This has already been posted on several lists, so hope it isnt already on here, but do take a look at:

www.terrierman.com/rosettestoruin.htm

Sorry i can't do links but promise to learn one day!! ;)

Lindsay
X

there is a lot of truth in what he says. Once you stop breeding for working ability in those breeds that had/have a use it dies out just like anything else.  Some "working" dogs are too hot to handle in the show ring and to own for a lot of people hence the sad sight of "cardboard cutouts" that we see a lot of in the UK. 

I prefer the German system where dogs must prove themselves in the appropriate arena before they are even registered let alone bred from!  I know this applies to gundogs and Rotts, GSDs etc a pity it does not here.

Surely a BH as the minimum should be required here by GSD, Rotts, Dobes etc.  It is not exactly "testing"

Most of the breeds that were bred for working or hunting or vermin control are no longer used for their original purpose.   Cairns were bred to flush out vermin from the cairns and other rough places in Scotland.  They also would go into the rivers for otters.  Not a lot of call for those types of activities today.   If I look at the pictures of Cairns from the early days they look very much like modern day Cairns, but today there is a greater consistency of type. 

Cairns still have the instinct that made them useful at their beginnings and in the past I've participated in Earthdog (in the U.S.) trials where that instinct was put to the test.  It's not part of the show ring - but most if of the people that participate are also active in the show world.  Working ability - even if it's not used - is still considered important. At least for terriers, I do not think it has disappeared just because most competitions happen in the show ring. I used to live in a house full of mice and my Yorkie would literally scratch through walls to get at them.  My Cairn would bring her catch into the house (lots were in an attached garage) and drop them on my sofa. 

We concentrate more on structure, temperament and health today than on pure working ability in many breeds.  Even breeds that continue to be bred for working (labs for example) seemed to have diverted into different types depending on whether we expect them to be show dogs/companions or work in the field.  GSDs have split into six or more distinct types, depending in large part on the market for GSDs: Working (German type), Show (very angulated), All rounders (somewhere in between German and Speciality show types), Size ("Shiloh" shepherds and more), Colour (white shepherds), coat type  .. and more. 

I agree that some breeds have been physically changed soley to satisfy fashions in the show ring, to the point where they many cannot whelp naturally, breath freely, and are more prone to physical problems such as displaysia, spinal cord injuries, bloat, and countless other conditions which at least partly arise from exaggerated structure.  By the same token, breeds and breeders that concentrate solely on working ability often did so to the exclusion of temperament (except as it relates to working), longevity (because the dogs are/were shot when they lost the vigour of youth or their health), many puppies never became adults because they were culled as substandard working specimens ... and so on.  

Stacey