Today was a good dog day. Got up early and went herding with Miss Amelia. I really love having the opportunity to work with her in any capacity. She truly is the epitome of a good dog.
There were some interesting conversations going on between runs on breeding for working traits v breeding for physical traits. Three out of the five of us there were Aussie people, and needless to say there were some differences of opinion. I’ll post some thought on it tomorrow after I’ve had more than 4 hours of sleep. Until then, enjoy beautiful Bree as she watches the sheep.
(Bree is my herding instructor’s Border Collie)
Can’t wait to hear your summary of the conversation! Both are important, of course. My background is in horses, where conformation is much more critical than in dogs (a horse who breaks down frequently needs to be euthanized, due to the odd equine physiology). And yet there are very few horse breeding programs out there where breeding stock is chosen mostly based on conformation. Conformation is part of how buyers evaluate young stock, but performance in a chosen venue is always a huge part of choosing breeding stock, along with pedigree (for example, because mares can only produce one foal a year and many people like to breed them while they are still young, frequently the record of a mare herself is not as important as the records of offspring of close female relatives).
The warmblood (sport-horse) breeding program tests are unusual even among horse breeds. In many other breeds, anyone who meets pedigree requirements can get in.
It’s interesting to note that warmbloods have become the most popular sport horses for both jumping and dressage; thoroughbreds are still popular for eventing because of their speed and courage (or insanity, however you want to look at it).
Here’s an overview of warmblood studbook testing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studbook_selection
By the way, I’m not suggesting AKC have requirements like the warmblood registries; that would never fly in our culture.
However, breed clubs can strongly encourage dogs to be evaluated on other measures besides health clearances and conformation shows. That helps create a culture that encourages people to get their dogs out there performing in some way.
Several breed clubs have been successful in doing just that. The argument of conformation vs working ability drives me crazy because there is no reason it cannot be both. No reason in the world except a cultural divide. The breeds that do it well produce large numbers of dogs that are both conformationally acceptable and talented in their chosen venue.