12-05-2023
Today I was removed by the admin of a social media group called Breeding and Whelping Advice for Ethical Breeders. I reported four other members for playing a game where people join groups and start drama just to collect LMAO icons. Apparently the admin was one of those too because she came back to say she didn’t want people like me in the group because I don’t health test my dogs. I was berated by the other people because I don’t title my dogs. When I looked into them three out of four had those newer sketchy type profiles that don’t really tell you much and you can tell there isn’t something right. The fourth was a little more detailed, but this guy claimed to be this ethical breeder and didn’t have a whole lot on his page. None of them had anything about breeding, they were mostly self-promoting as trainers and handlers. There was just a lot of bashing going on for the sport of it and I would have left if the admin hadn’t removed me. This is why I hate social media. Those type of people are why I don’t show dogs too.
I used to, back in the 90’s. I had fun at first, going different places with my friend and our Belgians, supporting each other and helping each other do better each time. It quickly became un-fun though. First, it was expensive. No rich person who just wants to have a champion on their resume was backing us, we paid for everything out of our own pockets. The “professional” handlers were paid to win and they didn’t get top money if they didn’t win and they outright cheated. Sharlie and I were doing well our last year and she was one leg away from her title. We were heading into the que to enter the ring and another handler slapped her across the face with a program. She didn’t do ANYTHING, she was in a perfect heel at my side, didn’t even look at his dog and he HIT her! Tari and her dog Tosha had similar incidents. We just stopped going and I have no desire to put up with that anymore.
I don’t have the desire to put up with Social Media BS either. It’s ridiculous to me how these people behave. In this particular incident, one of them responded to my response to another nasty comment on my post where I said I quit showing because of the unethical behavior in the show ring with; “you stopped showing because no one wanted to deal with your shit bred dogs anymore..” (he doesn’t know anything about my dogs). Yet, he has a post on his profile that is in response to something on a Dog Showing and Handling page, “With how nasty the dog world is and how much rule breaking and code violations we see, we NEED an outlet to share vital information about controversy in our community…”. Another response to my post “begging me to listen to myself” read, “so you’re claiming OFA is unreliable (yes, I can show you the research on this) and unnecessary (I didn’t say that, but I do think it’s unnecessary to spend money on an unreliable test unless there are other indicators), because white is naturally occurring it can and should be bred for (she ran that out of context and what does the gene for white have to do with x-rays?), annndddd what else?” Then she insults my great grandfather and the legacy I am trying to rebuild by saying, “That because some old fart 70 year ago bred a dog a certain way that makes it right?” YES IT DOES.
This generation of people is just scary. They are insulting and have no filters. They go off on whatever tangent they feel like with no real insight or knowledge at all and contradict themselves constantly – evidence to me that they are just out for getting a rise out of people and causing issues where there doesn’t need to be any.
I do not x-ray my dogs UNLESS my vet and/or I think there is a reason to. I am having Rebyl and Maxx x-rayed because of injuries. As long as they are having the x-rays for another reason I will spend the extra $40.00 to submit them to OFA for evaluation. But I will trust my vet and my vet’s colleague’s second opinion about those x-rays more than OFA because I have reliable research showing that the OFA determinations are consistently incorrect. I think its unethical to tell a buyer that a dog is “better” because it’s OFA certified. I’m sorry, but I do. I disagree with the parent club’s requirements and I don’t hide that fact. I can’t claim to be bred with H.E.A.R.T. because I don’t follow the GSDCA’s guidelines to claim that. I have found numerous breeders on AKC Marketplace who claim it, but don’t follow the guidelines. I think THAT is unethical. I think what has happened to the GSD in the past few decades of selective breeding in America is unethical. To me the show ring is ruining the breed. I think the GSDCA should do more to regulate what’s happening in the show ring and follow the standard, not claim to. Look at the original dogs. Read the standard Von Stephanitz wrote and just look at the dog. The German Shepherd was already perfect, why did confirmation ring breeders think they needed to change it? I don’t title my dogs because of the reasons I’ve mentioned before so I can’t be a Breeder of Merit. I also don’t charge my buyers for the cost of titling my dogs. Through research, confirmed by my vet, I learned that there is a new test that is a very reliable pre-test for dysplasia. It tests for inflammatory markers in the blood. These show up before every case (in the studies) of dysplasia. I test for this before I breed my dogs and wait until they are two to breed them. I won’t overbreed my dogs either. I also won’t breed them if they are not breed worthy. I genetically test my dogs to make sure I am not combining recessive traits for things like DM. I share all of these results with my buyers. My breeding stock is not temperament tested, and I in-house test my puppies, so I can’t be CHIC certified either. I was a dog trainer for a long time and worked with a lot of problem dogs and puppies. I gain nothing by lying about a puppies temperament and won’t because knowing its temperament helps you train it and avoid problems. I can’t give my buyers advice without being honest with the evaluation of the puppy. You are buying a GSD, if you expect it to not chew things up, run at mach-oh-sh**, and chase everything then you do not want a GSD. All dogs need to be trained and socialized, that should be understood by all for every breed, but an outside temperament test when a dog is 18 months old doesn’t tell you anything about it’s genetics and does tell you a lot about how it was raised.
I believe in what my great grandfather told me decades ago, “If you start breeding look for white dogs, they won’t be messed with as much”. Genetically this makes sense. I have a biology degree and studied genetics my entire life either academically or on the farm in various breeding programs. Yet, according to a breeder who has white GSD’s I’m “indoctrinated and completely wrong” about everything. Look at Elle. She has a white parent. She is more true to the original breed, she looks like a former champion – BEFORE fad took over. Just look at her. If you don’t think she is a gorgeous German Shepherd Dog then find a dog you do think is beautiful. It won’t hurt my feelings, but don’t attack my dogs because the show ring disqualifies a white coat (and Elle isn’t white either…). THAT’S THE ONLY REASON: THE CONFORMATION RING DISQUALIFIES A WHITE COAT…white GSD’s are allowed to compete and title in every other arena of dog sports EXCEPT conformation. The only thing different about them is that they are white. That’s it. And only because even Stephanitz succumbed to peer pressure and removed reference to all wolf-ancestors from the lineage.
I lay awake at night worrying about my puppies too. I hope with all my heart I have done everything I can to produce a good GSD puppy. I have invested so much time, money, and emotion into my dogs. Every little limp, cry, wobble, cough…makes me worry. I breed German Shepherds as true to the original standard as I can. I did not go into this lightly. I do not do this for money, fad, or fame. I do this because I want others to have a strong, healthy working companion. I agonized about x-raying all the dogs and I consulted with my vet and researchers. I think I made the best choice for our program. There are cases of litters of puppies whose parents are both OFA Excellent and the puppies all had dysplasia, so how can we possibly know and prevent this from happening? I do my best, I observe, I test, I feed and exercise with care. I’m honest and open. All I can do I feel I have done for the betterment of the breed.