“I don’t want a show dog, why should I buy from a show breeder?”
This is a common sentiment during the puppy inquiry process. Let’s talk about why, even though you don’t want a show puppy, you should be interested in preservation breeders.
Let’s start with defining a preservation breeder: A preservation dog breeder is a person who raises a particular purebred breed of dog with the intent of preserving that breed. More information on preservation dog breeder can be found here.
Quality, Temperament, and Health
The art of breeding any species (animals, plants, even bacteria) uses artificial selection to select for specific traits of multiple generations. In dogs, some of the traits we consider include structural quality, health, and temperament. When choosing breeding pairs, we consider aspects of each of these to determine how we might create an offspring that is improved over its parents.
Ultimately: preservation breeders carefully select the proper breeding pairs that will contribute to their breeding program or the breed’s genetic diversity in a positive way. We do not breed randomly and are continuously selecting for positive traits.
Health Considerations: Each national breed club (for Shelties, the American Shetland Sheepdog Association) recommends a set of tests, based on predisposition in each breed, to be completed prior to breeding any dog. In Shelties, we run a genetic panel, test hips, and eyes. When selecting breeding pairs, we take into consideration the test results of each parent + the possible outcomes for the puppies.
Click here to see the recommended testing for the Shetland Sheepdog.
Temperament: Preservation breeders select animals that have stable temperaments, suited to their breed. The Shetland Sheepdog was initially intended to be a companion and a working dog for the farmers they worked with/for. The temperament for the Shelties is described here: “The Shetland Sheepdog is intensely loyal, affectionate, and responsive to his owner. However, he may be reserved toward strangers but not to the point of showing fear or cringing in the ring. Faults-- Shyness, timidity, or nervousness. Stubbornness, snappiness, or ill temper” (AKC Standard, ASSA.org).
Therefore, all preservation Sheltie breeders should be selecting breeding pairs with parents that are friendly, loyal, and trainable. These are main characteristics of the breed and one of the biggest reasons that the Sheltie is a popular family pet.
Structural Conformation Quality: Each breed with the American Kennel Club (AKC) or the FCI (for those in Europe) must have a written standard. The standard was created by the founders of the breed, and it describes the preferred traits of each breed. This description, or standard, is truly the “standard” to which we breed our dogs. For example, Shelties in the AKC must be between 13-16 inches. Any dog that is outside the height limit should be disqualified from conformation competition. The more closely a dog fits the structural standard, the higher quality is is.
The standard was created by what the breed needed to be successful in for its original purpose. Shelties were initially hardy, small herding dogs in the Shetland Islands, also bred to be companions for their owners. While Shelties only herd recreationally in some cases now, proper structure still helps the companion sheltie to stay fit and sound throughout its life as a companion.
This is important to the pet owner because a dog with good structure is better built to run in the yard and jump in agility. Much like humans, dogs with better structure will face less physical difficulties as they age.
So why not any breeder?
Not all breeders are breeding to select traits that align with the standard set forth by the parent club + accepted by the American Kennel Club. In the absence of a guiding standard and careful selection, there is no guarantee of what the dog you receive will be like.
Thing of a doodle: there are few generations and little standardization of doodle breeding. Therefore, there is great genetic diversity in traits. Go back to High School genetics…this means that there is no guarantee that your puppy will have the traits that you want it to. There is approximately a 50% chance it will have the Poodle or other breed’s trait. There is no formal, standardized stud book. This means there is no formal record of bloodlines, quality of breeding stock, or perhaps even record of which parent belongs to which puppy! There is no standard to breed to, meaning that breeding pairs are often picked randomly or out of convenience. All of these factors makes it nearly impossible to track trains that are passed down between generations, making it much more difficult for you to predict what traits your puppy will have!
So, what to know?
Preservation breeders spend their lifetimes learning the art of breeding, learn to understand standard, and become experts in the raising of puppies. Preservation breeding is a labor of love for the dog and the breed.
When selecting a breeder, you should ask the following questions:
What health tests have the parents had, and why were those tests run?
Why were these parents selected + bred together?
What is the temperament of each of the parents?
What socialization or training do the puppies receive before coming to their new homes?