The GRCA website has a post about Choosing A Reputable Breeder, under the heading of "ACQUIRING A GOLDEN RETRIEVER." Dismissing the PET SHOP or DEALER, as well as the so-called BACKYARD BREEDER, the Club considers the SERIOUS HOBBY BREEDER to be the "very best choice."
"....The serious and dedicated hobby breeder regards his/her dogs as even more than a hobby, although the true fancier does not expect to make a profit. When someone is involved in dogs for the enjoyment of each individual animal, for participating in many aspects of 'dogsport' and for producing the finest animals possible, the results are SUPERIOR. The best breeders acknowledge responsibility for each and every puppy produced, and stand behind every dog they have bred."
Truly a paragon. But apparently their numbers are in limited supply. In her popular book on the Golden Retriever, Marcia Schlehr states, "It has been said that fewer than ten percent (of Goldens) are produced by conscientious breeders."
The GRCA article lists eleven different requirements of a RESPONSIBLE serious hobby breeder. I will not bother to list them here, but you can easily find all if you log in to the grca.org website.
Allow me to suggest that breeders who are considered to be among this select group may be directly responsible for limiting rather than expanding the gene pool for our breed-- at a time when hip concerns and the incidence of cancer represent serious health concerns.
A Dr. Becker interviewed United Kennel Club President Wayne Cavanaugh for an article entitled, "A Tragic Example of Narrowing the Gene Pool : Golden Retrievers." Cavanaugh suggests that just two very popular Golden Retriever stud dogs are responsible for possibly half a million descendants. He claims further that both died young of cancer. While he admits that there is no unequivocal evidence that cancer is an inherited trait, we do know the rate of cancer in the Golden Retriever population is astronomical.
Goldens are a tragic example of one DNA pool being ruined. Dr. Greg Ogilvie calls them the 'golden tumor dog.' You'll never get a better temperament in a dog, but statistically, they're all going to die of cancer. It's just overwhelming. And we've created the disaster in less than 60 years."
Just as there appear to be many reasons why a dog of any breed might develop hip dysplasia, it is also true that there are numerous types of cancer in the dog world-- not just in our breed. And causality has not been identified with any certainty. Leaders of the breed in North America have expressed doubt about comparative studies regarding some health issues. The President of the GRCC told me that he was not convinced of the accuracy of comparable cancer studies conducted in Great Britain and the United States. While he did not elaborate or give details, there are Golden fanciers who share his opinion.
However,while the hyperbole offered up by Cavanaugh and/or Ogilvie may give one pause, Cavanaugh's concerns about limiting the gene pool have merit.
In my research, FOUR popular champion stud dogs have been bred nearly 400 times (I've counted at least 384 among them. Each dog was rated only FAIR by the OFA. While this is a passing score. it is hardly something to write home about. And some of the bitches used in those pairings were rated only FAIR as well. Is this an example of good breeding philosophy? Are such breeders looking out for the best interests of our Goldens?
TWO other very popular champion studs were used in no less than 206 matings. It should be mentioned that they had better hip scores than the four referenced above.
But, in terms of sheer numbers, we are talking about a half dozen (6) males credited with producing nearly 600 litters with their mates. Average litter size being what it is, that adds up to nearly 5,000 puppies.
Does this sound like RESPONSIBLE BREEDERS and breeding practices to you?
It is said that a nation goes to war with the army IT HAS, NOT the one which it would LIKE OR HOPE to have.
Applying this LOGIC and REASON to the Golden Retriever "Nation," is not too large a step to take, especially if we TRULY care about our breed AND a SOLUTION is not "pie in the sky" or simply wishful thinking .TWO POSSIBILITIES are immediately evident. If you insist on breeding a bitch ONLY to a CHAMPION STUD DOG, there have been and continue to be a large number of AKC-titled Golden males from which to choose. Far more than six, that's for sure.
Everyone who wants a Collie doesn't need to have a dog just like "Lassie" (who was called a good "girl" though portrayed by MALE Collies-- leave it to Hollywood to come up with that idea); a German Shepherd just like "Rin Tin Tin" (who I recall actually walked on all four feet, rare in the "show" Shepherd these days); a St. Bernard who is the spitting image of "Beethoven" (or is that "drooling image"-- I had one, so I can say that with authority and affection). Or even the need to have that certain good-as-gold "rush" that comes with a "Charlie" clone (for the record, I loved that guy).
So, FIRST SOLUTION : Breed to OTHER AKC champion stud dogs. Other, that is, than the Dog of the Month or Golden of the Year. Dog breeding is SEXIST. The bitch gets only FOUR chances to produce a "great" puppy or two per litter. The number of chances for a male is seemingly ENDLESS. Thus the phrase "Lucky Dog(?)"
The SECOND SOLUTION requires a bit of thinking OUTSIDE the BOX (or boxES provided by the AKC when you register a Golden). You have THREE and only three choices--dark golden, golden, or light golden. These three were selected for our breed NOT by the AKC BUT rather the GRCA. You CANNOT register a born-RED Golden by using its BIRTH COLOR; NOR can you register a BORN-CREAM Golden by checking a CREAM box. There are none available to select. The GRCA believes, and many members echo the sentiment-- almost as a matter of RELIGION --that ALL Golden Retrievers are BORN GOLD, of one SHADE or another. Further, that a "true" Golden Retriever MUST be "truly" GOLD in color. Of course, if you believe that there is ONLY ONE birth color, then ALL Golden Retrievers are by definition born gold and thus ALL ARE TRULY gold Golden Retrievers-- unless the result of some unlikely genetic mutation. The problem is that some in the breed are just not GOLD ENOUGH to suit personal tastes and opinions held by the "congregation" of "true" believers.
The BREED STANDARD makes NO REFERENCE to EITHER the COLOR RED or the COLOR CREAM. BUT in their collective "wisdom" the Breed Standard Committee and the Judges' Education Committee of the GRCA have issued documents which specifically refer to these two colors and declares them to be UNDESIRABLE in our breed.
As a consequence of these actions-- what I choose to call "government by committee" -- cream-coated Golden Retrievers and born-red Golden Retrievers do not win championships in the AKC conformation ring. These NON-champions are NOT used in breeding programs. The gene pool is thus limited for our breed.
The SOLUTION is obvious. Eliminate the negative wording as it applies to CREAM-COATED Goldens in those committee(s)-produced documents. The entire world EXCEPT for us has done so many years ago. There remains a UNIVERSAL blind spot when it comes to RED-COATED Golden Retrievers. Outside the United States, neither red nor mahogany is acceptable, and breed standards clearly state so. The AKC/GRCA Breed Standard is vague in this regard. It speaks to coat color which is excessively dark. Too dark for aesthetic tastes; too much of that GOOD thing which we call gold color.
The GRCA Committees have decided that this is a reference to Irish Setter red or mahogany. And Committee spokespersons and members have pushed the envelope to the point where even chestnut is allowable within the Standard. Funnily enough, the AKC Breed Standard for the Irish Setter allows EITHER mahogany or chestnut; while the breed standard for Irish Setters in the United Kingdom or the FCI mentions ONLY CHESTNUT as the breed color. How ya like dem apples? ( a fruit which bye the bye can be red most certainly, but also green or yellow or even GOLDEN Delicious. Of course, give a kid a coloring book with a picture labeled "apple" and which Crayola crayon will he/she automatically reach for? Color can be so confusing. Sadly, even for adults) How have we arrived at a point where the GRCA leadership accepts Irish- Setter chestnut as a proper coat color for the Golden Retriever? It's an odd place to find ourselves.
If you cannot get the appropriate two committees to budge on coat color, the second so-called SOLUTION might be to import ENGLISH-TYPE Goldens from overseas which possess a birth color of GOLD rather than cream. The term ENGLISH has been much maligned by our Canadian friends to the north who misdefine "English" as PLACE OF ORIGIN rather than the BRITISH STANDARD (and FCI ideal) to which Goldens are bred. More expensive than using English types already in America, most certainly, but this SOLUTION would not represent "religious heresy" for the "true believers" in the Golden Retriever community. I suppose we might call this SOLUTION TWO "B."
Or as Willy the Bard once said, "To be or not to be...."In fact THE QUESTION for US ( as in United States of America) is, "How serious are we in facing problems within our breed(?)"
(I feel I must comment on the phrase : THE TRUE FANCIER DOES NOT EXPECT TO MAKE A PROFIT. Who was the BRIGHT LIGHT who wrote this? Let's see... STUD FEE X 590 BREEDINGS = NO PROFIT???????? Who are you kidding? ADD in PUPPY SALES. WHO KNEW? I never realized that Golden Retriever kennel owners were engaged in non-profit activities That they were so SELFLESS in their love for our breed.)
No comments:
Post a Comment