how many champions on a pedigree

[JulieM]

Originally posted by Debbie Magon
Not me.
I sell to what I believe is the right home for the pup.
That has always been my first prioritory.
Anything else such as joint ownership or show /breeding rights, is a bonus.
Guess that puts me in the not too good breeder list?

Not at all, Debbie - the point was that an obvious non-breeding quality dog will be sold on a limited registration and on a spay/neuter contract, and a dog that is sold with breeding "rights" and full registration is placed more carefully and, if the buyer is a novice, with controls in place so that indiscriminate breeding is avoided. You have to keep in mind that in the US we have a *huge* problem with backyard breeding and pet overpopulation - placing an intact dog with no spay/neuter contract and no pre-breeding requirements is like giving a toddler a loaded gun.

Of course, the best interests of the puppy must be considered - but the best interests of the breed are important as well, and with the small gene pool and widespread health concerns we're facing in North America, it behooves every breeder to try to keep their quality dogs available for breeding.

The very best dogs I have seen and used at stud were NOT champions and most of them reside on their families couch.
Here in NZ I wouldnt give many champions a second glance.
They are NOT made up on their true to standard merits, but more to their true to owner status!

Yes, we hear that in the US a lot as well. Here, it's mostly sour grapes. There are plenty of owner-handled dogs finishing their championship every weekend. The caveat is that the owner-handler must know how to show a dog - and many don't!

It might be a bit different in America but plenty of show people from there, tell me frequently how dogs are made up by such and such who is a top well known handler and was paid a pretty penny to get the dog titled!

LOL - are those people who have finished dogs? I will agree that many of the "top" dogs in the breed are put there by money - but there are hundreds of champion dogs that never go for the rankings, and who honestly deserve their title.

So in my opinion, every dog should be evaluated on its own merits by someone who is impartial and qualified to do so.

Absolutely. And in the US, the easiest way to have this done is to go to dog shows.

The only time a pedigree is of any real use is to check on the ancestors state of health, temperament, longelivety and structual conformation.

I also like to see what different combinations of lines have produced, and what traits are likely to be 'drug up' from a past ancestor. While some championships are not worth the paper they're written on, the majority indicate a quality animal. The best examples of the breed come from pedigrees with large numbers of champions and producers - they aren't all due to politics. (Maybe in NZ it is, but not in the US.)

The point, which I've gone way off of is that a responsible breeder does not allow their dogs to be bred indiscriminately, and that showing and championships are not the end-all, be-all of determining quality, but they are useful tools and just one piece of the puzzle.

 

[scott95]

Yes I have sent an email to Carol to get her opinion and any help that should would be able to give. As far as the breeder that I got Jackson from, we do still keep in contact, and she has seen pictures but has not seen him in person due to the distance. She had said though when I purchased him, that she may come back to me so he could possibly be bred to one of her other females. I do not see that happening though since she is out in NV now. I was told that the ears had to be done in order to show him, so that is now news to me that they don't have to be. May have to look into that then too.