Mike you are incredible dude! I can't imagine a more thorough thoughtful answer to my question. You bring up a great point about judges not being completely aware of the standard and then because the dog is winning in the ring it is perpetuated in other breedings.
I really found the article about the correlation between the rich dark tan coat and the "blue" coloration fascinating. That is something I will be evaluating in future breedings. I think we have the same problem in the US where the judges ignore or forget that the blue is in the standard and put up darker dogs. I have seen some lighter colored dogs do really well too, my boy is on the lighter side and has done alright. It may sound like "splitting hairs" (pun intended) but I think it's important if the goal is perfection. The biggest enemy of being great is being "pretty good". Your historical research and big picture thinking is invaluable. You, my friend, are brilliant. Thank you.
It's really interesting, in my conversations with breeders at the shows, there really seems to be a consensus that Europeans are excellent breeders. In fact, many friends of mine feel that overall there are more good breeders in Europe than in the US. The American perspective is that Europe is older and therefore has more families that have bred dogs for generations and it shows in their breedings. In the US that is less common. This may be a total tangent but I'm curious what the perception of American breeders and dogs are in Europe? I know Americans are not always beloved overseas for a variety of reasons. But i'm curious about the perception of our dogs.
Yet again, this thread shows how incredibly difficult it is to breed Yorkies, you really have to study the breed relentlessly and have the curiousity to ask questions when there is something you don't know. I ask a lot of questions. |