Protecting Breed Development

Is ARBA doing a disservice to the world of purebred dogs? Since they seem to be the only "mixed breed" organization accredited with "recognizing" new/rare breeds you'd think that they would take such a responsibility seriously? This may have been the case when Anita first started out, however, from the research I have been doing, that is not the case any longer!!!

So let's take a moment to look into other developing breeds. How many decades did it take for the JRT to evolve into what we are familiar with today? The Parson Russell Terrier is fully recognized by the AKC, yet the JRT is not -- why? What about the Rat Terrier that has just joined the ranks of the AKC/FSS? Didn't they all originate from the same breed? Yet each variation has gone through decades of selective breeding, controlled by a parent breed club that was focused on maintaining proper genetic control! The approved all-breed registries did not get involved until the "breed" met specific requirements -- as it should be!

If you look at the Dog Fancy magazine, their breed acceptance policy states <<Breeds advertised in this section must be purebreds recognized by one of the following national or international kennel clubs: American Kennel Club (AKC), United Kennel Club (UKC), American Rare Breed Association (ARBA), Canadian Kennel Club (CKC), Federation Cynologique International (FCI), Japanese Kennel Club (JKC), or The Kennel Club (UK)>> I think that we can all agree that the other organizations have strict requirements for breed acceptance -- well, all except for ARBA!!

Past – Present – Future

The AKC fully recognizes 157 breeds, with 4 additional breeds granted partial status in the Miscellaneous class, and attempts to protect gene pool purity via their registry service and show venues. Another 58 rare breeds have been accepted into the FSS.

The UKC was formed to provide for << the interest of owners, breeders and enthusiasts who work to balance beauty and working performance to produce happier, healthier dogs.>> and recognizes 166 breeds! They are also involved in helping parent breed clubs properly!! I was very impressed after reading about their involvement with the Chinook!!

What positive influence has ARBA ever had, on the breeds that they "recognize"? Although they claim to be a "registry" they certainly haven't issued many certificates for the breeds that follow their show venues!! Although they do provide "papers" for some dogs, obviously they have continued to accept erroneous information, therefore the database they have compiled is severely polluted - at best!! I can't speak for other breeds, but this is certainly the case with My breed! Unfortunately, this has also led to many false rumors being spread about a wonderful breed of dog! Despite my efforts to resolve this situation, via many letters and forum discussions, ARBA has chosen to ignore my pleas! As of August I have informed ARBA that they no longer have my permission to use MY breed standard and asked them to remove it! After taking down my (copyrighted) version, they just made up their "own" !! This case is now being dealt with via the court system, although I am sure that ARBA will probably end up using something in order to continue collecting revenue from the LHGSD/mixed GSD folks that want to sell their pups as "Shiloh Shepherds" despite the fact that they are just defrauding the public!!

What ever happened to the good old days? When credibility meant something!! The FCI has been in existence since May 22, 1911 and recognizes more breed varieties then other organizations, without operating any type of registry. <<The Fédération Cynologique Internationale is the World Canine Organisation. It includes 84 members and contract partners (one member per country) that each issue their own pedigrees and train their own judges. The FCI makes sure that the pedigrees and judges are mutually recognized by all the FCI members.>> Their mantra is to approve a parent breed club for each breed and then to allow those that have the most extensive knowledge about the breed and hold the greatest interest for the breed’s future development to control the registry and breeders!

In order for a breed to be accepted, the parent club has to present extensive genetic data, proving sufficient breeding stock for at least 8 distinct unrelated lines. This requirement prevents intense inbreeding and therefore bottlenecking that particular gene pool, before it is able to reach any significant expansion.

Any “breed” that is based on just a small number of founders is in danger of over-inbreeding; thus drastically compromising its immune system and therefore quickly reaching complete extinction within a decade or two. Another good example of getting the job done right is the Seppala!! The Animal Pedigree Act of Canada has been very supportive, and with proper project leadership, by experts like Jeff Bragg, I believe this breed has a good chance of reaching full fruition

New breeds under development need careful, experienced guidance for several generations in order to properly expand their gene pools, while maintaining type. If you take the time to follow the links on this site, it should give you a better understanding of what is involved!! http://www.seppalasleddogs.com/sssd-project-beginnings-1.htm Yet, organizations like ARBA can just "paper" any Husky mix as a Seppala, just because the owners want to get a better price for their pups?? Ridiculous, you say?? Not so!! Take a moment to read http://www.seppalasleddogs.com/registries.htm Then for more info about the variety of "registries" that are available, you may want to go to http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/breedregistries.htm

So what’s up with this new craze that has hit the canine community within the past decade? New “breeds” seem to be popping up everywhere, and the “Rare Breed” organizations are shamelessly promoting this travesty while all kinds of “registries” are also “popping up” to issue papers for these dogs! Of course, with no restrictions, the BYB’s and puppy mills are jumping on board to mass produce these new “designer” dogs, charging outrageous prices for their mixed breed pups! http://www.canismajor.com/dog/poodogs.html

One good example of this trend can be seen upon investigating the Labradoodle.
<<I quickly realised that I’d opened a Pandora’s box when our next litter of ten labradoodles produced only three allergy-free pups.

I began to worry, too, about backyard breeders producing supposedly “allergy-free” dogs for profit. Already, one man claimed to be the first to breed a poodle- Rottweiler cross!

Nothing, however, could stop the mania that followed. New breeds began to flood the market: groodles, spoodles, caboodles and snoodles. Were breeders bothering to check their sires and bitches for heredity faults, or were they simply caught up in delivering to hungry customers the next status symbol? We’ll never know for sure.

Today I am internationally credited as the first person to breed the labradoodle, but I wonder, in my retirement, whether we bred a designer dog – or a disaster! >> Wally Conron, 78

The original concept was exemplary, an attempt to produce a guide dog for people that were allergic to the standard breeds being used! But the project itself has not been easy -- if you do nothing else, be sure to read http://www.alpsdoodles.org/

Thanks to the Internet we can take the time to do some serious surfing regarding these designer breeds foundation. Most people probably don't realize that many decades of research went into the creation of the ALD <<After much laborious research, the chosen breed for the infusion was the Irish Water Spaniel. It was particularly interesting to discover that the Irish Water Spaniel had only five congenital and genetic diseases that were found with greater than average frequency in the breed when compared to the 41 found in Labrador Retrievers, the 31 in the Standard Poodle and the 39 in the Miniature Poodle. >>

What about the future? Well, it’s obvious that this trend is exploding with all kinds of new “doodle” creations! Just take a moment to google up Golden Doodle, Cock a Doodle, etc. These “mixes” that once sold for $50 in your local newspaper are now selling for thousands of dollars, coast to coast! None of them have been bred as per the founder's vision, nor have they maintained a reliable database! As long as anyone can cross breed two (pet quality) dogs, they can demand unreasonable prices for the puppies they produce! Obviously, the money is in the NAME, not the quality being produced!!

There are dozens of other designer breeds too, some of which actually manage to get recognized, like the Mi-Ki, and what about the Kyi-Leo, wasn't that breed created the same way, only by a different person??

How many of these "American" breeds have been recognized by ARBA? How many of them are now represented by multiple clubs and registries?? How can these small gene pool survive such discord?

What is really going on behind the "smoke and mirror" curtain?

Registries like the FIC-FAC-APRI, etc. are more than happy to issue “papers” for a few dollars, and some are now offering fancy certificates for a little bit more $$.

BUT- what about the proper genetic verification? Obviously they just don’t care about such issues! They don’t feel that it’s their responsibility to properly document pedigree data, health data, or anything else! All they are concerned with is providing the new owner with a fancy piece of paper—not even soft enough to be productively used in the restroom!

Just like a few decades ago when the public was worried about purchasing “pet shop puppies” it’s time to wage a campaign against these opportunists that are padding their pockets while filling our shelters with unhealthy, unsound “designer” breeds!

The consumer needs to take action!! Grass roots movements need to be established in order to stop this insanity!! Our shelters are already overflowing with wonderful pets that must be euthanized due to lack of desirable homes!! http://www.1-800-save-a-pet.com/ <<Did you know that 7 million adoptable dogs & cats are killed each year due mainly to overpopulation? >> Where do all of these dogs come from?? Puppy mills, or greedy back-yard-breeders looking for some extra money? Think about it!! Not only are they doing a disservice to the poor creatures they are producing, they are also contributing to the dog ban laws and strict legislation that is being enacted in order to limit such practices, despite the fact that it ends up hurting the honest breeders that are dedicated to producing a quality companion for others to enjoy!! http://www.healthypet.com/library_view.aspx?ID=16&sid=1

Maybe it's time that the serious breeders take a stand against organizations like ARBA? If they want to play by their own rules fine, but they shouldn't be given any kind of credibility by the serious organizations, like Dog Fancy!! Maybe it's time to write some letters to the editors?? After all, we spend our money advertising our pure breeds, as per their rules, so we should have a right to take a stand against groups that refuse to live up to our standards!

Your comments are always welcome!

Tina M. Barber
Broken Hearted Breed Founder Reports

Please note the two dogs pictured in the banner: Korcha, bred as per Tina Barber's formula in the late 80's - across from Shadow, born 2 decades later, both registered and shown with the ISSR. These dogs exemplify consistency within the real Shiloh Shepherd breeding program!! For detailed pedigrees, please click on the banner below.

The ARBA Story | Shiloh Fraud | Tina Discusses the Vital Issues Facing the Shiloh Shepherd Today | Learning Center