RodRussell
Well-known member
Over the past decade-plus, I've exchanged many exchanges with several very well known cavalier breeders who insist that they know a lot more about cavaliers than I do simply because each of them is a breeder and I'm not. It is as if some holier-than-thou spirit descends upon those when they bring two purebreds together for the first time, and unless and until I do the same, I'll never share in the wisdom that spirit imparts to the chosen ones.
This logic(?) has enabled these breeders to contend that they not only know more than I do about cavaliers, but that they also know much, much more than researchers do about the genetic health of the breed. Thus, they entitle themselves to ignore such things as the MVD and SM breeding guidelines and even to deny realities, such as the extent that the breed is affected by CM and SM.
Well, there is a great example of the idiocy of certain breeders' mindsets on the Pedigree Dogs Exposed blog. Granted, the subject is the American Cocker spaniel (ACS), but there is a chronological series of photos of that breed, showing how distorted its champions (and thus, presumably, its breed standard) have become over the years. See http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-yanks-cocked-up-cocker.html
If the ACS breeders are so smart, how did they let this happen?
This logic(?) has enabled these breeders to contend that they not only know more than I do about cavaliers, but that they also know much, much more than researchers do about the genetic health of the breed. Thus, they entitle themselves to ignore such things as the MVD and SM breeding guidelines and even to deny realities, such as the extent that the breed is affected by CM and SM.
Well, there is a great example of the idiocy of certain breeders' mindsets on the Pedigree Dogs Exposed blog. Granted, the subject is the American Cocker spaniel (ACS), but there is a chronological series of photos of that breed, showing how distorted its champions (and thus, presumably, its breed standard) have become over the years. See http://pedigreedogsexposed.blogspot.com/2011/10/how-yanks-cocked-up-cocker.html
If the ACS breeders are so smart, how did they let this happen?