Liesje
Blue Crack Addict
Thank you, yolland. I distinguish between promoting and improving the breed because I think "improvement" is really an impossible, impractical goal. The breed, as the standard requires and as was originally designed and intended is, IMO, perfect, but that is only a standard. No dog is perfect. I have my idea of what I think most closely matches the standard, and someone else might have a totally different idea. When I strongly feel I have such a dog, I want to "promote" my interpretation of the standard and show off my dog.
I don't really enjoy showing dogs (as in, conformation shows) but I feel that my dogs ARE correct in their conformation so I present them to a judge. If I were to offer my males at stud, I can't go around saying "my dogs are correct, move well, this and that..." and then have a bunch of excuses not to show them. I do not purchase a dog with a single goal in mind, I purchase a dog that has a combination of many traits I'm looking for and then go from there. If I wanted only to win conformation shows, I'd have much different dogs. In German shepherds there is a HUGE (IMO, irreconcilable) split between American show line dogs, German show line dogs, and working line dogs (the latter including all west German, DDR, Czech, Slovak, Dutch, and Belgian lines/types). When I enter a show already I am outside the American show line mold because I am showing west German working line and west German show line dogs. However with a dog I truly feel is correct, I have not had much trouble getting show titles and top ratings. There is the rating/title and then the actual place/rank. My dogs will never place high, they will not be winning the Group and competing in the Best in Show ring, but they are fully capable of earning the show champion titles, winning ribbons in the breed ring (winning against other GSDs in their class), and obtaining the highest ratings possible under the German system.
As far as working line GSDs go, the majority of breeders and competitors with these dogs have nothing to do with showing them. GSDs have something called the "breed survey". Once the dog is 2+ years old, has obtained either a Schutzhund or HGH (large flock herding) title, has received at least one show rating of "G" (gut/good) or better, and has the hips and elbows evaluated under the German system, the dog can be presented for the breed survey. There are a good number of working line breeders and competitors that DO use the breed survey system, mostly people who take conformation into account or maybe use it as a marketing point, that their dogs are correct and versatile. I think many of the working line dogs that do not do a breed survey would be perfectly capable of it but often the owners want nothing to do with anything even remotely related to "showing" a dog.
I am somewhat of a title collector as well. Most big time breeders and competitors focus on one area - Schutzhund or conformation/show, depending on the type of dog they prefer. I do Schutzhund (which includes tracking, obedience, and protection), conformation, herding, agility, dog diving, lure coursing, personal protection.... Because I do not breed and have so few dogs I can dabble in as many things as I like. Pan will be more of a Schutzhund dog because that is where he is best suited and could be a much higher level competition dog than Nikon. Nikon is more of a "jack of all trades, master of none".
The shows I attend are great socialization for puppies and young dogs. Since it's not at the top of my priority list as far as being competitive in this venue, I show puppies and young dogs, and once they are adult they have hopefully received their Champion title and "retire" from conformation unless I have extra time or money which isn't likely! I tend to front-load the conformation events since the Schutzhund training doesn't kick in until after teething and agility cannot be started until the dog is physically more mature in their joints. It's a very chaotic atmosphere, a great opportunity to expose the dog to many other dogs and people in close quarters, lots of noises and smells, having a judge "manhandle" the dog, being in a crate in a new environment, etc.
As for the Border Collie article, I agree with you. BC's are usually considered the "smartest" dog but that takes several factors into account. The BC is fairly biddable, a breed of dog bred to work closely with humans and enjoy a relationship with humans. There is drive, but then there is the threshold. A dog that is hyper and almost neurotic in how it acts towards the handler and how fast it seems to learn is not necessarily "drive". I prefer a dog with high drives AND a high threshold. This combination is more of a clear-headed, thinking dog. If you want a dog that is very fast, flashy, snappy looking obedience then you want a dog with high prey drive and a lower threshold so it learns at that neurotic pace. Some of the herding breeds like BCs and Aussies have that higher prey drive and a lower threshold and also have a bit sharper nerve, more of a reactive dog. Not always a bad thing, just depends on what you want and why you want it.
Belgian Malinois are another great example of very high drive dogs that almost look out of their minds doing obedience because they are SO precise and flashy. In the Schutzhund protection routine there is an exercise where the dog must heel alongside the handler five paces behind the helper (the attacker) and then the helper will turn and attack them. The dog is supposed to defend the handler. I was recently watching a trial video of this girl who has this Malinois that has amazing obedience, and during this exercise the dog was doing such a prancy, flashy "heads-up" heel looking straight up into the handler's eyes that he missed the attack! The helper was nearly on the handler by the time the dog noticed and counter attacked. In the grand scheme of things it was only a few points lost, but this is again where people differ between wanting high points or wanting a clear dog. Nikon may not prance around like a pony during his protection routine but never in a million years would he miss an attack on me. That dog's prey drive is so over the top in obedience mode that it clouds the dog's ability to think and be wary of his environment. I would trade 30 points from my obedience routines to have a dog that never misses an attack on the handler. But, it goes back to the beginning...I have my idea of what is correct, an someone else has theirs...
He looks really good!!!!
