talk about breedings, judges (Oh,boy) and many other things.  Alas these have gone the way of the Dodo bird.

When I first got serious about Collies my mother bought me as a Christmas present a subscription to one of the best dog magazines at the time:  Dog News.  This was not the Dog News of today, but was published monthly by Alice Rosenthal from the same building that housed the Foley Dog Show Organization.  My first issue was the December 1953 issue and had a blue merle Collie and blue merle Sheltie from Ronas Hill Kennels in Canada on the cover.  If my memory is correct the Collie was Ch. Blue Minstrel of Ronas Hill and the Sheltie Ch. Blue Flag of Ronas Hill.

Dog News featured different breeds each month and Collies (which were very popular) always got the Christmas issue.  They had excellent columnists such as W.R. Van Dyck (Honeybrook) and Oren Kem (Lodestone) and had numerous advertisements.  Though the Collies were always first with me, I got to see the best of many other breeds, the breeders, and the handlers.  You also could see who was judging and read about their opinions.  The ads featured stud dogs and litters of puppies for your consideration.  Today’s magazines (of which I get many because of being a judge) seem to be geared toward influencing judges more than anything else and some of the wording is ludicrous.  The idea of describing a judge as the “esteemed” so and so is a bit much.  Most pictures show the judge smiling at the camera as is the handler and some of the handler’s outfits are skimpy to say the least.  It would be nice to see judges and handlers looking at the dog instead of posting as in a screen test.

In addition to some weird outfits on handlers, the judges also have gone over the top.  Male judges are often seen in tuxedos and the ladies have evening gowns slit up the side no doubt to look sexy.  Pardon this old dinosaur, but the focus is supposed to be on the dog not the people.  It may be time to re-evaluate some of our priorities.  Do we want a social event for the enjoyment of people or an experience that promotes better dogs?  Years ago I learned that the best handlers were those who knew how to do the little things that help the dog take center stage while they hid in the background.  Which are you?

Think About It!

Few Good Men or Collies

Few Good Men or Collies

Before I go further I need to thank all those who sent emails or cards during my recent bout with pneumonia.  It was a nasty time, but I’m home now and on the mend.  Unfortunately my wife, Phyllis, falls victim to doing all the outside work for now since I’m forbidden to go out in the cold for a while.  As the boy said when he swallowed the pin cushion, “even this shall pass!”

Tom Cruise has made a number of movies over the years.  One of my personal favorites is “A Few Good Men.”  It got me to thinking as I often do about how it applies to dogs.  Sometimes people get too caught up in the numbers games and that, in my opinion, is a great mistake.  If your goal in dogs is to breed the most champions, win the most shows, have the top studs or brood bitches, that’s nice, but it isn’t always as great as it might seem.  Just because many dog magazines devote half their pages to meaningless statistics does not make them important.  They only cater to those who love the numbers game more than their dogs.

Years ago when I was breeding and showing with considerable success there were never more than a dozen grown dogs in the kennel.  Generally a number were champions and there might be some pups who I hoped would be the next link in the chain.  Breedings were never done to supply a market, but to continue the program with a goal of breeding better Collies.  The pups who didn’t fit my needs were sold and often did quite well for their new owners, but I seldom had more than three or four litters in a year.  Raising puppies right is a job and I had a full time job and three boys to raise plus the grown dogs to care for as well.

Now back then I competed with some breeders who were quite successful and knew of some who preceded me who likewise made quite a record.  The winning and lofty records left me a bit cold at times when I spoke to people who visited some of the kennels.  One place was mentioned with the puppy yard where puppies stood at the fence on several inches of feces.  Another had dogs that were so lacking in socialization and/or good temperament as to have to literally lasso the dogs to catch them.

While I never visited either place I know of some that are very similar.  Too many dogs not only takes the fun out of breeding, but they never get proper care.  We know thru some of the terrible things that come to light such as the nightmare from Alaska that this is true.  There are very few cases such as Bellhaven where the owner’s wealth allows for sufficient kennel help to allow large numbers to be kept.

Raising Collies is not like raising livestock such as cattle or hogs.  You don’t just provide them with food, water, and shelter and expect them to thrive.  The right kind of Collie is born to make its master happy and when you take that away you’re missing the whole point of breeding dogs.

You don’t need to have lots of dogs to do well and have others respect your efforts.  There have been and still are many kennels that are low in numbers, but high in quality. Wayside, Marnus, and Shenstone could compete at the highest level.  Gayle Kaye breeds very few pups, but the Chelsea Collies do just fine I assure you.

Years ago when the CC of A was still putting on seminars to educate breeders we talked about kennels that had laid the foundation for those who came after.  We mentioned Lodestone, Tokalon, Sterling, and Parader among others, but as we dug deeply into Collie history we came upon the “vein of gold” that lay behind all of the notable current dogs.  That vein of gold was the Collies of Charles and Lillian Wernsman and their Arken dogs.  They had an impact on the breed that was phenomenal and showed that we Americans could breed dogs as good as the imported ones.

The Wernsmans had a kennel that seldom had more than twelve dogs of which almost all were sable.  Interesting how many of the successful old breeders stayed away from blues unlike some today who seem to think it’s the only important color.  It was a different time and Collies were much more popular than they are today with the public based on registration numbers.  They were also a breed in those days where owner handlers could be quite competitive.  My how times have changed!

I mean no disrespect to those who handle dogs for others.  Many of them I consider friends and I’ve often told people who didn’t do their dogs justice to get a handler.  My concern is, as it has always been, for the Collie.  If our breed becomes a dog with its appearance geared to a few breeders rather than the public and if so many tricks need to be mastered to show one successfully, then I wonder if we’ve served the Collie well.

Don’t worry about the numbers game and keep what you can properly care for and love.  If that’s too big an order you might try breeding guppies.

Think about it!

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!

Puppies, Puppies, Puppies!

It’s been a long time since we had a puppy here, but we have one now.  She’s three months old and cute as blazes and we’re enjoying her thanks to Kathy and Jerry Zehetner.  Leash breaking, grooming, trimming nails, and feet are all part of her education and it reminds me of how important these things are.  Puppies are the fruits of any breeder’s dreams and they represent the future if things go well.

If puppies are the fruit of our labor and dreams, then the sires and dams are the foundation we build upon.  The dog and bitch that we use to produce our next generation will determine it’s success or failure.  As has been stated many times the two cornerstones for success in a breeding program are health and temperament.  You may achieve some short term success with dogs that fall short in these areas, but sooner or later your house of cards will tumble down.

People sometimes get on the stud dog kick.  Van Dyck used to call it the “who’s he by” syndrome.  The truth is that your brood bitch is just as important.  The people who spend a lifetime trying to upgrade mediocre bitches by breeding to top studs are legion.   People used to ask me how the puppies I had by my studs were often the best that they produced.  My answer was simply that my bitches were top of the line and I knew what kind of bitch worked best with those studs.

Don’t ever forget that “good mothers beget good mothers!”  The stud dog certainly has major influence on those puppies, but in addition to her genetic contribution the bitch contributes mothering that includes producing strong puppies, lots of good milk, and calm temperament.  Years ago my mother bought a tri bitch of impeccable breeding and a real looker.  We bred her to Ch. Windsong Dealer’s Choice, our first champion, and she had a lovely litter of tris and blues.  I whelped the litter and got to endure this bitch laying on the pups until only two were left.  I sent her home to my mother to keep me from killing her.  Other qualities not withstanding, she was worthless.

You plan your breedings carefully and use individuals that can be expected to produce well.  You feed a good ration and provide the bitch with exercise so she comes to whelping with sufficient muscle tone.  She will be up to date on all shots and free of worms, heartworms, and all external parasites.  You will provide her with a place to whelp that is quiet and removed from activity both human and canine.  You will introduce her to this area at least a week before her due date and two weeks is better.  Now all you need are the puppies!

There are so many things that happen once the puppies are whelped.  Routine things such as worming, shots, and good food and water are a given.  If they’re not you shouldn’t have bred a litter at all.  There are other things that you need to do as well, but what works for me may need some tweaking to work for you.  My puppies started having nails trimmed at one week and it was done weekly the rest of their lives.  They get a gentle, rudimentary brushing several times a week as well.  The brushing and nail trims were done in my lap at first and later on the grooming table when they could stand.  They also had a lead put around their necks on the grooming table and little tidbits of steak.  They always were groomed and handled when due to get a meal to make sure they were hungry and in the evening on hot days.

A puppy who has been fed and groomed on the table learns it’s a nice place.  When you set them down they readily follow some food in front of their nose and are lead broken in short order.  Teaching them to pose takes some patience, but it’s important to show a Collie on it’s four good legs, not have them stacked like a Dobe.  Any dog I judge is asked to come to a natural stop when finishing a down and back.

We used to have match shows, both specialty and al-breed, to use for training our puppies.  They duplicated the experience of going to a show and helped training tremendously.  Matches have gone the way of the Do-Do bird and it’s too bad because they were very beneficial.  I guess we’re so busy going to point shows we don’t have time to support matches.  Everyone’s in such a hurry to take points, they forget how to prepare.

Admittedly some people used to show too much at matches and that’s a case of overkill.  Occasional practice at home and a few shows are all a puppy with good disposition needs.  I never showed puppies too hard since every day a pup is at a show is a day it doesn’t eat and exercise normally.  They need to do both to grow properly.  Don’t let’s be like the owners of Thoroughbreds who race two year olds rather than let the horses mature.  If we’re breeding dogs that have to do their winning as puppies, we may be breeding the wrong kind of Collies.

Think about it!