Duck Retriever

Retrieverman has done a good post on the split in Golden Retrievers between people who want a Golden Retriever bird dogs (field bred) and the breeders who produce show type Golden Retrievers. Whose side do you believe I’m on?

I read his post, and though “I could write on that for 40 hours, and still need somebody else to find photos and add to it”.

First, the argument is between major kinds of people: either your a Clumper (AKA Grouper) or you are a Splitter. You either see the differences between things or the similarities between things. It a basic difference in people.

But it is also about point of view: if you are making money off of selling papers or dog shows, then you want everyone in your group. But if the group is run by a majority that opposes or ignores you, then you have reason to think “Splitsville Time”.

The answer I think lays in splitting them all up into tiny little groups, then clumping those little groups into intelligent bigger groups.

The basic idea is that people who hunt with their dogs get their own Kingdom. People whose dogs actually work get their own Kingdom. Pet dogs have their own Kingdom.

And show dog breeders get their own Kingdom, mostly to try to keep them from trying to take over everybody else’s domain. Like bill 1634 (California 2008) where pet dogs would have to be castrated/ spayed, but show dog breeders could keep cranking out the puppies. Forcing people wanting a pet dog to get a dog not bred to be a pet – like a left over show dog puppy.

Why would show dog breeders think they should get to sell to the public who want to buy a pet dog puppy – that is the domain of the pet dog breeders. People who choose which dogs to breed based on which dogs will make the best pets, should be the ones advertising pet puppies.

Show breeders, who select which dogs to breed based on which dogs are the best show dogs, should sell their puppies to other show breeders, NOT advertise them as “pet quality”.

A little common sense will tell you that if a breeder selects which male to mate her female to based on his show wins, then she is aiming to produce show dogs, not quality pets.

A breeder aiming to breed good pet puppies, instead looking for a stud dog with lots of show wins, inquires to the stud dog owner about if the male dog barks too much, is good with children, was easy to house-train, can stay alone in the house or has to be crated .

Oh wait, I’m starting a 40 plus hour post here – and I don’t want to get started on that/

Besides, Retrieverman is a socially more aware person, and doesn’t blast anyone – maybe because he hasn’t spent years being verbally blasted by show breeders who say that only show breeders should be allowed to have a pregnant dog, everyone else should be forced to have their dogs fixed.

Anyway, he’s a good read, and doesn’t flame at people, so you will probably enjoy him, and I’m going to recommend his site.
http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/

and the post that I am commenting on is:
http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/some-basic-truths-about-splits-incertain-dog-breeds/

What breed is the retriever is the above photo?

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FIELD DOG RE

I would copy & paste (NOT cut & paste) dogs who have earned field or working degrees, from their breed stud book into a working or professional stud book.

These are the new merit based books I would open: (“hund” means “dog” which I use because someone might already have that breed or group name)

HUNTING DOGS

Pighunds:

P1) Am. Catchhund – grabs pigs

Varminthunds:

E1) Am. Drawhund – goes to ground and grabs varmints and backs out of the burrow, dragging them out.

E2) Am. Rockyhund – goes to ground and kills varmints below ground (kind of like a trunk fighter) or uses various methods to draw or bolt varmints.

E3) Am. Bolthund – goes to ground and nips, barks at, or otherwise annoys varmints into bolting out of their burrow.

E4) Am. Roadhund – sprints after rats and snaps them up, hunts squirrels (“Road” from “Rodent” because they hunt squirrels and rats). AKA: Dash terriers.

Sprinthunds:

S1) Bunny Sprinthunds – sight hunting sprinters who go after rabbits, often weaving between trees in woodlands.

S2) Hare Sprinthunds – sight hunting sprinters who go after jackrabbits, hare, or small animal.

S3) Gianthunds – boarhunds, staghunds, wolfhunds, roohunds, or other large animal hunds.Houndhunds:

H1) Am. Treehund – using his nose to follow a scent, each dog does his best to be the first dog to get to the varmint. Once there, the dog barks tree. Often hunts raccons.

H2) Am. Buglehund – uses his nose to follow a rabbit’s scent. Not in a hurry, will run in a pack, never sight hunts even if the rabbit is right in front of him.

H3) Am. Packhund – uses his nose to follow varmints or predators, each dog stays with the other dogs in a pack to arrive at the quarry at the same time. Used on bear, mountain lion, coyote, boar, or other animals.

H4) Am. Riverhund – used on aquatic animals like otter, beaver, or search for people including dead bodies under water, lost people, or tracking suspects.

Birdhunds:

B1) Am. Curly Waterhund – all the bird dogs with a curly water resistant coat. Allow all three types of bird dogs (Point, Rush, Fetch) into one breed, reflecting the traditional less specialized hunting techniques, and multiple uses, as well as acknowledging the need for a more water resistant coat and the lack of numbers of curly coated bird dogs, who can become founding stock for the Am. Curly Waterhund.

B2) Am. Duckfetch Hund – waits on shore or in a boat or blind, or fetches shot birds, often from water during fall migration.

B3) Am. Rushhund – flushers who walk ahead of the gun but never run out of gun range, then fetch the shot bird.

B4) Am. Pointhund – pointing dogs who point and fetch birds, and sometimes rabbits or other animals.

Lurehunds:

L1) Am. Ducklure Hund – dogs who tease ducks or other birds or small animals into following them or coming over to look at them

.L2) Am. Hooflure Hund – dogs who lure deer, pigs, or other animals into following them back to where the hunter or owner waits.

Huntherd Hunds:

U1) Am. Huntherd hund – any dog which herds or drives wild animals towards the hunter, nets, or traps

.Arctic Hunthunds:

A1) Dogs specialized to hunt in below freezing weather, often to find seal breathing holes.

Wild Hunthunds: Canines that hunt with people, but whose species are feral or wild canines like wolves, dingo, dhole or other canines who hunt naturally without people.

That seems to sum up the hunting dogs.

The idea of internationally bred dogs is that all dogs who merit it, by proving themselves in the field, can enter a new stud book.

Puppies from 2 dogs in the same merit stud book get litter pedigrees in the name of the new stud book, but can NOT enter the stud book themselves until they have a field degree.

For example: puppies from an English setter and an (English) pointer, who both had passed a pointing dog test, could be sold with litter pedigrees as Am. Pointhunds,

but a Brittany with a pointing degree bred with a spaniel with a rushing degree, could not get a litter pedigree for their puppies because the parents are of different professions – one points, the other rushes.

The idea of field stud books is specialization at a task.

Although, a field breeder easily could breed as they always have, say breeding Labrador Retrievers who win at field trails only to other Labrador Retrievers who win at field trials, other field breeders could cross an otterhound with a bloodhound and have the puppies recorded as Am. Riverhunds.

Permission to cross-post.
This post is in public domain.

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