Judge Not - Lest Ye Look Stupid

Judge Not – Lest Ye Look Stupid

That quote is not exactly from the Bible, but it may come from the Dinosaur’s journal.  We all have been guilty at times of coming to conclusions without sufficient insight into why people do what they do.  In the dog game the target is most often the dog show judge and exhibitors often question the validity of the judge’s expertise particularly when they don’t fare well at a show.  It’s amazing how smart some judges are when they finally see the light and put our dogs up for a good win.

In my years as an exhibitor there were judges who put my dogs up with some regularity and some that I just couldn’t win under at all.  It was easy to question their eyesight, lack of integrity or jealousy because I beat them at another show.  Bottom line was that as my dogs became more competitive and I became more adept at training and grooming, I won more.  Some judges may have not liked my type of Collie and some may not have liked me, but you just save your money and don’t show there.

If you stay with the dog game long enough you will win some when you don’t know how it happened and lose some for the same reason.  Years ago at two specialties in Ohio there were two very different results.  The first day my bitch entry took Winners and a five point major over the Winners Bitch at the National.  My special, who was sire of the Winners Bitch, defeated the Best of Breed at the National.  Now both my exhibits were good Collies, but in my opinion, not that good.  No, I did not refuse the awards.

The second day the winners at the National (which I had judged) took Winners Bitch and the National BB took the Best of Breed.  So you ask was I happy?  The answer is that I was happy for two good deserving winners, but not so happy with some of the judging earlier.  It can get very confusing and both judges had put me up before and would put me up again, so it was a matter of you pay your money and take your chances.  When you’ve judged for a while (over forty years for me) you find that sometimes you can’t put up something you really like because it’s not in top shape, isn’t moving or showing well, or just happened to encounter a better one on that day.

In October I look forward to doing the CC of Nebraska’s 100^th Specialty.  No I was not there for the first one, but have judged there on several occasions.  It was a great favorite of mine, because  I got to visit with Steve Field who was and is a legend in the breeding of purebred Collies.  The last time I judged there Steve was in a nursing home and our visit was still rewarding.  He passed away not long after that, but the memories linger.

As mentioned in a previous blog, I hope to see some good Collies though it is early in the season for coats.  It would be nice not to have to excuse any for makeup, but my white handkerchief will be at the ready.  Illness and injury and an aversion to airline travel have had me grounded recently, but the dogs continue to beckon.

Read a recent article in Collie Expressions regarding Collie rescue.  Various groups have done great work for our breed over the years.  Many problems develop because people have too many dogs and just can’t properly care for them.  Often the problem stems from so called “breeders” who can’t select what they should keep or can’t do it at a reasonable age so they keep most of the litter.  They seem to be afraid to let a good one go elsewhere.  These folks probably shouldn’t be breeding at all in my opinion.  The fiasco from Alaska and the boondoggle in Tennessee are classic examples of too many dogs and rescue groups and just Collie people saved the day.

While I admire anyone who steps up to help Collies in distress, sometimes you encounter some weird criteria.  Over the years we have twice been found unacceptable to adopt Collies that were trying to find a home.  We have adopted several with no problem, but their reasons reminded us that being impossibly judgmental can defeat the basic purpose of finding a dog a good home.  The first case was a bitch in a foster home that would not release her because we don’t let dogs on the furniture.  The second case recently was due to our having an intact six year old male who has never and will never be bred. Since our bitches are all spayed, there was no reason to expose him to unneeded surgery.  In sixty five years in Collies I have never seen a case of testicular cancer and this dog does not run loose ever!

We need guidelines in dog shows and we need guidelines in finding suitable homes for dogs.  You don’t fake color on dogs in dog shows and you don’t adopt out a dog to an unfenced yard or someone without a vet recommendation.  Reasonable guidelines are the result of legitimate needs. Unreasonable expectations are often the result of bureaucratic muscle flexing which defeats the intended purpose.

Think about it!!

Of This and That

Of This and That

What has caused our Collies to slip from the public graces will no doubt, be discussed for years.  It’s a lot of reasons, some of which breeders can control, and some not so easy.  When the public thinks Collie they think sable and white attractively marked Rough Collie.  That doesn’t mean no one thinks otherwise, but that’s what the average “Joe” thinks of about Collies.  Many Roughs have more coat than “Joe” can handle and we’ve sensitized him and all the veterinarians about eye problems.  We also have a fascination with the blue color which is ok for breeders, but not what “Joe” wants.

This fascination with blues has people doing strange things, in  my opinion.  They’re breeding blue to blue and sable-merle to blue or sable-merle with no concern for blind or deaf double dilutes.  Heck if you’re lucky you may even make an ROM out of one of the blind little devils.  Some breeders may excuse this, but poor old “Joe” probably won’t like such things.  We can breed almost anything we, as breeders want, but please don’t expect “Joe” to like it.

While I don’t advocate breeding just for the public pet market, I do think we must expect to “reap what we sow!”  If we insist on doing exotic things don’t expect everyone to like it.

The ROM designation has its opponents as well as its advocates and that’s understandable.  Some feel it encourages too much breeding and showing inferior specimens.  At very least in this day of many shows and many champions each year, it might be appropriate to move the bar higher to qualify.  Whether anything can be done to eliminate dogs with disqualifying faults is another matter.

It would be wildly speculatory to guess at which dogs or bitches designated ROM have been guilty of passing on genetic problems.  We have eye problems (CEA and PRA), Lethal Gray Factor, subluxation, and a wild litany of skin and coat disorders.  The real line is drawn not by some committee or individual who tells you who to breed to, but by each breeder’s knowledge.

We know for instance that years ago Terhune wrote about breeding a blind bitch.  Years later a breeder offered me a beautiful bitch who was blind on a puppy deal bred to his champion stud.  I declined, not because I knew it was genetic, but because I questioned if she could care for her puppies.  This was before Richard Donovan and others started to do eye clinics.  The clinics were to check for CEA (Collie Eye Anomoly) and all my dogs went to the first one nearby.  My stud dog’s pedigrees all had a copy of their eye checks.

Some years later we became aware of an even more insidious nightmare in or breed.  PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) did not show up in routine puppy eye checks for CEA which did not change as the dog aged.  PRA often took several years to be apparent based on what we knew then.  Breeding stock (particularly studs) could produce a number of puppies before PRA reared its ugly head.  The solution that many suggested was to breed your studs to a blind bitch, assuming that if he was clear the pups would be carriers, but not blind.  Blind puppies would mean your dog was a carrier.

All this was going on about when I was getting ready to move to Michigan.  One of my studs was “rumored” to be a carrier.  He was withdrawn from public stud even though I had some doubts.  I know the timing made a lot of test breeding impossible and my stomach turned at purposely acquiring and breeding blind dogs.  Consulting with Dr. Lionel Rubin at the University of PA School of Veterinary Medicine, he told me an interesting theory.  He had seen a bitch and stud with normal eyes produce puppies that resembled PRA blindness when the bitch carried a fever while in whelp.  Of course, today we have much more reliable methods of checking without producing blind puppies.

The time when I bred Collies had to end with the move to Michigan.  The one litter whelped in Michigan was from an accidental breeding.  Whether there really was a problem I don’t know.  There was considerable “witch hunting” going on and since I was a well known breeder and winner, I made a good target.  What I did not do was blame Steve Field, Gus Sigritz, Brian Carabine, John and Ada Guiliano or Bill Van Dyck for what I had.  My breeding decisions were mine and you pay your money and take your chances. 

My views on breeding, by the way, have nothing to do with my outlook as a judge.  When judging we observe animals presented to us to judge according to a standard.  Their genetic makeup and any problems therein are not on trial.  If it were otherwise you might need to show me an eye check and health certificate rather than train, groom and show your dog.  We all know that’s not how it works.

Whether we’re breeding for the “perfect Collie” or for a healthy happy, attractive dog (which can be the same animal) we should always keep the good of this grand breed as our foremost goal.  Ribbons, rosettes, titles and ego should take a back seat in our plans.  Guard the title of breeder jealously.  Terhune wrote that we’re gods to our dogs.  Don’t ever let that feeling extend to your opinion of yourself.

Think about it!!