Originally posted by Rod Russel
I long have believed that there are too many breeders of cavaliers in the US. When the AKC recognized the cavalier as a breed in 1995-1996, my greatest concern for the breed was that the resulting publicity would prompt a whole bunch of AKC breeders -- perhaps knowledgeable about purebred breeding but ignorant as a stump about the special genetic health conditions of cavaliers -- would start breeding them, for any of a variety of reasons, but certainly none that included wanting to breed early-onset MVD out of the breed. My concerns were accurate. There are way too many cavalier breeders in the US, and most all of them are AKC-only breeders, meaning that they have not joined and do not compete in the CKCSC,USA.
:shock:Is this not why the original club voted not to be a part of the AKC? Seems to me they did attempt to shelter the breed, so to speak, from being overbred/indisciminately bred but the demand for our beautiful dogs has been very high. Where would you have these interested cavalier enthusiasts go? BYB, puppy mills? You are making it sound as though breeders are purposefully trying to breed unhealthy dogs and are no better then the aforementioned two.
If these breeders have been doing nothinging but line breeding, they ought to leave now!
:bang:Give me a break. You know I did not mean that in the literal sense as you have taken this out of context. I meant that breeders are seeking out other breeders whom they may not have chosen in the past as suitors to incorporate in their own lines at that time. For whatever reasons. I feel, at least from what I am seeing and hearing many experienced breeders are trying to mix up their gene pools now as they are finally seeing what desperate straights we are really in. Perhaps this has been too long in the coming but again change does take time. And I'm certain that if I had have been breeding for years and years as some of them have been doing I may have not have been able to see that my contributions to the breed where not as wonderful as what I had first thought. I believe many breeders have not followed breeding protocols because they felt that there was not enough research to back up a hypothesis.
Which breeding protocols, of course, the vast majority of them find totally distasteful -- so distasteful, in fact, that the two national breed clubs in the US refuse to endorse either the MVD breeding protocol or the SM breeding protocol.
If these breeders had not taken to this wonderful breed in the first place we wouldn't even be having this discussion now would we because there wouldn't have been any cavaliers to have this debate over--would there? And many cavalier owners would never have known the true joy of owning one of these sweet little dogs.
In this breed, it has been shown that if you breed for a larger skull, the cerebellum will manage to keep up the same pace.[/QUOTE]
:yikesCould you please point me in the direction to a research study to disprove this as it seems to me this would tend to make sense. Why is it so, if it is, that the cerebellum still keeps pace? I had not heard of this but I am very new I do admit.
I am not all one-sided here though it may sound that way I am just feeling that people who have been dedicated cavalier enthusiasts/breeders for such a long time DO deserve credit for attempting to breed, what I'll bet they felt at the time, was the best representatives of the breed.
And I am in total agreement that present and future cavalier breeders DO need to take a more proactive role now lest we lose our breed completely. Regardless of what the clubs have and have not adopted I do know of some breeders who are indeed trying to do the right thing by attempting to breed healthier dogs. Do not lump ALMOST ALL breeders into a selfish pack of money mongers as there is not much money to be had in breeding without a master plan, especially in Cavaliers right now.:shock:
If there is something else you would like to direct at me personally for feeling as strongly as I do, please do not hesitate to pm. I do not mind the spar-just prefer it in my own space please.