Hazyland Old English Sheepdogs

Celebrating all Bobtails since 2007

I only want a pet dog

 
The vast majority of people who contact me for a puppy 

say these words to me - "I only want a pet dog, I don't 

want to show. I'm not interested in all that"


And that is perfectly fine because at the end of the day I

am more concerned that my puppies go to good homes & 

not necessarily show homes.


However, here are my reasons on why you should

absolutely buy your puppy from a show breeder.


The UK Kennel Club has what we call a Breed Standard

for every breed of dog (purebreds). This is basically the

description and blueprint of how your dog should be built, 

how it should move, how it should behave and also any

distinguishing features or characteristics.


People who show their dogs are basically asking the 

judges (experts in the breed) to assess their dog against 

the Kennel Club Breed Standard. If the dog does 

consistently well under many experts in the breed then  

you can pretty much assume that you have a fairly good 

specimen of the breed. If you do not do consistently well 

then you should question as to whether the dog is good 

enough.


Breeders who show are always striving to produce the 

best puppies that they can to put in front of experts and

they use their knowledge of pedigrees, health results and

experience to try to produce better stock.


You should only ever breed from the best stock so if you

have stock that does not make the grade then it simply
 
shouldn't be bred from.


It is not a matter of being elitist or anything like that, it is a 

matter of producing as close to the breed standard as

possible. To do otherwise is to be on the slippery slope to 

ruining a breed. 


People can very easily become 'Kennel Blind' and are

unable to objectively look at their dogs and assess its 

faults. Hence the reason why they should be shown. If 

they are not shown and assessed, by experts, against the 

Breed Standard, how does the owner know whether they 

have a good specimen or not?


So, getting back to puppies. If you go to a show breeder 

who has used all their knowledge and expertise (and 

probably that of others too) you are getting your puppy

from a litter who have all been potentially bred to show.


Of course, a show breeder cannot keep everything that

they breed and there are a lot of show worthy dogs who 

are laid by the fireplace every night of the week. What 

those owners do have though, as well as their pet dog, is 

the knowledge that their puppy has been bred with care, 

will have come from parents who have been thoroughly 

*health tested and who have been well socialised prior to

going to their new homes.


So, knowing all this information, would you still want a 

puppy from someone who doesn't show, who has little 

knowledge of pedigrees and who does not health test their

breeding stock? No, me neither!!


*Health tests include - Hip Scoring, Elbow Scoring, BVA  Eye testing for Hereditary Cataracts (yearly), 

  DNA testing for PCD, EIC, MDR1 and CA