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in movies or on TV has been replaced by a sad collection of nightmarish special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!
