Showsight - July 2017

BECOMING• JacquelynFogel continued

ing a Tesla or a Formula 1 Ferrari is just a car. Being reasonably successful in dogs is not the same as developing a line of dogs that are consistent in their look, soundness and ability. Developing a line is hard work at the beginning, but gets easier as your mind opens to new thoughts and ideas. As long as those ideas have a basis in thoughtful research and objectivity without kennel blind- ness, they can take a breeder to a good place. I find very few breeders aspire to build a line these days –most being con- tent with being reasonably successful. It’s unfortunate, but not unexpected in these days of instant gratification. As a result, I think the overall quality of our dogs is suffering because few breeds have developed lines that are consis- tent in quality, temperament and health. A well-developed line can be a godsend if a casual breeder is trying to add a characteristic or improve on a fault. A solid line will be a good place to go to pick up something in even an occasion- al breeding program. I also worry that few people read pedigrees anymore. I arrived at this thought after being approached by several foreign breeders interested in finding a Willow Wind bedlington now that David Ramsey has died. The last litter whelped at David’s house will carry his Willow Wind ken- nel name, but they are mostly dogs from my own line – originally foundationed on the Willow Wind bloodline from 20 years ago. Most of the dogs in the pedigree carry my own kennel name, or other kennel names that had incorporated Willow Wind into their pedigrees at some previous time. But without the Willow Wind prefix, it seems nobody knows what to look for. Even basic pedigree research can reveal whether a dog is predominantly line- bred or outcrossed, and that will determine the usefulness of that dog in another’s pedigree. When I started breeding better bassets, I knew exactly what bloodlines used pre- dominantly Lyn Mar Acres dogs, and which were founda- tioned on Santana-Mandeville. Those two dominant lines produced very distinct characteristics and it was (and still is) important to know what came along with those lines. I think interest in purebred dogs is returning. Now we just need to encourage interest in breeding them. We need to kindle the same kind of spark that was kindled in me when I whelped my first litter of bassets. Then we need to encourage the development of recognizable, solid lines of purebred dogs. That will be good for all breeders, casual and serious, and the dog-adoring public as well. n Jackie Fogel got her first purebred basset in 1969, but her real education in the world of AKC dogs and shows started in 1979 when she moved to Wisconsin and whelped her first home-bred champion. In 1995 Jackie got a bedlington terrier from David Ramsey of the famous Willow Wind line. She has bred and shown numerous #1 bedlingtons, and continues to actively breed both bassets and bedlingtons. In 2007 Jackie began judging, and is approved to judge 6 breeds. She owns and manages Cedar Creek Pet Resort, and is active in the Kettle Moraine Kennel Club, Keep Your Pets, Inc., (a non- profit she founded), and the local Rotary club. Jackie writes for ShowSight Magazine , the basset column in the Gazette , and a pet column in a local magazine.

I bought a beautiful basset male form a top-producing kennel, and assumed I was on my way. I bred that dog to my improved bitches, and continued to hone my puppy evaluation skills. I had learned through a lot of research about correct fronts, and what I needed genetically to pro- duce them. I learned about form following function, and I got really good at the basics of breeding, whelping and puppy selection. I was proud that everything I had kept went back to my foundation bitch. Again, false pride was keeping me from really moving forward. After 25 years of breeding bassets, I had not produced a consistent, typey “look”. While I was doing some significant winning, and I had some very sound, healthy dogs, I was not at the top of the game. Most of this was because I had falsely assumed that staying with my original foundation was a good thing, and I would be able to “breed up.” Breeding up is the longest, hardest way to produce a solid line of dogs. It can be done I think, in theory, but it can take decades to see a consistent, positive result. When I got my first bedlington I realized the weakness- es in my basset breeding program. I started at a very dif- ferent place in bedlingtons. My 25 years of stumbling and learning in bassets taught me that the quickest route to a successful breeding program is to start with an exceptional bitch from an exceptional line of dogs, and breed her exceptionally well. In 25 years I had learned basic move- ment and structure, basic genetics, basic breeding and whelping skills, basic puppy selection procedures, basic pedigree analysis, the basics of competition, and enough about the dog showworld to trust my instincts about where the good dogs were coming from. There were no shortcuts. It’s been a lifetime of learning and applying the knowledge. I identified the line fromwhich I wanted a bitch, and I wait- ed three years to get her. Then I relied upon the wisdom of the person who developed that line to guide me in the right direction, and I followed his advice. In 28 years I had learned that I knew nothing. I had finally gotten to the place I needed to be – I knew nothing, and I was OK with that. Now the real learning could begin. My mind was open. I don’t think it has to take 28 years to really begin. I started at the most innocent place possible, and assumed that I knew way more than I did because I had heard a few phrases from two presumably knowledgeable sources. I was also only 21 years old when I started, and had not developed any critical analysis skills. I just assumed pure- bred dog breeding was something anybody could do and did not require a skill set. I’d like to say this is an uncom- mon assumption, but the longer I remain in this business, the less confident I am that people, including dog show enthusiasts, really understand the complexity of what we do The general public is absolutely oblivious to our work, and that can sometimes hurt us. Just recently, I had to make an analogy for a dear friend who is a car fanatic. He could not understand why someone would fly all the way from Korea to buy just a dog fromme. I had to point out to him that his calling my bedlingtons “just dogs”, is like say-

140 • S how S ight M agazine , J uly 2017

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