Confusion

Are these initials confusing people about the future of the TRUE Shiloh Shepherd™? They shouldn't be, although all of these "initials" stand for groups that are issuing "registration" papers for dogs they deem to be Shiloh Shepherds™, only ONE was formed by the breed founder & has consistently operated as the official representative for this "breed" still under development. Let me explain in as simple a way as possible.

First of all, most people have been so used to the AKC that it is hard for them to understand the FCI type of registries. They think that as long as you have a "pedigree" you get papers on your dog; without such "official" papers your dog is just a mutt. This is partly true, but you will also find puppies advertised "without papers" from registered parents, for whatever reason. Most of the time you can meet the parents, and see those pups, and expect to pay less just because they do not have the "official" papers. On the flip side of the coin, you can purchase a puppy from a pet shop, or a wholesaler that will provide you with AKC "papers" that may not even belong to that particular puppy! Furthermore, there are many places that offer "papers" for a fee. These places can be found in Dog Magazines, as well as all over the Internet! They have no concern for your dog, its breed, or anything else! Their only purpose is to collect your money and hand you a piece of paper. For more details, please read Registries: What are They?

Nevertheless, registries do not breed dogs, people do! The final quality of any puppies produced will always be based on what the individual breeder is doing, not on the papers they place on their puppies, correct? Well ... this is a loaded question, since most breeders are normally influenced (if not fully guided) by what their peers are doing! This means that they regularly succumb to the "politics" of the breed club they belong to! If it is a strong club, with experienced breeders that are willing to guide the "newbies' toward a common goal,. then you may find some quality dogs being produced. If this club also has a well-organized registry, with data being processed independently from club politics, as per a strong constitution, even better! Then the next thing you want to examine is the results that are being achieved, for the benefit of the breed!! Certainly a registry should not consist of just a computer that is "spitting forth" certificates!! Each club/registry must have a statement of purpose, a constitution, etc. Of course, each of them will also have their “own” agenda for the particular breed that they represent. This can lead to severe havoc, which is why even the AKC only recognizes one “parent club” for each breed! In the case of a dog breed still under development, having several such groups representing it can do nothing more then to not only cause confusion, but also possibly lead to the demise of the entire breed itself!

Now I would like to take some time to investigate a few of the splinters that claim to be registering "Shiloh Shepherds™" .

Of course the oldest of the splinters listed above is the ISSDCr. The ISSDC started as a club in 1997 under the presidency of Mr. Gary Allison, who in turn started the registry in 1998. For more details please be sure to read History of the Club Split On these pages you will find the original letters, etc. that went back and forth between the ISSR and this new "registry" . They even set up their own silly “new” Breed Standard!

In the summer and fall of 1999 things had gotten so bad within that organization, due to power plays and politics, that many wanted to return to the ISSR. Meetings were held, all being posted on our ShilohShepherds mailing list, even pictures of the leaders together at Niagara Falls. We called it "hands across the water" and it was a strong attempt among those dedicated to the breed, not personal egos, to try and unite all people involved with these dogs. They sent out a plea known as the Olive Branch to all members of the ISSDC to return to the Original club and registry, in order to protect the future welfare of this breed! Many of the club's officers also sent in resignations to the ISSDC, stating WHY they were leaving! Some of those letters were shared with our e-group, so that our members could take an honest look at what was truly happening behind closed doors! Our club responded to them with the SSDCA Amnesty Letter. Although it was not easy for some of these people to swallow their pride and return, they knew it would be the right thing to do for the future welfare of this entire breed!

Since the ISSDC had now lost most of its foundation, including many of those that had originally formed it, newbies were called on to take over important positions such as serving on the Breeders Advisory Committee! Some of those new “leaders” had never even bred a litter of puppies, much less understood anything about the foundations of the Shiloh Shepherd™, yet they would now be advising others! ! If that weren’t ludicrous enough, even they would continue to fight amongst themselves for control on issues none of them even understood! Such foolishness can lead to nothing but anarchy, and that is exactly what happened!

Out of the chaos that was the ISSDC and the ISSDCr , came the next splinter registry. This time there would be no new breed standard, only papers for dogs that did not qualify to receive papers any place else, except of course ARBA .

Not much time or planning went into the new constitution! It simply stated …

Of course, the main reason for this was to ‘catch” some of the mixed breeds, dysplastics, etc. that were now being registered under ARBA! As if the papers that ARBA sent out meant anything! Just because they have a “name” that “looks” good, and have been sponsoring shows for nearly a decade, certainly does NOT give them any credibility as a registry! All anyone needs to do is to hand write a 3 generation pedigree, using names that sound like something that “might” be found on a Shiloh pedigree, and send it in with a check for $15.00 to receive an “official” registration number! As I once said on my e-groups list .. The best story I have heard to date, and I have heard many, was about an Aussie registered as “Kitchen Table”! The Sire was “Chain Saw” and the Dam “Oak Wood”. If that isn’t ridiculous, then I don’t know what is! Granted, the kitchen table had 4 legs and no tail .. but to give it recognition as an Australian Shepherd?? Heaven’s to Betsy, what could ARBA have been thinking? All joking aside, they are not stupid either! The “certificate” and postage costs them less then $1.00, the rest is pure profit!!

Enter the SSBA and SSBR. So where did these guys come from? Well, in actuality they are the same people that once called themselves the ISSDC, now operating under a new name!! The BIG question should be WHY? Why did Mr. Allison (former president of the ISSDC and the ISSDCr) dissolve the corporation that was registering dogs for his club, to start a new one? Why were the ISSDC and ISSDCr then incorporated in Michigan under a whole NEW group of people, that are now using the old name, but do not have the data base of info that originally went with that name .. since that info has been transferred into the new SSBR name. Hmmmmm... no wonder I am hearing that people are confused!! There has been so much “political” slashing going on back and forth between these many factions, that even I was getting confused about who was doing what to whom and if and when, etc.! Does any of it matter? It certainly wouldn’t matter a bit, if they were NOT representing themselves as legitimate registries for the Shiloh Shepherd™! Unfortunately, because they are misleading the public, claiming to have dogs that ‘are” Shiloh Shepherds™ (even though they are not ISSR registered) I feel it is my responsibility to present the truth to the public. If for no other reason then to protect people from being defrauded by such “clubs”!

One of the "big" problems that needs to be addressed regarding the "other" registries is simply EXPERIENCE! None of the people that have been forming 'registries" and "breeder advisory committees" seem to know much about dog breeding ;( Never mind this breed in particular! This can be a very dangerous situation, since the Shiloh Shepherd™ has an extremely small, inbred, gene pool to begin with!! Just take a few moments to read Inbreeding and Coefficient of Inbreeding. These articles, written several years ago, should raise some red flags to which you should pay heed!!

Shiloh or Long Haired GSD? | Don't Fall 4 The Fraud | Examples of ISSR Shiloh Shepherd Pedigrees |

Breeding dogs is NOT a joke, nor is it a "hobby"...it is serious business, because you are bringing life into this world for which you should be prepared to take responsibility! The life (puppy) you have produced is going to affect other lives, for many years to come. Careless, misinformed breedings should NOT take place, in any breed!

All of the ISSR, Inc. Licensed Breeders are aware of this, and have been participating on the OSS list, studying their VIB lessons as well as learning from the experts on the CANGEN list!!

Just as an example, here is a post from that list that one of our Licensed ISSR Breeders had permission to reprint.

<<<< I saw this post on the CANGEN list and asked the author for permission to
post it here, which she gave. In her email to me Mary Lou wrote:

"Here is a little information about me that will give my comments some creditability. I have bred Basenjis for about 35 years and bred Shelties before that. I have written a little book called "Understanding the Practical Application of Genetics", that was nominated by the Dog Writers Assn. Of America in 1998. It is meant to be a very elementary book to introduce people to the workings of genetics and hopefully encourage them to continue the study and to 'think' genetically.">>>>

Her post, reprinted with permission:

<<From: Mary Lou Kenworthy <kensetbasenjis@J...> Subject: Breeding Strategies

Why is it always perceived that linebreeding is on one side of the fence, outcrossing is on the other and that they are mortal enemies? Different methods work in different situations and no two situations are exactly the same.

Trying to make 'population genetics' and 'breeding strategies' fit into the same little box is like comparing apples to oranges. No breeder breeds a "population". They can only breed a minute part of it. The population of domestic dogs depends on the contribution of many breeders.

>outbreeding merely "hides" bad genes and allows them to proliferate in the gene pool

This is true; eventually two (or more) defective recessive genes will meet up and cause the problem to re-appear. However, this is not necessarily because of line breeding and the same ancestors are not necessarily involved. It doesn't matter where the genes come from as long as they are like genes; it could be from the same grandparent on both sides or from two totally unrelated dogs of different breeds.

>linebreeding brings these bad genes to light so that conscientious breeders can "eliminate" them from the population.

This also is true. It is a good tool to do just that, if one is persistent and careful. With a single recessive gene inheritance it is easy. With multiple gene involvement it is much harder. BUT, there's a difference between theory and practice. How many people are willing to put the time, effort and expense into doing it right and following through to double check their results? Most breeders want instant gratification. When linebreeding, the motto should be, "Make haste slowly." The biggest problem with this method is that breeders are not willing to do this in such a way that they do not loose some valuable genes that they should keep.

>The implication was that outbreeding spread bad genes and was a form of irresponsible breeding whereas linebreeding was the tool of the true breed-steward.

No method should be called irresponsible. Only the improper execution of a method that does harm to a breed is irresponsible. Neither method alone can insure the future of the breed.

>There were even assertions made as to the presence of breeders who had eliminated certain genetic problems through tight line breeding.

This can and has happened. It is nice to get a dog/bitch from the line that does not have a particular problem. However, if only one breeder eliminates it from his/her line, where do you go from there? If the problem is in all other lines because no one else has bothered to eliminate it this does not move the 'population' ahead very much.

Both linebreeding and outbreeding must be utilized to insure survival of a population as this is the only way to insure diversity. This may sound like a contradiction to some but bear with me.

Visualize a breed that starts with 10 totally unrelated dogs. Two of them, both males, carry a recessive deleterious gene that is lethal when doubled. All the breeders are big diversity advocates so they do not do any linebreeding. Every mating is to a different dog. BUT, how long can this go on before they run out of unrelated dogs to breed to? Let's say 10 years for example. Now there must be doubling on some dogs but they may be 5 generations or more back so not too close. Suddenly dogs are dying of a never before seen problem. Now where do you go? There is nothing 'different' left! How do you identify which of the original dogs were the carriers?

Following the pedigrees back to try to figure out where it came from only leads you to the same 10 original animals. All 10 are in all of the pedigrees. The line of decent may vary from dog to dog but these totally outcrossed pedigrees all contain the same thing. They are all the same; they all have the same genes even if there are a lot of them. So where is the diversity?

Now to the other extreme: Same 10 dogs, two males carrying the deleterious gene but in the hands of linebreeding advocates. Since the founders are all unrelated it takes a few generations for them to be line bred. Breeder "A" likes a leggier dog so breeds for that and linebreeds on the dogs that produced it. Breeder "B" likes a cobby dog so linebreeds for that. Breeder "C" is a working advocate and selects for ability rather than looks. Breeder "D" just wants to be different and selects for 'who knows what'. Other breeders breed to the winners. So while they are all linebreeding, most are linebreeding on different animals. Soon distinct lines are evident. And yes, the deleterious gene had been doubled on and dogs are dying all over the place.

But, by studying the pedigrees, one can deduce which lines are dying and which are not. Soon the two carrier ancestors can be identified. With reasonable deduction you can avoid the pedigrees that have these dog in them numerous times. At some point in each pedigree, the gene will no longer be passed on and dogs with the problem ancestor in the background can be safely used just as others that are still carrying it can be discarded without loosing attributes you want to keep. By observing all the closely related dogs over time you can figure out who are likely carriers and who are not.

Now, what about diversity? Is it being lost as lines are being formed? Not really. Each line is formed with a different collection or alleles as breeders followed different paths. While the gene pools may have narrowed within each kennel, there is just as much diversity within the breed as a whole. Plus, there is always the opportunity to breed to something different by going to another line. (Preferably one with little or none of the problem.)

Too much outcrossing leads to the necessity of linebreeding with little information about what you are dealing with.

Too much inbreeding leads to a very expensive education that can be very valuable to the diversity of the breed PROVIDED that enough breeders choose independent paths.

Too many breeders breeding to the same few dogs can be instant disaster regardless of whether they are linebreeding or outcrossing.

IMHO we need to tare down the fence and use all the tools that are available to us to try to do what is right to preserve our breeds. When no two situations are the same you can not have strict rules about what is right and what is wrong. One must use common sense in breeding. There is only one guideline that applies in all situations: "First, do no harm".

Mary Lou>>>>

The above post is just one of thousands of posts and lessons that have been made available to all serious breeders, that are truly concerned with the proper development of the Shiloh Shepherd™! Instead of attempting to tear up the small gene pool with which we have to work, they have united to utilize every means possible to better educate themselves! Some of the lessons that we have shared (like Another Breeding Tool ) have been turned into articles and placed in the Learning Center. Other important posts are available via the Yahoo! Groups : ShilohShepherdFriends archives, or member files. Our mission has always been to educate both the future breeders and owners of these magnificent dogs!

So why are we plagued with so many "splinter groups"? Well, of course, one of the biggest reasons is simply that the ISSR Rules & Regulations are not easy to comply with, if you are only interested in producing lots of puppies! Even harder to live with, are the SSDCA, Inc. Breeders Code of Ethics and the ISSR Licensed Breeders Agreement!    All these combined can scare off a lot of potential "puppy mills" and cause others to just start their "own" registries, so that they can have the ADVANTAGE of the popularity of the "Shiloh Shepherd™ Name" without having to deal with any of the serious requirements connected with breeding quality dogs!

As you can clearly see, just in the past 3 years ... 4 "new" registries have sprung up to issue papers to anyone that wants to call their dogs .. "Shiloh Shepherds™." This is nothing new .. many others have sprung up and fallen apart over the past decade!  So how can people possibly protect themselves from such obviously fraudulent groups? By trying to better understand the TRUTH about these dogs!! Introduction to the Shiloh Shepherd™

In Conclusion;

1. By reading about the Kennel of Origin--The Real History of the Shiloh Shepherds™

2. By taking the time to carefully read What Are We Breeding For.

3. By better understanding the International Shiloh Shepherd™ Registry how, when & why it was developed!

4. By taking time to better understand what this breed stands for LMX

5. By reading this article slowly Conformation Show Titles--What Do They Mean?

6. By taking a good look at the   Broken Hearted Founder and all of the other yearly reports linked at the bottom of this article ;(

7. By reading The Importance of the Health Survey AND ISSR, Inc. Health Survey 2000 Update

Once you have taken the time to read all of the links above, you should no longer be confused about the many "registries" that have come & gone .. but you SHOULD be convinced that the ISSR is here to stay!

PLEASE BE SURE TO GO BACK & CLICK ON ALL OF THE LINKS & READ THOSE ARTICLES and don't forget to

Investigate Before You Invest!

February 2002 Update

In the few months since this was written, the "new" ISSDC/r has ceased to exist and two other registries have arisen from its ashes.....when will they ever learn?

October 2002 Update

New "registries" have been springing up quicker then ever before with the latest being the TSSR (no web site yet) and the USSDC with a whopping total of 6 breeders. Since most of these privately run "home computer" groups are probably more interested in the small fee they charge, than in maintaining any real data, some are now asking owners to just keep "buying papers"! Just look at the quotes below ;(

Although some encourage dual registration within "certain" groups, others don't seem to care as long as you get one of "their" papers too.

<<9) The USSDC encourages dual registration with ARBA, NSBR, and SSBA.>>>

<<These breeders have all or some of their Shiloh Shepherds™ registered with the SSBA-they also may be dual registered with other Shiloh Shepherd™ registries. It is the clients responsibility to determine where a litter of puppies will be registered.>>

The thing I found most interesting is the fact that each group only has a very small handful of "breeders" listed, and many of them show up on various sites, as members of each different "registry"! Yet, if you add them all up together, from among all of the new "registries" that are being advertised, there are less then 2 dozen "breeders" involved, and some of those listed have never even produced a litter of pups! What in the world could these people think that they are doing? Not one of them has a website that provides the public with any tangible breed information, aside from a few facts copied off our sites, after being "re-written" a bit!

Why is it that they are not willing to post public information like we do?? ISSR Inc Registered Litters 1991-2001

Please keep in mind that it is a registry's responsibility to maintain DATA on a specific genepool. Not just tiny little bits and pieces of mish-mash, but as much as possible in order to work towards the future welfare of the entire breed like the ISSR has been doing for over a decade now!

Please read our ISSR HEALTH SURVEY UPDATE 2001 and be sure to watch for our 2002 UPDATE coming out this spring ;-)

Please note: the ISSR does not allow for dual registration in our constitution--never has and never will. As per Article II Section 1 of the ISSR Rules and Regulations:

Under No circumstances will the ISSR allow Dual Registration.

If your dog is registered with any other organization it is not eligible for ISSR, Inc. papers. If your dog has ISSR papers and you choose to register it in a different registry, its ISSR registration papers will have to be revoked.

If you are looking for a REAL Shiloh Shepherd™ puppy, please be sure to visit our ISSR Licensed Shiloh Shepherd™ Breeders