Concern for a Breed

  So, is there such a thing as the Westminster curse? What about the Disney curse? You know where if a dog is depicted in a hit movie from Disney or wins Westminster that the breed becomes so popular that it is actually detrimental to the breed. 

  I am not too sure about the validity of the curses but there is something to say about breeds that get extremely popular.

  Over the last few years, I have been noticing the increase in the number of German Shorthaired Pointers (GSP) in the field. They literally seem to be everywhere.

  I have attended a number of events over the last few weeks from AKC to UFTA and the majority of the competitors have been GSP’s.

 This is not really a bad thing, but it has me thinking about the breed and can their popularity be something that would be a cause for concern.

  What do I mean by this, in the past we have seen breeds become popular because of one reason or another that it was a detriment to the health of the dogs being bred and never mind the how they performed.

  This is usually where someone says give me an example.  In the bird dog world, I can think of two examples that have gone down this road. They are the American Cocker Spaniel and the Irish Setter.

 Let’s talk about the Irish Setter for a minute. People became enamored with the beautiful mahogany coat and the elegant lines of this dog. This infatuation led to breeding more for coats than for the ability of the dog to do his job in the field.

So as this went on for a number of years, good hunting lines of Irish Setters became hard to find. 

 A dedicated group of people got together with two of the well-known registries and presented the case to breed the remaining lines of hunting Irish to English Setters to put hunt in the dogs. These dogs then had to be bred back to pure Irish Setters and after two generations the dogs could be registered as Irish Setters. 

 In the end this is what gave rise to the Red Setter as the field type is known. 

 Fortunately, there are breeders today that are concerned with performance and are bringing the Irish Setter back.

 What does this have to do with the GSP you say? I say that since the breed won Best in Show at Westminster in 2016 the rise in popularity has increased greatly.

  Now I know that the breed is a great companion in the field. They do well with a family and are generally healthy. These are some of the attributes that make the breed appealing to hunters. 

 However. today if you are looking for a puppy you see an inordinate amount of GSP puppies as compared to the other breeds. This to me is concerning.

  The rise in popularity seems to suggest that people are willing to pay a premium for a puppy. This is good for the breeder. They make a few dollars, but if the breeder only sees dollar signs and not the improvement of the breed then how beneficial is it to the breed?

  If the dogs being bred don’t have health screenings done for bad hips, elbows, eyes and the lot, how do you know you are breeding the best candidates? Just because this dog runs well and that one looks good doesn’t mean they should be coupled. 

  Recently I heard from a trainer that specializes in GSP’s, this trainer said that they were getting out of the breed. When I asked why, one of the reasons was that they are seeing more and more dogs that are not interested in birds. This is bad for a breed that is used as a bird dog.

  It seems like we have been down this road. The breed is getting so popular that a lot of people are breeding dogs that have no business being bred and that is actually hurting the breed.

 I am not implying that every breeder is doing this. It does seem though that the ones that are just chasing a dollar are out pacing the ones that care about the breed. This seems to be the same fate that the Irish setter faced.

 I hope I am wrong, but this is how I see it.

 The only way to slow this, in my opinion, is to ensure that if you are buying a GSP get them from a reputable breeder. One that works with his dogs in the field, whether it is NAVHDA, Field Trials, Hunt Tests or personal hunting dogs. This breeder should also be conducting health checks to ensure the dogs that are being mated are as healthy as they can be to ensure the improvement of the breed not just in the field but the health of the breed as well.

 Also ask to speak to previous buyers and see what their experience with the breeder’s dogs have been. You will get more than an earful if the dog is not healthy or performing well.

 I hope that I am wrong about the popularity of the breed being a detriment. I don’t want to see it become the next Irish Setter or Cocker Spaniel. That fate would be horrible for such a good bird dog.