ISSR, Inc Breeder Matrix

Originally prepared in 2004 with last update 12/08

Over the past decade many people have gone to various ISSR Licensed Breeders feeling safe and secure, although they were asked to pay them thousands of dollars for a puppy, because they were under the impression that these people were part of my breeding team and were thus following all of the required protocols—NOT NECESSARILY SO!

Be sure to take a moment to read Shiloh Fraud.

Unfortunately many of these people joined the ISSR just so that they could get more money for their pups, not because they wanted to be on the pioneering team that was dedicated toward properly expanding our gene pool! However, it does not take long for unjust motives to be exposed, thus forcing these oxymudas to leave the ISSR and attempt to start their own or jump into one of the fake “registries”. I think that the matrix listed below will clearly show these trends!

Nevertheless, you must also realize that it is extremely difficult to predict what a particular breeder may – may not—be planning to do in the future. Will they be there for you a few years from now?

Regretably, this is not something that any of us can answer! It is up to the consumer to be alert and ask lots of questions! That's why we encourage people to join our Shiloh Shepherd Community Forums.

Too much of our gene pool has already been compromised! Too many good dogs have been lost due to their breeder going “haywire”! Just take a look at this Wall of Shame.

I hope that the matrix listed below will benefit future owners by discouraging the fly-by-nights from entering our program in the first place!

Oh yes, we have always had an LBA! Right from the start potential future breeders were asked to sign it if they wanted to register their dogs with the ISSR! Many refused to do so and stayed with the AKC instead, but others (maybe looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?) jumped in with both feet! Did they bother to even read the agreement? Did they ever intend to honor it? Who knows. Yet they quickly signed up and started selling their pups for thousands of dollars.

It did not take me long to figure out that many of them were selling their pet quality pups on co-ownerships with GOLD papers! Ouch!! Once I started investigating all of these cases and tried to work with these breeders to help them to properly evaluate their pups—I realized that I was being tagged as “THE” Super Bitch of the century!

Hmmm, instead of trying to breed better dogs--they just wanted to get me out of the picture! Enter the splinter mentality--and the rest is history.

Now you can analyze the true facts for yourself—hopefully this information will help you make the best possible decision when choosing your next future companion!

Shiloh Shepherds: What Are They?

Rare Breeds: What Are They?

Puppy Producers: What Are They?

Real Questions Honest Answers from the Shiloh Shepherd Breed Founder

Please note: Although all of the breeders listed in the charts and the three tables below joined the Breed Founder's VIB/OSSA (Original Shiloh Shepherd Academy) program to further their education in preparation for becoming future breeders, many of these people never even produced a litter. They are, nevertheless, listed because they had, at one point, signed up for the program.

Those who signed up, never registered a litter in the ISSR or left shortly thereafter and are no longer breeding Shiloh Shepherds are listed in a separate table below.

Many additional details are provided in the code chart listed below.

Former LB's (color coded in blue) listed as *INACTIVE are still supportive of the ISSR and own/plan to purchase ISSR dogs but have chosen not to breed at this time.

Those that have left the ISSR and continue breeding *their* version of "shilohs" within *their own* "registries" or are named on a "splinter" website as a "shiloh" breeder are color coded in brown and listed as splinters. For more details about these people, please visit our Shiloh Fraud, Buyer Beware and Tina Speaks! pages.

Table 1

(1) Year Joined	(2) Kennel	(3) Breeder Name	(4) Year Left LB Program	(5) Reason for Leaving	(6) Present Affiliation	(7) ISSR Litters Produced	(8) LB-ISSR Status
1974	Shiloh Shepherds™	Tina Barber	*	Active	ISSR	72	Breed Founder
1990	New Zion Shilohs	Lisa Barber	*	Active	ISSR	115	VIB
1991	Packs Hilltops Kennel	Jerry and Chary Pack	2001	expired	NSBR	8	Splinter
1991	Vic-Mar	Vicky Smith	1996	Gossip	None	2	*Inactive
1992	Atherton	J.D. Crane	1998		ISSR	4	*Inactive
1992	Betterways Kennels	Stephen and Barbara Betcher	*	Active	ISSR	10	VIB
1992	Bilan Shepherds	Billy Pellicane	*	Active	ISSR	0	Emeritus
1992	Smoke N Ember	^{Dale and Pat Urso}	*	Active	ISSR	1	LBIT
1992 1999	Windsong	Wendy Fullerton	1998 2004	started ISSDCR	ISSDC	8	Splinter
1993	Sundance	Neil Carbone	2001	expired	ISSR	2	*Inactive
1993	Liberty Acres	Don Roberts	2000	expired	sold out	12	None
1993	Sunstar	Gale Richardson	1998	ISSDCR	TSSR	3	Splinter
1994	CJ's Valley View Farms	Judy Vaneman^x	1998	ISSDCR	NSBR	3	Splinter
1994	Highlife Kennels	Pamela McCloskey Moody	*	Active	ISSR	3	VIB
1994	Rich Hills	Karen Faith	*	Active	ISSR	2	*Inactive
1995	Freestate Kennels	Wayne Guthrie	1999	personal	none	2	*Inactive
1995	Trinity	Judy McElroy	1998	NA	ISSR	1	*Inactive
1995	Mason Dixon	Don Leilich	1998	ISSDCR	TSSR	3	Splinter
1995	Valleybreeze Shepherds	Shane O'Brien	2000	Personal	ISSR	3	*Inactive
1996	Chaniya's A.-A. Kennels	Julie Kline	2001	expired	ISSR	2	*Inactive
1996	Danica Kennels	Eugene Luckett	*	Active	ISSR	8	LB
1996	Highlander Shepherds	Lynette Segee	2006	resigned		7	Splinter
1996	Vision Kennels	Barb Cullen	*	Active	ISSR	5	VIB
1997	Maranantha Kennels	Marion Tarbox	2003	Expired	ISSR	1	*Inactive
1997	North Star Kennels	Jim North	2001	Personal	ISSR	2	*Inactive
1997	Trillium Hill	Karen Ursel	*	Active	ISSR	8	VIB
1998	Howling Winds	Jan Lutsic	2006	NA		2	Splinter
1998	Northern Lights Kennel	Debbie Baker	*	Active	ISSR	7	LB
1998	Tigertoes Shilohs	Pam DymondWeed	*	Active	ISSR	0	VIB
1999	Camelot Kennel	Mynde Bunker	2002	deceased	ISSR	7	Deceased
1999	City Bricks Shilohs	Corinne Filipski	*	Active	ISSR	0	VIB
1999	Dayspring Shilohs	Lilli Anglin	*	Active	ISSR	7	VIB
1999	Noble Acres	Gloria Setterlund	2004	resigned	NSBR	1	Splinter
1999	PAW Kennel	Janice Williams	2000	2	USSDCr	2	Splinter
1999	Raid the Wind	Diane McClure/ Wendy Fullerton^x	2004	Started ISSC	NSBR	5	Splinter
2000	Atlantic Sable Shilohs	Jayne Polem	2005	resigned	NSBR/ SSBAR	2	Splinter
2000	Guardian Kennels	Vanessa Dutton	*	Active	ISSR	5	VIB
2000	Majestic Knights	Shari Lowe	2005	resigned	?	2	Splinter
2000	Rising Star	Sheila Masse	*	Active	ISSR	3	LB
2000	SilverMist	Wanda Wilson	NA	Active	ISSR	0	LB
2000	Strauss Haus Shepherds	Jessica Strauss	*	Active	ISSR	7	VIB
2001	Blue Moon	Katie Gallagher	2002	suspended	TSSR	1	Splinter
2001	Evergreen Kennels	Susan Ferry	2006	Resigned	ISSR	1	Resigned
2001	Narnia	Keith Kerns	*	Active	ISSR	1	LB
2001	Shepherds Ridge	Debbie Knatz	*	Active	ISSR	0	VIB
2001	Wildfire Kennel	Jessica	*	Active	ISSR	0	LB
2001	Winter Harbor	Jennifer Modigliani	*	Active	ISSR	1	LB
2002	Solace Shilohs	Laura Kathryn	*	Active	ISSR	7	VIB
2002	V.I.D.	Gabriele Wellik	2006	resigned		1	Splinter
2002	WhiteFang Shilohs	Olga Twombly	*	Active	ISSR	0	VIB
2003	Deelight Kennels	Dee Bunker	*	Active	ISSR	2	LB
2003	New Days	Terry DeVito	*	Active	ISSR	1	LBIT
2003	Omni	Vicki Ringstrom	*	Active	ISSR	0	LB
2003	Roads Less Traveled	Jennifer Grazer	*	Active	ISSR	0	LB
2003	RoseCity	Irene Valeneuza	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2003	Serenity Hills Shiloh	Willie Lass	*	Active	ISSR	2	LB
2003	Green Mountain Shilohs	Terry Trombino	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2004	Silver Maples	Michelle and Jim Sparks	*	Active	ISSR	0	LB
2004	TiAmo DMS	Mrs. Anthony P. (Nancy) Tisci	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2004	Wolf Creek	Mike Kerr	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2005	Savannah	Laura Lizotte	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2005	Carolina Mtn.	Michelle W. Johnson	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2005	Free Spirit	Valerie Hirschhorn	*	Inactive	ISSR	0	LBIT
2006	River Wind	Debbie Mayo	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2006	Gnostic Quest	Win Maag	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2006	SouthWind Shilohs	Jackie Watson	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2006	Torridon Shilohs	Marcella Foster	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2007	Moon Shadow	Cherry Moon	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2007	Dakota Shilohs	Lura Usselman	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2007	Shomeir Royim	Cheryl Ben-Magen	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2007	Silver Run	Chris Adair	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2007	Overdog	Pam Houghtaling	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2007	Shamira	Rick and Jan Foreman	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT
2008	Moon Song Shilohs	Denise Harden	*	Active	ISSR	0	LBIT

Note: Litter data is through 12/2007.

The chart below represents all the currently active ISSR Licensed Breeders as well as those who have produced one or more litters while active within the ISSR. The LB's are listed as per the year they joined the SSDCA as well as their current status. Slivers are also listed as per the year they joined the SSDCA (not when they left). Additional SSDCA members who joined the club in 2008 are waiting to qualify for entry into the exclusive OSSA program.

Chart 1

*2008 -- The red/white striped line represents those that have joined the SSDCA and are planning to become a part of OSSA as soon as they have met their probationary requirements. Upon completion of their training they will receive full accreditation in future updates.

Please note that we have not had any traitors (slivers) meeting the criteria for Group 1 to deal with from among the group that has joined us in the past 4 years (since 2003) and we hope that our new stricter rules for joining will enable us to continue this very pleasant trend!

Table 2

The following kennels only produced co-owned litters within the ISSR or never produced a litter within the ISSR or had litters but went back to the AKC, or left to work with a different breed, or never completed the program and are no longer breeding dogs. Those that were in our OSSA/VIB program and never had a litter who are presently on leave, but still supportive of the ISSR and may still choose to be re-instated at a later time are listed as ISSR-Inactive and color coded in blue. Those that have never produced a litter on their own while with the ISSR but have since started/joined one of the fraudulent registries (or are listed on a splinter website as being a breeder) are listed as splinters and are color coded in brown.

Year Joined	Kennel Name	Breeder Name	Year Left LB Program	ISSR Litters Produced	Present Affiliation
1991	Chateau de Chief	Shelley Watts	1996	2	Kings
1991	Da-Jo	Joan Zaniewski	1993	1	Neutral
1991	Gatekeeper	Josh Lewis	1994	2	AKC
1991	Iles	Steve Iles	1993	1	Kings
1991	JNK	Jackie Wisniewski	1996	14	AKC
1991	Midnight Sun	Marilyn Travis	1998	1	*Inactive
1991	Olympus	Tony Romenello	1995	0	AKC
1991	Schuler	Darlene Schuler	1994	1	*Inactive
1991	Von Wisel	Jean Wisel	1998	1	*Inactive
1992	Full Quiver	Dennis Cook	1994	2	Neutral
1992	M&M Shilohs	Mary Ann Bayley	1995	1	AKC
1992	Siskiyou Shepherds	Bev Roth	2005	0	Splinter
1993	Excalibur	Holly Petrenic	1995	1	AKC
1993	Pine Wood	Ellen Grandner	1995	2	AKC
1994	Dakota	Ralph Jackson	1998	2	Neutal
1994	Storm	Deborah Dennis	1998	1	Neutral
1995	Arizona	Char Fleming and Pat Brown	1998	1	Neutral
1995	Cascade	Joann Blank	*	0	Neutral
1995	Desert Kennels	Gary Allison	1998	0	Splinter
1995	Dogwood	Kimberly Hicks	2001	0	*Inactive
1995	Double Axel	Julie Jajowka	1996	0	Neutral
1995	Kingdom Kennel	Trish Heins	2000	0	AKC
1995	Lakeway	Penny Porter	1998	0	Splinter
1995	Legend	Tom and Robyn Young	1997	0	*Inactive
1995	Moriah	Terry Casey	1996	1	AKC
1995	North Star	Joan Ayers Cohen	1996	1	AKC
1995	Oasis	Tony Cocilova	1998	3	Neutral
1995	Sierra	Susi Ramstead	1998	0	Splinter
1995	Sky Shilohs	Dana Russe	1998	0	Neutral
1995	Tru Care Shepherds	Barbara Schonian	1998	0	Neutral
1995	Willamette Valley	Anne Spaulding Prill	1998	2	AKC
1995	Roaring Rocks	Sue Curley	1997	0	*Inactive
1995	Shaman	Jan Rayburn	1997	0	Neutral
1995	Six Paws	Kathy Dalton-Horn	1997	0	Splinter
1995	McKenzie Shoals	Sandy Oswalt		0	Neutral
1996	Gemini	Dotty Piscitelli	1998	1	Splinter
1996	Shenandoah	Patti Schaefer^x	1998	7	Splinter
1996	Gateway	Becky Althoff	1998	0	Splinter
1996	Destiny Shilohs	Kevin Plotz	2000	0	*Inactive
1996	Millbrook Farm	Marcia and Tom Turner	2001	0	Splinter
1996	Paragon	Colleen Gott^x	1998	1	Splinter
1998	Harmony Shilohs	Dale LaCognata	2001	2	*Inactive
1998	Heartsong Shilohs	Olga Wallace	2002	1	Neutral
1998	Shadow Hill Shilohs	Audrey Harrison	2004	0	Splinter
1999	Aurora Shilohs	Kelly Nobis	2002	0	*Inactive
1999	Green Acres	Tim Laundry	2004	1	*Inactive
1999	Legend Shilohs	Katherine Edison	2001	1	*Inactive
1999	Nizhoni Shilohs	Margaret Woodhams	2006	0	*Inactive
1999	Peaceful	Lyn Casto	2005	0	*Inactive
1999	Petra Kennels	Tonia Meadows	2001	1	*Inactive
1999	Rain Forest	Nancy Castro	2002	0	*Inactive
1999	Seven Fires	Annie Garlough	2002	0	*Inactive
1999	Mystic Morn	Linda Williams	2004	0	*Inactive
2000	Golden Spirit	Melody Bennett	2004	0	*Inactive
2000	KTF Shilohs	Jamie McGrath	2001	2	*Inactive
2000	Rivers Run	Amy Anstett	2005	2	*Inactive
2000	Shiloh's of Bethel	Kathi Williams	2001	2	*Inactive
2000	Thunderidge Shilohs	Jill Cameron	2002	0	AKC
2000	WaSha's Shilohs	Sharon Joshlyn	2003	0	*Inactive
2001	Asgard Kennel	David Schlosser	2002	1	*Inactive
2001	Belle-Grace Shilohs	Dawn Swick	2006	1	Splinter
2001	BraveHeart	Gary Felty/Lori James	NA	2	Neutral
2001	Eden Kennels	Robin Erlach	*	0	*Inactive
2001	Enchanted Flame	Ina Bushon	*	1	Neutral
2001	Lone Star	Kristie Butler	2006	0	*Inactive
2001	North Shore Shilohs	Angela Luke	2004	1	*Inactive
2001	Shilohs of Kai-Lyn	Virginia Storey	2003	0	Splinter
2001	Sirius	Jessica Harrison	2002	1	Neutral
2001	Wolfden Shilohs	Bill and Jill Gerew	2005	0	Splinter
2002	Abba's Shilohs	Michelle Wirrell	2006	1	Splinter
2002	Bearpaw Shilohs	Nancy Schmidt	2006	0	Splinter
2002	Sun Devil	Katy Schuele	*	1	Neutral
2003	Keystone Shilohs	Cheryl Bender	2004	0	Splinter
2003	Shadowgate Farm	Cheryl Mundy	2005	0	Splinter
2003	Southern Highlands	Cheryl McLemore	*	1	*Inactive
2004	Brick Chapel	Rhonda & Mikel Van Emon	2006	0	Splinter

Table 3

This group signed the LBA and registered their kennel names but did not fully participate in the OSSA program and allowed their membership to lapse after the first year. Obviously they were never committed to the program, some never even purchasing a Shiloh, so they cannot be listed with those that did have "some" incentive to get somewhat involved, albeit for a very short time, and probably the wrong reasons!

Year Joined	Kennel Name	Breeder Name	Year Left LB Program	ISSR Litters Produced	Present Affiliation
1994	Noah's Bark	Lacene Kammerer	1995	0	Neutral
1995	Genesis	Roxanne McSwain	1996	0	Neutral
1996	Covenant Farm	Nancy Ledford	1997	0	*Inactive
1996	Giant Step Shepherds	Leslie Bolin	1997	0	Neutral
1996	Tantara	Suzie Graham	1997	0	Splinter
1997	Kuro Kennel	The Milligans	1997	0	Neutral
1999	Deacon	Jane Howard-Hammerstein	2001	0	*Inactive
2000	Hidden Oak Kennels	Jo Walz	2002	0	Neutral
2000	Desert Wind	Lou Hedges	2002	0	*Inactive
2000	Sleepy Hollow	Rebecca Wentworth	2001	0	*Inactive
2001	Annawakee Creek	Pam Cole	2002	0	Neutral
2001	Aumoka	Karen Devor	2002	0	*Inactive
2001	Gottsburg	Craig Schuman	2002	0	*Inactive
2001	GEP Kennel	Greg Andrews	2001	0	Other GSD
2001	Splendor	Diane Ontko	2002	0	Other GSD
2002	Sequoia	Heather O'Connor	2004	0	Splinter
2005	Devotion	Chris and Laura Belair	2006	0	Neutral
2005	Genesis	Michelle Bowler	2005	0	Splinter

Explanation of Colors and Codes

(1) Year Joined

These statistics have been gleaned via the year that this individual joined the SSDCA, Inc. as a prerequisite to joining the ISSR Licensed Breeder (LB) program

(2) Kennel Names

are listed in alphabetical order as they appeared on the ISSR Registered Kennel roster

(3) Breeder Name

List of all breeders associated with that kennel name, be it a single entity, married couple or partnerships that have been formed for the specific purpose of breeding Shiloh Shepherds under that particular DBA

(4) Year Left

Represents the year that this kennel/person(s) rescinded their affiliation with the ISSR/SSDCA, Inc.

* indicates that the breeder is still in the program and those breeders are color coded in purple. Those that are no longer in the program but still true supporters of the ISSR are colored in blue. The rest are color coded in either black or brown for those no longer affiliated with the ISSR.

(5) Reason(s) for Leaving

This column lists a short explanation, ie.

Expired	Expiration of SSDCA membership
Personal	Various unexpected family problems (not dog related)
Resigned	Political/Gossip/Traitor issues
Attempted political take overs	Started xxx (new organization)--In such cases we will provide a direct link to additional information regarding this person's present affiliation. They are also color coded in their own color--brown.

(6) Present Affiliation

Direct link to more data regarding this former ISSR breeder! Note that some of these people have hopped in and out of so many "registries" it has been hard to keep up with their gyrations.

?? If anyone knows their present affiliation, please contact the webmaster.

(7) # of ISSR Litters produced

Gives the number of litters actually bred within the ISSR (not including co-ownerships). Data is updated yearly and is up to date through Dec. 2004.

(8) ISSR Rating

Those still with the ISSR are listed as follows:

A. As "fully" Licensed Breeders (LB/VIB)
B. As Licensed Breeders in Training (LBIT) until they have completed all of their LB requirements.

(x)

Helped orchestrate the attempt to have the UKC recognize the Shiloh Shepherd as a breed or started other clubs/registries (also color coded in brown).

It's been a rocky road for the ISSR, but all in all, we still have more dedicated people who have had enough grit to stay and work for the betterment of the breed.

Honest Facts

Over the past 17 years we have had a total of 168 people join/enter the LB ranks with 53% still supporting the ISSR. Only 9% of Licensed Breeders that ever produced a non-co-owned litter within the ISSR have left to join an alternate (fake) shiloh ''registry". Many that joined our program never completed the requirements/became discouraged prior to completion.

Where Do They Go?

In this article we have tried to provide you with a clear, honest listing of everyone that has ever been involved with the ISSR Shiloh Shepherd. As you can see, some people had an extremely short duration with us. There are many reasons for this! We would like to share just a few examples.

Many of these people just got a puppy and were very excited about the breed/becoming a "breeder" until they had a chance to face some of the real problems/disappointments that can go along with this commitment.

If their beloved pet's hips did not pass or she lost a few shows, or even if someone started a rumor about the person (not necessarily dog-related), they would get upset and "quit" the breed! Of course, this is not the way you would expect a "breeder" to behave, but these people are/were just pet owners that "thought" they may like the idea of "becoming" breeders, yet lacked the backbone and sacrificial mindset it takes to get there!

In another case, a couple had an amazing dog that did pass all of her breeding requirements, and was taking the show world by storm. But on one occasion they left her in the yard while they ran a quick errand, only to discover that she had opened the gate and ran right into the road, being killed instantly! This was so devastating to them that they just faded into oblivion!

Very few of the people that we have listed in chart 2 and 3 actually "left" the ISSR, they just dropped out of the breeding program (some permanently, some temporarily) for a variety of reasons that may/may not have had anything to do with their dog's quality, club politics or even the ISSR rules!

As you can see by the extended chart, most of the people that had joined the LB program, did not end up becoming "splinters"--only a small number actually chose to start/join "other" registries in order to to sell FAKE Shilohs!

These are the people who are now giving our breed a bad reputation because they have comprised quantity for quality and integrity for personal financial gain!

If you take your time to study our charts, it should help you to separate the wheat from the chaff, so that you can feel comfortable about contacting one of our active Licensed Breeders about your future puppy!

Before you contact any of the "kennels" listed all over the Internet, please join our community forum, in order to get to know our active ISSR breeders a little bit better. You will have a unique opportunity to read their posts, ask them questions, and read what other breeders, as well as their clients have to say!

By getting to know this breed, and all of *us* better, you will be able to make wiser decisions when it's time for you to purchase your future puppy!!

For more details, please view our 2006 update which shows that of the 167 litters produced within the ISSR between 1991-97, only 24 came from those that are now being called "splinters" and who departed in 1997-98.

Please note

As of 2001, the ISSR, Inc. (with the approval of the SSDCA, Inc.) has incorporated several stricter requirements for future Licensed Breeders. These requirements were re-affirmed by the board in 2004.

1. They have to sign the current Licensed Breeders Agreement and rededicate themselves to the program every three years in order to stay in the program.

2. They must consistently comply with the Genetic Task Force requirements for data submission on their dogs and on any litters produced in order to maintain their license.

3. They cannot attain full Licensed Breeder rights until they have fulfilled their Licensed Breeder in Training requirements (which takes three years to achieve).

4. As of 2005, potential breeders must wait one year from the time they join the SSDCA, Inc. before they may join the licensed breeder program, become a student in the Original Shiloh Shepherd Academy and be listed on our site as a Licensed Breeder In Training.

We plan to provide you with additional updated charts as per this program at the end of each fiscal year.

For additional clarification, visit our Shiloh History Timeline, Acronyms What Do They Mean? and our Confusion articles!

The ISSR has continued to grow and stand strong, despite all of the adversities constantly thrown against it, and the Shiloh Shepherd Founder!

A Note from the President

updated January 2008

I realize that there may be some confusion regarding these charts, as to why "so many" people have left the ISSR. Let me take a moment to assure you that our rate of attrition is actually not bad at all, when you consider all of the other factors!

First of all, you need to compare the real % of splinters, against the complete number of OSSA members!! Out of the 159 people that have 'signed up' to become "breeders" within the ISSR .. only 22% have joined the "dark side" and only about 1/2 of those are actually "breeding" fake puppies within the sliver camps ... and most of them are not even staying with just *one* registry ... instead, they are bouncing around more now than ever before!! These people were never involved with us for the sake of gene pool expansion, or breed recognition ... they were only interested in making some extra money breeding higher priced pups!! However, when the rules didn't fit their agenda, they jumped ship!

Many others did not bother to read the "fine print" or just didn't think that the rules would apply to *them* until it was too late!! For this reason we have continued to make things harder for folks to "just join" the OSSA program & start breeding puppies! As of June 2005, we have included a 1 year waiting period, from the time that they join the club, so that they can get to know us better (and we can get to know them better too) rather than allowing anyone to just "sign up" on a whim!!

We all feel that this new program will be very productive in the future, because it will screen out many of those that never made it much past the first year anyway, as well as those that are NOT sincerely interested in the future welfare of our magnificent breed!! However we still encourage newcomers that have honest intentions to join our program, and eventually become part of the pioneer team that is going to take this breed to it's final destination!!

We expect a great future for all sincere ISSR breeders!!! If you would like to get to know us better, please join our ever growing community forums!