Comment to 'The Politics of Dog Shows: Influences on Breeders and Canine Morphology'
Comment to The Politics of Dog Shows: Influences on Breeders and Canine Morphology

  • Well thought out and written. Personally I don’t blame AKC but I do believe they share a portion of the responsibility in this. I put most of the blame on the enthusiasts. I believe they have taken the importance off function and made it about aesthetics. That coupled with greed from the potential profiting from creating the impossible perfect canine. I have heard many times from many puppy peddlers and have seen it all over their websites. Their interest is in improving the breed. To imply that you want to improve the breed speaks volumes. It says that there is something wrong with the breed and it needs to be amended. I and I alone is going to create the perfect dog. On the other hand the work dog clubs, etc equally are the problem. This community often will breed anything trying to create the impossible perfect working dog. Their ideal of the perfect dog will change urge the wind. The create excessive size to undersized dogs. The inbreed until the dogs produce small litter or no litters at all. The dog becomes infertile.

    These two groups should realize the dog is perfectly flawed. It doesn’t need to be improved. The only thing they they will do is to exaggerate the problem with puppy peddlers. Every dog has flaws. You can’t breed the flaws out. No line will produce the perfect show or working dog. This has been proven time and time again. The so called working line does not guarantee that a new pup will be a great working dog. Neither does a so called show line won’t guarantee that the new pup will be best in show.

    • These two groups should realize the dog is perfectly flawed. It doesn’t need to be improved. The only thing they will do is to exaggerate the problem with puppy peddlers. Every dog has flaws. You can’t breed the flaws out. No line will produce the perfect show or working dog. This has been proven time and time again. The so-called working line does not guarantee that a new pup will be a great working dog. Neither does a so-called show line guarantee that the new pup will be best in show.

      Well said! I wish many more dog enthusiasts though the way you dog. Another group of people profess to preserve their breed of choice, but this is also incorrect as they make their tweaks through selective breeding to get their version of the perfectly "preserved" dog.

      The best way to preserve a breed is to restore them to their normal functions and encourage the performance of such functions in habitats suitable for their work. Many of the functions of dogs were transferred by modern methods of living, farming, and controlling animals and brigands through fencing and urban sprawl.

      @eliteguardianpresa @Elite Guardian Presa keep up your great work with the   I hope people looking for a Presa Canario will seriously consider your program and if they meet your requirements take home a functional, stable dog.

      • Personally I have been on both sides. I was strictly working dogs. Speaking negative things about showing dogs. I've heard the claim that they were only producing pretty dogs. My dogs can win but I don't have time to show. While I now compete in the show ring I don't call my dogs show dogs. They don't have show careers. I don't enter them in show after show. I get an impartial judge that says my dog meet the standard for my breed. I also compete in a variety of working dogs events. I don't emphasize show dogs over working dogs. My dogs are working dogs. That's the purpose of the breed. The term working dog can mean a variety of things. I believed in my youth that it was bite work. But I've learned that it can be obedience, herding, hunting, racing and much more. Dogs are much happier doing things that they were bred to do and other things that stimulate them.

        • Another great comment by @eliteguardianpresa @Elite Guardian Presa - there is a confluence of show beauty and working conformation. Sometimes the lines are blurred to the point of obscurity and then the "breed" will have problems with morphology and function.