Koipioitu Facebookista. Kirjoittaja Eirik Krogstad, joka antoi luvan tämän tesktin kopioimiseen!
As an answer to a post here about working skills on LSL, and this will probably make some people very angry, but if there is one thing important about breeding of dogs, it is to tell the truth.
I have to write this in English because my Finnish is not good enough, but I’m sure you understand.
There are only a very few good working lines of WSL from those dogs that came in 1978-79 and later.
Unfortunally there is also Epilepsy present.
From those, dogs like Guka Shaman and Devil left some good offspring’s, but then it has gone downhill from there. Some went to Sweden others came to Norway. We have the same problem here. It is not something unique for Finland. Only a few good working lines and they do not produce stabile litters at all. One or two good ones (if we are Lucky), some average and the rest...well not good at all.
Why?
Well as I see it, dogs that do not hunt well has been used for breeding. I do not know how many times I have heard that the female is outrageously good and a wild panther in the forest.
So take her to trial then...!!!
No, no time for that, or the car just broke down and has to be fixed first. After that it's Christmas and then we go on vacation to Thailand for 3 weeks... You get my point.
Excuses, excuses, excuses.
Fact: The female has become very good all of a sudden because the owner want a litter from her.
I have asked for films, pictures, whatever to prove that the owner is telling the truth. Because if the female is so good that someone want to breed her, then there must be some evidence of that.
Never got it.
People do not seem to carry a video camera to the forest.
Ok, but in most cases that is a lie.
If everybody reach down in their pocket, what to you find...? Oh, a mobile phone!! How many leave that at home when they go hunting? I don’t, and that goes for 99 % of the hunters.
There are very few phones left that doesn't have a damn good camera on it. Very few! Hymiö wink
So... almost all of us have the opportunity to film the dogs working, and if you are proud of your dog, you are not afraid to show it either.
Another problem is that dogs has been sold to people that doesn't hunt at all. There are even kennels that produce an outrage of puppies from parents with zero hunting documentation.
For a hunting breed, this is devastating.
What else… ? Well, for many they take the easy way out when they mate a female. They use the male that live closest to home. Quick and easy, but not necessarily the best solution.
There are breeders that travel far to get a good male, and as a breeder one must be prepared to do so. Even out of the country sometimes.
One good thing I see here in Norway, is that if litters are born from parents with no documentation on hunting skills (read trials) they are stuck with puppies. Puppies remain until they are 5-6 months old, in many cases more.
Puppy buyers request documentation, and that is a sign of good health if you ask me.
Personally, I have decided to start all over, and only use Russian dogs. Dogs from well documented lines with a priority on good treeing dogs. Dogs with diplomas on birds, squirrel and marten. Those I know are working dogs. Bear and wild boar are important, but only to get an idea about the dog’s courage. Those two elements are important in my opinion.
Courage cannot be measured on moose.
Why…? There are plenty of good moose dogs that back down from contact with both bear and wild boar. That is a fact!
We all know that. Some even try to cover it up.
In order to get a good litter, there must be two good parents, and not just one.
Two parents with the same good skills and good working moral. The best way to see working moral in my opinion is to see how the dog work without any contact with game at all. Honestly, most dogs are on a promenade until they find a track or smell. Then they start up.
A good + bad combination of parents will never give excellent puppies. Important to remember that. It may, but the chanses are minimal.
Some also talk about preserving their own “lines”. This is ok if the dogs have outstanding hunting abilities. If the dogs show any negative signs like bad hunting skills or bad health, cut that “line” and start all over again. The kennel name will go on through different dogs with good skills.
This is what’s best for the breed and it will reflect positively on the kennel.