Pat, I do think that is the plan. They had 3 puppies at the show. I am hopeful they will be able to be an asset to the basenji group.
This is such an exciting time for all of us who love these wonderful dogs!
New application for the Native Stock Program
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Kennel Blindness can be a real problem especially for novices just starting. These dogs are our pets and we love them greatly which can make it difficult for us to honestly evaluate them. It is only natural to want to down play their faults and exaggerate their virtues. It can also be very difficult to hear an honest opinion of your dog.
I have known Pat pretty much since I got into the breed. She is one of the people who encouraged me to give showing a try and she put Nicky's majors on him. She has also always been nothing but honest with me about my dogs, good and bad. She may have a soft spot for my boy but it has never stopped her from sharing her opinion of what his faults are but that is also why she shows him so well. She knows exactly how to show the best of him.
We may not always see eye to eye but we each respect each other and take into account the other's opinion. I am happy to have someone who is willing to speak honestly with me about my dogs, sometimes it takes fresh eyes to see something you may have missed, again both good and bad. We have co-bred one litter together and co-own a pup from that litter but even when she has not had a stake in my litters she has always been willing to come and evaluate pups and has always been willing to talk through pros and cons of different dogs I may be considering. Again, I other people will see the same dog differently and sometimes it can really help to those different opinions.
I am lucky, I have several people in the breed who are willing to have honest discussions with me about dogs but I am truly open to their opinions and critiques.
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Thank you Lisa, well put in a description of a mentor. Of course however, Lisa started out with dogs from a good breeder, so that was a big plus…
Kennel blindness is a big issue with anyones dogs. You need to be honest and first find the faults with your dog when considering breeding and be honest if your dogs has something to offer the breed, not just breed cause you can. If you are truly interested in breeding, then you need to learn about conformation. Conformation is not just for showing, it is the structure of the dog that will serve it for a lifetime. And if you breed that dog, likely the bad will be reproduced and carried on. Pedigree and knowing what is behind your dogs is important, knowing siblings is important, so when looking at an unknown pedigree, especially with little or no health testing, breeders tend to "run" the other way.
If you can't learn from an established breeder or you don't want to see the faults your own dog or bitch has, then best leave breeding to those who can and do.
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@AJs:
I just get confused sometimes because the existing responsible breeders seem to narrow the field with the spay and neuter clause in the contract. I can completely understand the idea of trying to avoid BYB's and puppy mills. However, if folks want to start their own kennel, be responsible about it and show, their hands are tied by the contract with the original breeder and by AKC's requirement that altered animals may not be shown.
My point is, if this is in all the contracts, how do you expect anyone else to be able to enter the field if they have to answer to the original breeder every time they have a litter? At what point does the new kennel become independent and not have to ask the original parents' breeders to sign off on litters?
Sometimes it appears political and hypocritical to say, "I can breed puppies and show them, but if you buy one of mine because they are so beautiful and well-tempered, you are not allowed to carry on the line by breeding and I will further not allow you to show because you have to get my pup spayed or neutered." How, then, can anyone new get into the field without bringing in native stock? That is my question.
I think if you knew more breeders, or were active in the show/breeding community you would observe that there are lots of breeders that are happy to mentor, and/or get new exhibitors/breeders off to a good start. In fact, breeders that breed every year are ecstatic to get a buyer that may be interested in showing the dog, and possible breeding later in life. But the key is that you do have find a "partner" that you a good match with, and be willing to listen and learn from them. Not many good breeders are likely to sell an intact dog to someone who just wants to breed some puppies, then be devastated to find their kennel name in a petstore pedigree a few years later.
Most (all?) of the breeders here on the list, were mentored by someone who wanted to help us get a good start…and all by different breeders, in different parts of the country.
So, if there are people out there looking for a show puppy, or serious about becoming a breeder to protect the future of our breed, don't be discouraged, find a mentor, and take the time to do it right
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@AJs:
I can understand mentoring as well. However, I saw first-hand the result of co-ownership and interpersonal conflicts getting in the way of advancement of the breed. It took threats of a lawsuit to get a co-owner to sign off on the dogs. (I was witness to this mess, not directly involved.)
My own mentor would, of course, be my grandmother since she was a breeder and shower for 50 years. However, I would have to start with another breeder's dog because my grandmother ended her line about ten years ago. So again, I return to the question: how does one get started in the endeavor without having every subsequent litter encumbered by co-ownership and at what point does the person become independent?
In my case, each of my bitches was co-owned, though I probably could have owned at least one them outright by paying more. And my contract said that the breeder had the say for choosing the stud for the first breeding, and had to be in agreement with the stud in the case of a second breeding and then she would sign off on the bitch and I could breed her how I wished. It may depend on how important the bitch is in the breeder's program. One bitch of mine, I probably could have bred her however I wanted, and as long as I gave a puppy back to the breeder, we would have been done with that agreement.
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AJ's mom, who is your grandmother? What is her name and kennel name? I would love to see if there are pics of her dogs out there
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I think if you knew more breeders, or were active in the show/breeding community you would observe that there are lots of breeders that are happy to mentor, and/or get new exhibitors/breeders off to a good start. In fact, breeders that breed every year are ecstatic to get a buyer that may be interested in showing the dog, and possible breeding later in life. But the key is that you do have find a "partner" that you a good match with, and be willing to listen and learn from them. Not many good breeders are likely to sell an intact dog to someone who just wants to breed some puppies, then be devastated to find their kennel name in a petstore pedigree a few years later.
Most (all?) of the breeders here on the list, were mentored by someone who wanted to help us get a good start…and all by different breeders, in different parts of the country.
So, if there are people out there looking for a show puppy, or serious about becoming a breeder to protect the future of our breed, don't be discouraged, find a mentor, and take the time to do it right
+1 I would say that is my experience so far being someone new to the fancy. And I'm really new, I didn't really know any of these people in the fancy before last year. Most everyone is very encouraging and several breeders I know are enthusiastic about getting more people involved with showing and even breeding down the road. So, I personally am not seeing major roadblocks being described around getting intact dogs and even possibly breeding one day if I decided to do so. But that is because I am building the relationships I would need to do so successfully and responsibly. Can't say I've found a "mentor" yet but I have some people in mind. So I don't think the situation would be as gloomy as described.
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Just to get back on topic, (or perhaps its now off topic :p), could someone give me more details for finding out more about these 3 African B's, or at least let me know where to go for more info, pweeease…
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Thanks Ivoss :D…
Off to do some more homework on these dogs...
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Thanks lvoss for reposting the link… it was on the first post that I entered... but seems we have gotten off on a different discussion
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That was fabulous reading, thanks guys :). A really fascinating subject and I have thoroughly enjoyed looking at, researching, assessing the dogs myself etc, etc, etc… It is a HUGE learning curve, for someone so new to the breed, too.
Just have a question or two ??? As far as I can see the 2 Lukuru's were not old enough to be assessed at the survey last year, (as the dogs have to be over 12 months of age), but Avongara Ziki was, is there a reason she wasnt presented last year ??? I hope Im not opening up a can of worms with this question :o...
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Ziki is actually younger than Lema and Mopaya so all three were old enough to be presented.
One reason dogs may not be presented as soon as they are old enough is that the owners may not have been in a position to get all of the evaluations completed on time. It can be very time consuming to find available evaluators and if they are not near you, it can be expensive to travel to them.
