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Article Written by FCI
world Judge Mr.Gerald O'Shea for
TTRM
One of the most common things
you hear said in the dog world is that the perfect dog has not been bred. I
believe this is true in most breeds, as the perfect dog is different to
everybody. In reality when breeders are trying breed the perfect dog the vision
is very different from breeder to breeder and definitely from culture to
culture. You see, I believe that what we hold as valuable or rather important in
dogs, is what we are taught. All over the world one can often hear people
expressing their differences in any given breed without thinking that most of
these differences are what we are taught and that differs greatly depending on
the dog culture we exists in.
If we step outside of dogs and take an example. I am sure that all of you can
relate to this. When we judge people, especially on physical appearance you'll
find that we have been influenced by popular media. In the early part of the
20th
century, when young ladies when dancing to the Charlton, the ideal was short
hair, maybe with a kiss curl, quite flat breasted low hipline, hiding any
obvious feminine curves. Fashionable women of the day strived for this look. By
the time the 50's came around, popular media was telling us that the ideal woman
should have curves. Large breasts, hour glassed figures, the Marilyn
Monroe-look. Shortly after came the 60's and its sexual revolution. Suddenly, we
were back to no obvious feminine curves - Twiggy was not the in thing.
Interesting how we can be so influenced by what we are regularly told is the
ideal.
Something I consider now to be very fortunate is that throughout my dog life,
spanning 30 years, I find myself changing my opinion on things that I was
certain of before. I started in Ireland, although an FCI country, the breeding
of Rottweilers is very much influenced by the direction and what happens in the
United Kingdom, a nonFCI country, and definitely very culturally different to
traditional European Rottweiler culture (which is FCI). After moving to
Scandinavia and participating more on the European Rottweiler scene, I found
myself in time adopting a whole new set of values. But, at the same time I tried
to maintain many elements of the breed I valued when living in Ireland. When I
started judging internationally, I began to see the breed in a broader light,
until finally today I have come to the conclusion, taking into consideration
what is required globally with the Rottweiler, is that breeding the perfect
Rottweiler is a much bigger task than most of us ever dare to think about. Most
of my close dog friends are breeders or fanciers of other breeds, so, of course,
we constantly discuss what is so difficult or wonderful about their chosen
breed. Much the same conversation.
The Perfect Rottweiler
You might say that my opinion is biased; but, I believe the Rottweiler is the
most wonderful breed in the world and in order for us aim for perfection we have
so much more to think of than so many other breeds. There are five basic
elements
which we must consider when breeding the perfect Rottweiler. And this can never
be achieved unless we concentrate on all five in our breeding program. So what
could those five elements be? In no particular preference; Health, mentality,
working ability, anatomy, breed specific details (generally known as type). Of
course, when we look at the above headings, it is very easy, and probably
preferable, for many breeders to manage their breeding program based on one, two
or even three of these headings, but it is the breeders who value all five
headings who are striving towards the perfect Rottweiler. So what makes them so
difficult? To begin with, lack of solidarity and common goals amongst Rottweiler
lovers throughout the world. Now this exists in all cultures, especially when we
have extremists towards only one or two of the above headings. You can see
people who are more fanatical only on show dogs, absolutely they can achieve
very high goals in this area. Then you will have the working people saying
things like "looks good, does nothing". Or “black 'n tan Labradors”. I even
heard one person say once when referring to a very beautiful bitch “Ah, it is a
Paris Hilton - looks great does nothing!".
Standing beside the ring at the ADRK Klub Sieger show a few years ago, I was
accompanied by an English breeder of show dogs, let's call her Miss B.
Throughout the day Miss B constantly complained about how much running the dogs
had to do and the lack of straight top lines (which by the way I agree with),
and the fanatical attitude in which most people showed their dogs. I tried to
explain the differences in culture but she was having none of it. Finally, at
the close of the day she made a snared comment. “As far as I concerned this is
just a group of working dogs at a dog show!" I said to her with a smile "At last
Miss B, - You understand!".
Working Ability
Then you have the people who are work, work, work. The problem here is although
I believe absolutely that the Rottweiler is a working breed and should remain
so, some extreme working people are willing to sacrifice quite a lot of breed
specific details, or type, in order to achieve their goal. Comments one can
often hear "black 'n tan Malinois,hyperactive stress bomb" or simply (with a
smile); "I wonder what breed is it??" I suppose it is a bit like truck racing
which is quite popular in America. You have these big trucks which are
originally designed for great strength, endurance and agility despite their
size. Bringing in a Ferrari sports car to race against these trucks, I am sure
would not only be disallowed but would absolutely defeat the purpose.
Health, health, health,are the individuals who believe that this should
prioritize over everything else and can easily become quite fanatical, not so
much in their search for health, but often it is to find the things that are
unhealthy; "the glass being half empty rather than being half full". It reminds
me of the time a young couple, having received their first pedigree dog, a
Rottweiler, were constantly told of all the health issues that can exist in the
breed. With regular visits to the Vet during the dog's first two years they
proceeded to check everything that could be a possible risk, hips, elbows, PRA,
cataracts, epilepsy, weak crocheted ligaments, osteochondroses of the hocks,
kidney disease, maybe he has a heart murmur? Until finally, one day they asked
the Vet, we think he might be deaf, because we heard that deafness exists in
some bloodlines. The Vet finally replied; "He is not deaf, but I think have to
take him away... Don't worry, he won't feel a thing." “ Why, why??" The couple
said. "If I put him to sleep and order a full autopsy, I guarantee you we will
find something wrong". In
Sweden where I'm now currently living hips and elbows is the dominant health
skim related to the breed. To some people, anything that is not absolutely ideal
in this area is referred to as "sick". I have even met breeders who say they
will only breed to dogs which come from a whole litter of HD/ED-free dogs. And I
must say have had quite a good deal of success in this particular health issue,
but their progress towards the perfect Rottweiler is not so fortunate.
Mentality
I suppose so much of the mentality we are looking for
rather then being breed specific has more to do with the
mentality that suits ourselves. The mentality and
behaviour of the owner is so much molded by the life
they surround themselves with and this will reflect in
what they want of the dog. Old Mrs. Erling with her blue
hair, her tweed handbag and her weakly trip to Bingo,
believes completely that Isabel, her 6 year old
Rottweiler female, who is so sweet, loves everybody and
would never harm a fly, spends most of her day lying on
the couch being hand fed by friends and grand children
alike. As Mrs. Erling would say; “She has excellent
temperament, except for she would kiss you to death."
Good luck trying to convince her that Isabel is anything
other than perfect in her temperament. I suppose that
Mrs. Erling is not much different to those show or
working fanatics I mentioned earlier. It suits what she
needs, so it must be correct. Fight drive, prey drive,
ball drive, hardness, and eager to work, full bite.
These are the words most thrown around as Stephan
describes what is so ideal about his Rottweiler's
temperament. "Nice dog, Stephan", says Tom. "Really
impressive work. Can I pet him?" . "Oh, no no no. I do
not like him being cuddled when he is working. Actually,
I don't like him being petted. What's ideal about him is
that he is a 'one man’ dog'".
As I said, the opinion of ideal mentality is seldom
anything other than what is ideal for the person
expressing them.
Anatomy
Anatomy, apart from the basic proportions of any breed which gives us body type,
is the whole foundation of movement. If you observe the dog world, you will find
that cultures which talk about movement most (ie balance, top lines, carriage,
top lines, reach and drive, top lines, clean fore and after, this ringside
culture is probably more dominated within the all breed ring. What is
interesting is that they make very good conversation but do very little
movement. "Excuse me Madame, once up and down and a triangle..!" Lovely top
line, well-balanced reach and drive, clean fore and after, and now, once around.
Well done -Best of Breed… The working dog showing us what he is capable of
whilst in the ring.
Before you jump to any conclusions, let us look at a rather different culture.
In this case, it could be over 50 dogs over a
whole day running lap after lap, lap after lap, walking then running, then
walking and running … Common ringside comments; "Oh, dark eyes, lovely pigment.
… strong bone, masculine head, nice colours…". Long detailed critiques is a must
at these events. Every aspect to the breed. But after all that running, you will
often find a simple description for movement, free flowing movement. Let us
compare notes; " Mick, what does your critique say on movement? "Free flowing
movement..!!" "Damn, you got exactly the same as in my critique… Free flowing
movement as well..?!!" "That can't be right”, Sarah said. “I got free flowing
movement too..?" Maybe we all have free flowing movement?
Type (Breed Specific Details)
The word type is probably the most misunderstood word in the dog world. Perhaps
because it has been misused again
and again. What is type? In reality, type is the breed specific details or breed
characteristics that define any breed. The
interesting thing is, although the breed specific details are actually more or
less the same even within the three
standards (FCI standard, English standard and American standard). The type is
often considered to be quite different,
because of our different cultural ideals. Or, let us face it; what it takes to
win in that particular arena is what we prioritize on. Then, it is how we use
the word type. For example, his type; her type; American type; European type;
show type; working type; the old fashion type of dog; modern type; Eastern
European type… The list just keeps going on and on. And yet, ironically, if we
ever take the time to read the breed standard or standards, with maybe a little
bit more open eyes, you will find that the breed specific details are not only
more or less the same in all three standards, those people who disagree on type
seem to agree on the breed characteristics if you ask them. Quite ironic really…
Today, the one element that seems to separate most countries when it comes to
their pursuit of type, namely the show people, is an issue that is very trivial
to argue about when you consider everything else. This, of course, is the issue
of tails. Throughout most of Europe, there is no choice in this matter as it is
illegal by law to tail dock in any breed, resulting an acceptance regardless if
it differs to your ideals. In countries like USA, it seems to be left up to
choice; but, like so many things in life, when you choose, you fly a flag,
saying which side you are on.
There was a time not so long ago that the American show ring both sieger style
and AKC was a complete mixture of
dogs from different cultural ideals. But let us face it; If the dog had the
right breed characteristics, and showed himself in
accordance with the style of the ring he was competing in, he could always be a
winner no matter where he came from.
Today, we see more and more prejudice related to the opposite camp, almost like
it is as if the other side is trying to show a
different breed in your ring. It has nothing to do with Rottweilers; but, more
to do with politics, power, culture and the fear of losing it. It seems the
extremism to which people will fight and defend these issues has no limits. In
Scandinavia, many years ago, when tail docking was first prohibited by the
Department of Agriculture (not by the Kennel Club), the show ring consisted of a
mixture of dogs with long tails and short tails. It was very much a transmission
period. At one of the bigger Rottweiler shows in Scandinavia came a very
powerful breeder who was absolutely against the long tailed Rottweiler. He
fought many bitter battles with individuals, clubs, and even local government.
But on this day, he presented a complete change of heart. So much so he would
present a prize to the highest placed dog with a long tail. A complete
turnaround. The show progressed 'til finally they found a winner of this prize.
With applause and jubilations, the prize was presented to the owner of the best
long tailed Rottweiler. Encouraged to open his prize, he found inside a saw and
a note that said; "Cut off that tail and you will have the complete Rottweiler".
This brings me back to what I tried to say at the
beginning. It is the dog culture in which we are exposed to that forms our
opinions and beliefs. So, the next time you hear somebody saying; "Bloody
Germans, all they do is count teeth…" ask
yourself this; If you were that bloody German and you grew up in their system
and culture, would not you be counting teeth too? With all our differences and
experiences finding the perfect Rottweiler, even if he or she did exist, they
would probably not match up to someone else's culture or ideals. At the
moment, I think the biggest threat in our breed is lack of solidarity. I
believe that like any relationship, whether it is man and woman, mother and
daughter, friends or dog fanciers, if we concentrate on all the things that
separate us and that we disagree on, the relationship is doomed and will fail
to develop.
But, on the other hand, if we concentrate on all the things that unite us,
that bring us together and that we agree on, the
relationship will flurries even with our differences. And to those of you who
read this article, I wonder what we have in common?
Gerard O’Shea, FCI (Sweden)
www.gerardoshea.com or
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