says HAVE STRICTER BREEDING LAWS AFFECTED YOUR BREEDING PROGRAM? IF SO, HOW? WHAT CAN BE DONE TO REVERSE PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF PUREBRED DOG BREEDING? showmanship judge and also participate in a wide variety of AKC events. My daughter was also a successful junior handler (she won best junior handler at Westminster
commercial kennel, I breed and raise my puppies in my home). —Anonymous
What can be done to reverse public perception of pure- bred dog breeding? Breeders need to get the message out what it means to be reputable. 1. Guarantee that you will take back any puppy for its lifetime so that no dog you or any reputable breeder pro- duces could ever end up in a shelter. 2. Perform the health tests recommended by your Nation- al breed club and get CHIC numbers on all bitches/dogs prior to breeding. 3. Support your puppy owners! Answer their questions, texts, emails, etc. so that they get through the tough times and don’t give up on their dogs before they mature. Surrendering/rehoming periods are often highest at sev- eral key times: puppyhood, adolescence and end of life. Be sure to check in with your puppy people in all these time frames. Help them when health problems come up, because they will. The worst thing a breeder can do is become defensive. Most people just want support, not blame. 4. Help people find reputable breeders even when you don’t have puppies to offer. This will help prevent them from going to irresponsible sources. 5. Support your breed rescue in anyway you are able. Transport, donation, foster or public education are all areas of need. When we collectively contribute to this mission we will effectively reduce the numbers that end up in rescue. 6. Support “meet the breeds” events to help the public learn about purebred dogs, reputable breeders and see the benefit. 7. Only breed as many litters as you can while still performing all of the above. If you breed so many litters that you cannot support your puppy people, educate the public or complete health testing then you are doing a disservice to purebred dogs. 8. Only breed quality specimens and strive to improve the breed based on the breed standard and the breed’s purpose. 9. Never excuse a bad temperament! 10. Involve your kids! They are the future of our sport! Clubs should offer enticing prizes, scholarships and fun activities so children continue to participate. Our breed- ing program (Willorunn Vizslas) is a three-generation family affair with our first litter produced in 1983. My mother is an AKC field trial and hunt test judge. She participates in show, field, agility and other events. I was a junior handler and now I am a licensed AKC junior
Kennel Club in 2012) and she has been apprenticing under professional handlers for many years with a goal of becoming a professional herself after she graduates from college. We need our sport to become a “family affair” again for it to survive. If you do all of the above, please continue breed- ing! In addition to breeding your own litters, please con- sider mentoring new breeders in your breed so that your knowledge can be shared. We need people like you. —Dr. Rachel Romano Kelly Stricter breeding laws have not affected my breeding pro- gram. There are several such surveys out there by AKC and affiliates. In my opinion the first thing to do is make breeders stand behind their stock and stop screwing over unsuspect- ing people by selling off their inferior stock. No names need be mentioned because we all already know these people because they are our peers. AKC seems to have a deaf ear these days in excusing breeders and exhibitors for bad conduct.I know from person- al experience with AKC. In my day if you registered a litter with false papers, your dog show career was over. Now they just don’t register the litter and move on. No consequences, what else have these people done under false pretense. Money has cause all these problems, promoting dogs to number one status. Promoting judges the number one status who continue to push and support the dogs to those posi- tions. I’m guilty myself but I have since changed my opinion. I have down sized my kennel to ten dogs and grapple with going to my next show every time I think about where this sport has gone. I feel like many, I am on my way out also. Forty years and driven out by politics and expenses. It’s a handlers sport now there’s no place for breeder, own- er, handler anymore. —Ray & Donald Palmerino Learn all you can about a new program called Canine Care Certified and then sign up for It! It is a good way to separate yourself from bad actors. —Anonymous Definitely. Great Question; disregard the quantity and con- centrate on the conditions of the how the dogs live and they themselves look: clean, brushed, healthy, running around. —Julie Clemen No, I adhere to the Havanese Club of America guide- lines, which are much more intense than any other laws. —Anonymous
“INVOLVE YOUR KIDS! THEY ARE THE FUTURE OF OUR SPORT!”
146 • S how S ight M agazine , A pril 2018
Powered by FlippingBook