What is really needed to protect a working breed is not a pedigree written by blue-blazer rosette chasers, but a sales contract with potential owners that says "NO WORK, NO SALE."
You cannot "protect" a working breed by placing your dogs with people that are afraid to work them, or are physically incapable of working them.
How many people "co-own" dogs with a requirement that the dog be shown?
How many "co-own" dogs with a demand that the dog be worked?
There's the problem!
You want to know why Border Terriers, Irish Setters and so many other show breeds have gone into the toilet?
It's simple: There are a thousand and one co-owner and sales agreements that require dogs be shown (example here for a border terrier), but not one that says the co-owned dog is required to work.
You cannot "protect" a working breed by placing your dogs with people that are afraid to work them, or are physically incapable of working them.
How many people "co-own" dogs with a requirement that the dog be shown?
How many "co-own" dogs with a demand that the dog be worked?
There's the problem!
You want to know why Border Terriers, Irish Setters and so many other show breeds have gone into the toilet?
It's simple: There are a thousand and one co-owner and sales agreements that require dogs be shown (example here for a border terrier), but not one that says the co-owned dog is required to work.
- Related Links:
** Rosettes to Ruin
** Working Terries at the Tar Pit
** A Question of Breed
** Who Put the Border in Border Collie?
** The Thin Portfolio of the Working Border Terrier
** What Flint Can Tell Us About Working Terriers
** Reality Comes to the Rally
** Show Vs Working Size
** A Brief History of the Patterdale Terrier
** Joe Bowman's Patterdale
** A Bit More on the Border-Patterdale Connection
** These Are The Good Old Days
** Old and New Border Terriers?
** A Question of Breed
** Border Collie Owners Battle What Doesn't Work
** Four Legs, Not Two
3 comments:
I've never enjoyed the idea of co-owning anyway.
If I pay money for a dog, I own it, plain and simple. No one tells me what to do with it regarding work/show, no one demands anything like spay/neuter by [this age]; I make the choices I feel are best for that dog and call the shots. And I trust myself to get the right dog for my purposes, so there is no square peg/round hole problem that will result in my frustration or rehoming/returning the dog.
Same with adoption. If I see a clause that the dog can be taken back for silly reasons other than observed neglect or true maltreatment, I will move on. None of this "You must train the dog THIS way or else," or "No in-ground fence" business.
My dog = Mine. Not anyone else's.
As for the stipulation that a co-owned dog must work other than trot around a show ring and stand pretty, I'm all for it if there's a population out there that's willing to do that and take advantage of what's on the end of their leash to the best of it's ability. However, they also need to be realistic in terms of what has happened to certain breeds that detract from their ability to actually do their job. A requirement that the buyer of a Barbie collie actually work some temperamental sheep over something like the Zamora sheepdog trials is NOT going to happen.
I wish I could say that this was entirely a working/terrier breed phenomenon. I work with what is considered an entirely companion breed and I can't tell you how many contracts I've seen that spell out what food the dog can eat, where the dog may/must be shown, names that must be added to the name, if they must be professionally handled or not, but not one yet that says the dog needs to live in the house with the family and a great many do not but instead live in a cage bank kennel from generation to generation only pulled out for show dates and only knowing how to stack for the ring until they're thrown into the breeding pen.
The result of this is companion breeds barely suitable to be companions. Yappy, stupid, neurotic to the point of medicating for the poor sucker who gets a puppy from this "reputable breeder" and has the gall to insist the dog live in the house.
I'm with Viatecio on this one; no co-ownerships for me, either. When I bought my pups (same breeder for both) I had no contract regarding the first, a female. Some (probably most) of that was because her delivery to me was sudden (the purchase was long-planned, but she was able to suddenly catch a ride to me), and some was pure trust between us. The second pup was cryptorchid, so I signed saying I'd have him neutered before or as close to six months of age as possible. No problem, I would have anyway. The breeder is honest, thoughtful, careful and considerate. Is there anything more to expect?
Though I understand in theory the "perfect world" desire to hunt more of these dogs, there is danger in the uninitiated going into the field. I know you are playing The Devil's Advocate here, but a demand clause for hunting could have the unintended consequence of more dog deaths in the field. (Call me cynical, but too many people are idiots, and would be too lazy to learn to do things the right way.) More likely, contracts would be signed and people would do whatever they wanted anyway, to include over-breed and all the rest. We live in a world just filled with trap doors.
Seahorse
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