fewer or more sheepdogs?
Your thoughts? |
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| It may very well be true.
The membership of OESCA is down from what it used to be. If we base it just on that fact then it would support that there are fewer breeders. We do know that some people just don't belong to the club any longer but are still breeding. But just based on membership numbers, they are down. The "old time" breeders are becoming just that, old timers. Their increasing age means that they are unable to breed anymore. Many people who aren't succombing to the age thing are breeding fewer litters overall. I do know that many of the Amish in this area are no longer breeding OES due to their high maintenance. More hair=more maintenance. The people who I had spoken to said that they were getting warnings for the grooming and between that and their "craziness" made them get rid of their OES breeding stock. (This was a couple of years ago, haven't made the puppy mill rounds in a while.) So I would say the OES gene pool is shrinking; both on the good and bad breeder sides. Beyond good breeders breeding less litters, they are also breeding locally or within their own kennels causing a smaller gene pool. The other issue is people running to the stud of the moment. So lots of dogs have the same dad. Take a look around here and see how many dogs have the same dad as Suzi. While they are great puppies, they can't be bred to each other so limiting future litters. Also, people only really breed within their area. East coast people tend to stick with East Coast, West Coast with West Coast, etc. It's hard to go across the country to a dog you've never seen in person versus a nice dog you see every weekend. On the bad breeder side, less Amish breeding means less Amish dogs out there. Which is great! Also, I would think that people who got their dogs from the Amish would be running into enough problems by now to limit their breeding as well. I do think that the one community that is increasing their production would be the BYBs. But, does increased production equate to increasing the size of the gene pool? AND since all current OES really stemmed from a limited number of dogs, can we really expect the gene pool to increase that much? |
| I am not a breeder and don't anticipate ever becoming one, although I would like to do so--in theory, if things were different. Here's why (time and money aside--I don't have enough of either):
I just don't think I am cut out for showing dogs. I am not offering criticism for the process of the show ring, but merely stating the fact that it doesn't fit my personality. I love my kids and most people would feel I have been a good parent--but I didn't enjoy the endless soccer games and other events that go with childhood. I did it for my kids and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when they finished. I love my kids--love spending time with them. Just would rather it not be in a car, going to endless events, spending money on hotels and bad food and standing on the sidelines listening to people offer their (often uninformed) assessments of teams, strategy, individual players--and their families, officiating, and other assorted social commentary. I would have much preferred to spend the day hiking in a state park or going to a museum or baking --all of which involved spending quality, non-competitive time with my kids. I have owned OES for 16 years. I am seen in my community as a good dog owner whose dogs are well behaved and nicely groomed (but not in show style--which, I am sorry to report, is not my style). I have a background in biology, including genetics and medical biology. I understand the need to breed for health and stability and excellent temperment. And of course, testing for hereditary health concerns. I have a good enough background in genetics, and have read enough from enough different breeders on this forum to be concerned about the apparent lack of genetic diversity--and the increasing number of health issues aside from HD. But at best, should I ever decide to breed a litter or two (and couldn't possibly now if I wanted to), I would be considered one of those loathesome back yard breeders. You would never, ever consider breeding any of your animals to my (imaginary) animals. Or those of anyone like me. I am not blaming you--but I am suggesting that NOW is the time to try to figure out how to mentor new prospective breeders, how to help them through the showing process, if that must be part of the process. In 20 years, it will be awfully late to try to revive this breed. |
| Happening here too, breeders because of age not breeding anymore and no young ones taking over the mantle. Very hard to get people interested and seems small breeds are taking over from the large ones.
Smaller yards, less costs, more busier lifestyle so people choose a less intensive breed to have at home. With the OES gene pool shrinking world-wide, yes that is happening but also technology is opening up more for the breed. Rather then pay thousands and thousands of dollars bringing in a stud dog from O/S with new blood lines frozen semen and importing that in has opened up the worlds genetic pool for the breed. No quaranteen, straight in and the technology of getting a bitch into whelp from frozen semen is getting more advanced everyday and more successfull. Problem I see in the breed and seems to be everywhere is No younger ones interested, without them no one to carry on. Even our OES clubs here are struggling for survival. Tasmania folded, and a few others are on the brink of extinction as well. |
| Here's an interesting article on the subject:
http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/20 ... nking.html |
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