Well said Joe. :) As someone
who has a lot of contact with people who are strictly LGD breeders, I
agree.
Chrissy
I totally agree with Darryl, but do not
agree it is hopeless. We must establish relations with the large
farm groups like the dairy Goat folks etc. You know, they are really
good folks and many of them really understand showing their animals as
many of them do so. They take great pride in what they do and the
livestock they produce. We have a common dialog and they will
understand us wanting to preserve the original nature of our unique breed.
This can only be a positive, but only if we do it. Besides all out
dogs must be working dogs or capable anyway or they are not worthy of
being a good Pyr. Pyrs are one of the oldest working dogs on the
face of this good green earth. It must always be so, or we no longer
have Pyrs. They must also look and act like a Pyr or we do not have a Pyr.
There are many excellent LGD that are not Pyrs, so our uniqueness is
our temperament and working ability and style. The almost non
existent prey drive. The quiet laid back character that causes our
dogs to fail most working dog assessment evaluations until placed on site
doing its job and demonstrate that none do it any better. The
dignity tolerance and loyalty of our dogs is quire remarkable.
I am guilty as many in the past on being only interested in shows and
wins and breeding good puppies by the standard. That's no longer is
the case. I want to do all those things but I must feel quite
conformable that my dogs will work in the same centuries old tradition as
its ancestors going back thousands of years ago.
In order to
combat the working dog breeders we must join they in dialog and education.
Let them see us as not some useless beauty pageant or "hotty tottie"
group of prima donnas. That is what we are to them now. If they
understand us and appreciate our love for the uniqueness of the original
dogs, they will certainly take pride in the beauty and functional
characteristics of the dogs we breed in preference to the shabby ones they
may now be breeding. I have to keep remembering that the old
Shepherds in the Pyrenees Mountains took great pride in the beauty of
their dogs. But you have to know that times were more than hard and
if the dog did not earn its keep, the beauty would have meant nothing and
been useless to them. Our working breeders are here with us to stay,
so lets try to educate them to the charms of the correct Pyr. If someone
knows a better way than through the various organizations that these folks
register their stock and show their stock under, lets hear it.
Otherwise this seems like a no brainier to me.
Joe
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