Crikey, can't agree with this!

Yes I do know of some breeders who give priority to show homes. These are the most competitive ones who chase points for the numerous trophies and competitions run by breed clubs and pet food manufacturers. Often they accumulate points just by sheer volume of entries.

Reputable show breeders that I personally have most respect for, assess potential puppy owners on their personal circumstances, experience, ethics etc etc. Intention to show comes way down the list and is often a put-off in my experience.

Sorry, I missed this yesterday.

If you look back through the history of breeds, you will see how drastically many of them have changed in appearance. The modern day show Beardie, I have already mentioned, has a totally different coat to its ancestors. Haven't said they are "unshowable" but you wouldn't get very far showing one of these 'working type' Beardies these days.

The example most often given, of a breed that the showring has changed into a caricature, is the GSD. Take a look here. This is not an anti GSD showing site and it doesn't show the most extreme examples of dogs that win in modern times -

http://www.aniwa.com/en/chien/Grand_...to=0/index.htm

Other breeds that have changed considerably are the Spaniels.....Cockers, look for the 'of Ware' dogs of just a few decades ago. also Clumbers and ESSs. Many other breeds have health problems because of these changes, like Bloodhounds and Bulldogs. Standards may have changed slightly through the decades, but not so much that could be responsible for the change in the dogs. A dog that looked like the ancestors of these breeds would be laughed out of the ring these days.

I'm sure that the writers of the original standards had no idea how much impact the showring would have on their breeds. If they had, they may have been more specific in defining features. After all, what does 'good angulation' mean..... good compared to what?

It's a legacy of our own human ancestry to notice and focus on anything that appears different from the norm. As predators, this is how the early humans hunted sucessfully, by marking the injured or old deer in the herd. We now apply this to our domestic animals albeit in a different way. We favour the one that stands out in a crowd. How often have you seen this in critiques! This had led to more and more exaggeration slowly creeping in.

Some show breeders have managed to achieve this without focussing on health and temperament

Sorry I should have made that a bit clearer. If you have a litter of puppies, the majority of which are potentially show quality, and the homes you already have lined up are show homes (which the vast majority of mine were/are), then of course you want as many of those puppies to be good enough to do well for their owners. I get a huge thrill when someone else wins with a dog of my breeding It has NOTHING to do with chasing points! Why on earth would someone wanting to show a dog be a put off? Before the mating for the litter has even taken place the homes will be vetted and assessed. If they weren't excellent potential homes they wouldn't get a puppy full stop - show quality or not!

Debs

Which is literally what happened the one and only time I showed my first ever dog, a Pedigree Alsatian, [ the only dog I ever had from a breeder, back in the 70`s ].
The nearest reflecting his build on the link you gave is Son of F15 [ 16th photo down ].
Comments made included, " whats she thinking off taking a mongrel like that in the ring", and, "look at that awful back, where`s the slope on it ?", all done with sniggering and ridicule.
I was a child [ Junior ] handler at the time and thats what the adults were coming out with.
Why ?
Because I was daring to Show a dog of older `type` than the slopes which were in by then, [ and which have got increasingly worse imo, especially in the US Show Alsatians which can`t be realistically claimed to be anything but cariacatures of what they once were ].
If I had my beloved boy now and wanted to Show him, he would probably face a physical barricade to stop him getting in a ring at all, never mind be laughed out of one.

I've never had to turn down a show home myself but I've heard other breeders say that they prefer pet homes, believing that the pup has a better chance of a permanant home, should the dog not make the grade as a showdog.

Couldn't agree more. And of course there are others who want a pet/working dog.

Thanks LS!
I agree...there are others who want a pet/worker or a pet/show...or a good all rounder. :smt002
It is up to them to actively seek out the right ethical breeder for them.

If they were the sort of people who'd rehome a dog because it didn't turn out good enough for the ring there's no way in hell they'd ever even get ON my list let alone get a puppy! This is what I mean about vetting owners BEFORE the puppy becomes available. I don't think people are getting the idea that not all show people are the horrible heartless breed ruining gits that they're portrayed to be on this forum!

So sorry ot hear this happened to you Patch. I witnessed a very similar incident some years ago.

If I was ever to consider getting a GSD again, this is the type I'd be looking for