Why bring a new breed into the world?

In the dog breeds of today how many dog owners’ use their dogs for what they were bred for? Today’s dogs still possess those inherited instincts. In my many years of dog training it has always bothered me that owners were conditioning breeds of dogs that were bred for a specific purpose, into becoming a family pet. I have seen them try to modify the pup’s behavior. These dogs were placed in city dwellings and were suppose to fit?

There are dogs that were bred specifically for that purpose. They are classified in the breed books under the category “toys." The toys are the only breeds that were specifically bred as a pet.

Instead of changing old breeds into a new breed of dog that is in demand today by breeding natural instincts out, I felt I should create a new breed of dog. A plain ol’ companion dog.

The American German Shepherd is not the same dog as the German Shepherd Dog. The American Shepherd is more of a companion dog. Since it is still registered as a German Shepherd Dog it is suppose to be a “working dog“ as described in the country of origins standards of the breed. Working dogs were bred to do jobs such as guarding life and property. Well now this tends to confuse the public as to the proper character of the German Shepherd Dog. How come a person could have a great Shepherd for twelve years and then when they go to purchase another Shepherd they find it intolerable?

Hunting breeds are being bred as companion dogs also, as that is what the public wants. Owners who want to enter their dogs in field trials find the breeds can not perform as they use to because breeders are selecting the qualities that the everyday person wants. This is causing a separation within many breeds’ characters.

By creating a new breed of dog and classifying it as a companion dog, the public would be able to use the categories that go along with the different breeds of dogs and the old hunting dogs would be protected from breeders who breed family pet dogs.

As things are now the public doesn’t understand what those categories are. When choosing a lifetime pet it would be so much easier to use those categories to find the pet that best suits your family. Have you ever tried to find a family pet by looking in the different categories as to which breed would best fit your lifestyle?

Let’s take a look at the breeds and their categories:

Group #1. Sporting dogs: gun dogs, bird dogs. These dogs hunt; locate and retrieve game birds.

Group #2. Hounds: for hunting large game, hounds for hunting small game. Coursing dogs. Dogs that see their game and chase it. Trailing dogs. They hunt all game but birds.

Group #3 Working dogs: these dogs work for people doing many different jobs. Guarding and draft (pulling) dogs.

Group #4 Terriers: the working terriers, terriers that hunt and/or go to ground. They dig, bark and run after rodents.

Group #5 Toys: companion dogs, bred mainly for pets. Small pets.

Group #6 Non sporting dogs: and all other dogs.

Group #7 Herding dogs: these dogs herd or gather up farm animals. Drive or move animals in a group into a designated pen or area.

Some of you probably never knew this categorization existed. Well, know you do. Kind of makes it nice to be able to see which breeds were bred for what and makes it a bit easier for us to choose that perfect family pet.

Please keep in mind that for hundreds of years these breeds have been breeding within their own breeds and their instincts are set very strongly. A hunting dog was bred to hunt. Terriers were bred to go to ground (dig, bark, bite or kill their prey). Herding dogs were bred to herd animals and so on. To expect a true working dog to fit into a family companion dog group would take years of re-breeding to weed out the working dog he is.

Around 1570 A.D., the Caius College in Cambridge, England put out the first listing or groupings of dogs that I know of. All grouping of dog breeds come from there. I am using the groups that the major dog registries have settled upon. I did not make up this list.

In studying these groups I see two groups that fit into the category of a companion dog. (Toys and Non sporting dogs).

If you live in the city you will find that there are many rules and regulations concerning your dog that you must live your life by. Each city, town, or state’s rules and regulations are different. You may find these rules or laws in your library. Some of the major regulations are in this book’s chapter on “Dog Laws."

If your dog is a nuisance you may get sued or your neighbors might start doing little things to upset you. I think they do that because they are extremely upset at you and your pet and do not wish to confront you. Maybe they have yelled at your dog or called you on the phone complaining about your dog. Maybe you just start finding cat feces on you’re front door step or your car gets keyed. Now there becomes a feud between the neighbors. Someone may go to jail or end up killing something as has happened recently in the news. I felt very bad for the neighbor who was being so harassed that he struck out his foot at his neighbor’s little dog and ended up killing it. Of course it wasn’t the dogs fault. And I am sure the neighbor did not have intent to kill the dog, which could not help what his owner had done to him. Putting him in harms way like that.

You can see though that it would help if a person’s dog had certain qualities. Qualities that would not tend to enrage the people living near you. Note that we are not talking about the owners here. I do realize that everyone needs to use their common sense, but some folks just don’t have any. (I guess that's for another book). What we are focusing on in this chapter is the best breed of dog that would fit into our society or neighborhood (as it is today) with the least amount of modification or training.

Ok, so let's take a look at the two groups we have to pick from above. I am sure there must be more dogs in those other groups that would be great companion dogs also, but a hunting dog is and should be a hunting dog. To require a hunting dog to be a companion dog would mean that someone would have to modify that dog’s behavior to calm him down enough to fit him into the neighborhood. And what if that hunting dog saw a squirrel? I’m trying not to change the behavior of a dog by breeding the hunting or herding instincts out of the dog and, therefore, loosing a great breed. Nor am I suggesting one modify the natural instincts of that dog to have him fit into a companion dog’s role. Some would argue with me that a hunting dog could be a companion dog. No argument. It can be done. I’m talking about the many everyday folks who don‘t want to, or can’t modify their dog’s behavior. Folks who don’t have the time to go to dog classes. Folks who want it simple. Folks that want a dog to just be itself and don't want any hassles with the neighbors.

Let’s examine Group #5, the toys and companion dogs:

Affenpinscher

Brussels Griffon

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Chihuahua

English Toy Spaniel

Italian Greyhound

Japanese Chin

Lowchen

Maltese

Manchester Terrier

Miniature Pinscher

Papillion

Pekingese

Pomeranian

Poodle (toy)

Pug

Shih Tzu

Silky Terrier

Yorkshire Terrier

From this list we have to take away all dogs that bark a lot and who will disrupt their neighbors by their high pitched, uncontrollable and consistent barking. Barking dogs are the number one aggravations to neighbors who get so upset over the continuous barking that it drives them out of control!

Now, we must take into consideration that a good trainer can control a dog from barking while he or the family is around. One can also place a non-barking electrical collar on the dog while the owners are gone, but we are not talking training here. So, eliminate all the consistent barkers and you get:

Shih Tzu

Pekingese

Pug

These are all the rather calm companion dogs that can be more or less easily trained to be acceptable to the neighborhood. Any breed of dog can become a barker if the situation allows it.

Ok let's go on. Let’s check out Group # 6 the non-sporting dogs:

Bichon Frise

Boston Terrier

Bulldog

Chow Chow

Dalmatian

French Bulldog

Keeshond

Lhasa Apso

Poodle

Schipperke

Tibetan Spaniel

Tibetan Terrier

And let’s eliminate the barkers so we have a new list:

Bulldog

Chow Chow

Keeshond

Lhasa Apso

Lets just go ahead and include group # 3 the working dogs:

Akita

German Shepherd

Doberman

Rottwieler

Mastiff

Bull Mastiff

Boxer

Poodle

Saint Bernard

Newfoundlander

And let’s eliminate the notorious barkers as best I can, so we have a new list:

Akita

Mastiff

Boxer

Newfoundlander

So here is your combined list of possible companion dogs that don't need to be modified in their trainings to genetically un-inherit their traits. The more quiet non-barkers of the list so to speak. Some of these dogs can become notorious barkers if allowed to do so but for the most part they don’t bark much. It was very hard to choose but I had to make a choice based on what I have seen. So now here is the new list.

Bulldog

Chow Chow

Keeshond

Shih Tzu

Lhasa Apso

Pekingese

Pug

Akita

Mastiff

Boxer

Newfoundlander

Let’s continue. What if you have frequent visitors or children? We must eliminate all dogs who would be a threat to children or adults who may visit your home, unless you put up fences and warning signs. But remember we are looking for the perfect companion dogs that will be the least likely to cause any problems in today's society.

Here is the new list:

Of all the many breeds in the world, for which there are over 4 hundred, one can see that there are a very limited number of breeds that would be a breed that would cause the least amount of problems in this sue happy country.

To be completely fair, I should at least add 8 more breeds to this list that are in the miscellaneous classes and/or who are recognized by other countries throughout the world. The total of dog breeds that would fit into the companion dog list that are easily trained, don’t bark much and who are not a threat to others would then rise to about twelve. However, I will not include them here, as I do not expect this book to be a best seller and to be read by others that may be living in the many different countries around the world. Lets go ahead and check out these four breeds a bit closer?

Pug --- The little pug can be aggressive for its size especially to children who the pug regards as a threat as they may step or fall on this little guy. If the pug lives with an older couple the pug will not tolerate children, unless that older couple has grandchildren and the adults teach the kids not to bother the dog. You may have to put this dog in a vari kennel when the grandkids come over. When a pug is raised around children they do fine until they get old and cranky. Dogs that are small are not stupid, they fear larger things falling, stepping, or harming them. They will defend themselves.

Bulldog --- Now I know all dogs with teeth will bite and even old dogs without teeth can bite, but these three last breeds are good-natured and do not bark much. The one who barks the least in my experience is the Bulldog. They hardly bark and when they do, it’s not loud. They also have small jaws, which is better than large jaws or better than a long jaw that can grab more skin. Short-jawed breeds do snore though. Hehe. The bulldogs throughout my lifetime have always had skin problems though, so watch for that as it can run you a large bill at the vet’s office. You might also have to put the dog down as the skin problems can get out of control.

Shih Tzu --- As a groomer I have known an awful lot of Shih Tzu’s! I have also bred them, as in my opinion they are the cutest of the little companion dogs! They also have a great temperament but are a groomer’s nightmare when the owners of these little dogs do not bring them in to be groomed once a week! Yes, once a week! Unless you are a groomer or hairdresser you will not be able to care for this dog unless you schedule regular appointments with your groomer. It may not look like the dog needs to go in every week, but as a groomer and breeder, unless you clip this dogs hair to about one half inch you will have tangles. Also if the breeder breeds the wrong type of coat this little dog may have tons of knots throughout the coat so you must comb this dogs hair every day.

I need to say that I have also seen mean little Shih Tzu’s, but luckily they have not been many. If this breed gets popular as a small indoor companion dog and homeowners breed them without the help of a breeder, then we will begin to see many faults come out in this breed.

As far as my opinion goes, this little indoor companion dog is just the ticket if you want to groom and take care of a small dog. Know your breeder if you decide to purchase one of these. Ask about the coat quality. Feel the coat and run a comb through it. Of course you should see the mother and father of the pup and you should be able to pick the dogs up with their tails a waggin! In other words do not get a mean line of this breed.

Newfoundlander --- This is a large, heavy-coated Northern dog. Similar to the Saint Bernard, but with a gentler nature and they are good with children. This dog was bred as a draft animal and can pull a child’s sled or wagon. He has a great personality as long as the breeders continue to breed the good-natured character. He does take a considerable amount of grooming though.

Back to the Alsatian Shepalute --- Now the reason I started this new breed of dog is that I wanted a great companion dog. One that I could depend on in a crisis where I felt I had some type of protection with the least amount of trouble from the neighbors. A dog the neighbor wouldn't kick.

I honestly felt it was time to breed a dog that would fit into today's world. Not to change a breed to fit or fight with a breed to fit. It should just fit. New owners who have never had a dog before that have purchased Alsatian pups were absolutely amazed at how quick these dogs learn. They are the most intelligent dogs that I have come across in my lifetime. So easy to communicate to. The most impressive character that even strangers comment on is the calmness of this breed! As I have stated in the breed standards, that calmness is the most important aspect of this breed. It shall not be hyper or shy! It is a consistent chore and challenge to always breed better than the last because of those two dominant genes.

Now, there are a few different ways to create a new breed of dog, let’s examine them.

This is the easiest way to create a new breed of dog. In this example, one would simply take a breed of dog and breed it to another breed of dog. There have been a lot of breed crossings to create new breeds. Take the Shih-tza-poo, the Cock-a-poo, the Terry-poo, and all the other “poo” crosses. They have their own registry and clubs and one day they may join the ranks of true breeds! I myself have even bred those little breeds and the public has loved them!

Breed crossing has been done over and over again, just for the fun of it, or just for the outcome. The starting of those new breeds didn't begin with an idea for a standard of the breed. The starting of these mixes started with the breed crossing of purebred registered dogs.

The reason one would want to know the dogs in the lineage is so that the buyer can get an idea on how the pup is going to behave or act when the puppy matures.

There is a dog in Australia that has just been created. You can find it in those web pages under “new breeds of dog." The Labrador was bred with the Standard Poodle. You guessed it! It’s called the Laboodle! It was bred together to be a hypoallergenic, non-shedding dog that one could visit the old folks homes with.

The difference with the Alsatian Shepalute breed is that the idea came before the choosing of the breeds that I felt would get me to that standard or blue print. This breed started with a breed standard and then dogs were bred to dogs that would produce what I was looking for genetically. As I bred generation after generation, I knew I would need to introduce a third breed into my lines. One that would be necessary to get those required results. These other folks who have created new breeds accepted the results of their breed crossings and wrote the standards that fit the outcome. Maybe they didn’t even write a standard but just started registering or numbering the dogs.

We’ve talked about this one, how the Americans have always taken dogs from other countries and brought them here, then made up their own standards calling the new breed, the American Cocker Spaniel for-instance. The American Cocker use to be the Cocker Spaniels of England, which were much larger dogs. When the cockers were introduced into America they were bred smaller for the smaller game in this country. Then the cocker club decided on the name American Cocker Spaniel to distinguish it from its cousin, the English Cocker Spaniel. That’s how it’s done.

Now, I have seen a distinct difference between the American (German) Shepherd and the German Shepherd Dogs one sees in Germany. I have found the American Shepherds to be a far gentler dog than that of the Shepherds coming out of Germany. If one looks closely they will find that the American (German) Shepherd is taller with longer legs and not so hyper active.

Take a good look at the American-bred Rottwieler in comparison to the German-bred Rottwieler and you will see that the German Rottwieler has shorter legs and more chest. Even their standards of the breed show this to be true. The American standard calls for a 50/50 proportion of chest and height. In the German standards, they call for a 60/40 chest over leg or height. How can it be the same dog if the blue prints are different?

Sometimes new breeds are created on the color of a dog alone. Take the West Highland White, for example. The Cairn, Scotty, and Westie all came from the same father stock.

Sometimes new breeds of dogs come from the mutation of coat consistency. The wire-haired, the curly-coated, the longhaired, the short-coated and the hairless.