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Originally Posted by swan  Wow, there were some really cool responses a lot of stuff I never thought of before. I hope I didn't indicate that I want to change the breed standard that was not my intention.
Its really interesting to see how everyone has there own preferences, even the most experienced connoisseurs.
I like Gemy's idea of a point system, that's thinking outside the box, I would imagine such an idea if formally introduced to the AKC would be subject to backlash. Which kind of makes me like it more. If you have a good dog, new judging standards wont hurt you.
I had never heard of the three strike rule, but it makes a lot of sense.
My modest proposal, would be that weight's be listed along with the owner/breeder/sire/dam in the entry. Not to disqualify, but to add data that could be analyzed. The only reason I use weight is because it is the only specific number listed in the entire standard. |
The three strike rule is more of a guideline not a rule. If you get into breeding it is advisable to do some heavy thinking about your breed, what you like, what you don't, how important is this or that trait in the context of the whole of your breed. And of course endless hours of discussion with learned breeders to truly understand their point of view. Most of us could talk dogs almost all day :-).
ANd at sometime in your breeding life, You and only You, will need to make the decision to breed or not to breed this dog or not. You might have spent big$$ investing in this lad or lass, to look one day and say, Wow I don't think this one is going to add to the breed, it is helpful to have an evaluative form to try and dispassionately fill out, and self assess your dog. And of course to seek the advice of a few trusted experienced breeders.
We can't help but be subjective, we are vulnerable to all the human frailities, one of which is to over-weight what we like, and undervalue what is a fault or a flaw, and we adore our dogs, so it is easy to do.
One of the first things my now Russian mentor said to me, when I asked her opinion of one of my females, through the translator (lol), was do you want the truth? My answer was an un-equivocal yes. Well I got it. 3rd class dog, not breed worthy, pet her out. There was a lot more to the response but that was the conclusion. I had earlier pulled her from the Canadian show scene, as I did not like what I was seeing. She was never bred! Although I had a lot of pressure to breed her, from a renowned Russian breeder of this gal. She came from august lineage, but she herself was a poor representative of the breed. Hers was about the 10th opinion I solicited from breeders in the USA and in Canada.
A very respected and experienced judge and breeder, said to us, Don't bring to me (in the ring) what can be finished, but what Should Be Finished! Words to live by. Only you know the full and complete health of your dog, you have done the health screenings so you know at this point in time this dog is healthy, you live with them, you watch them move, and interact with ppl and other dogs. You have examined their teeth, you know if a tooth is missing, or broken. You know if your dog has allergeries, or is fear aggressive.
And there will be little or big dilemmas in your show life, like during winter one year Magic came up with Snow Nose. We went to the dermatologist did the requisite testing, and it was idiopathic in nature, but it is a major fault to have for our breed, and he was being readied for a very large and prestigious show, by invitation only. So what was I to do? I decided not to enter him, and to see if that nose of his cleared up, which it did, it took about a year, but even now he has a beautifull black nose. We don't know why it happened or why it cleared up, but I was not going to resort to a *dye* on his nose to enter him into a show. Other breeders might have elected differently.
Anyhow just some more thoughts to ponder in your free moments :-)