To breed pure bred dogs you need to have a vision and adequate knowledge , otherwise you just reproduce purebred dogs.

Every one of us breeders will leave our imprint on the breed. Some of us will make a difference and our contribution will be remembered for a long time. Others will always remain in obscurity. We will all however leave our imprint on the breed because the dogs we breed will pass on their DNA for many years. Meaning, the mistakes a bad breeder makes reproducing in obscurity will still be there along with their consequences.

There is a history to every breed , a history we owe respect to. Those of us who breed have a duty to offer the generations to come something better than what we found. It is our obligation to respect the history of the breed. To make sure we keep the temperament of the breed , to breed with the morphology standards as defined by the International Canine Federation (FCI) in mind and eliminate possible hereditary diseases common to the breed. And do the aforementioned always with an open mind and with some reservation about the breed standards and how they are defined.

This does not mean we decide on our own what is wrong and what is right, but we need to be observant and think whether in the long term a choice would be for the betterment of the breed or not. You can research German Shepherds and the skeletal problems that occurred in the long term.

To breed means to have as your major goal the betterment of the breed you work with. This means you have to look at the bigger picture. Neither focus on personal taste nor hide behind a Show breeder or Working dog breeder title to justify breeding dogs that are not even close to the breed standard or with morphology as the sole criterion.

I do not blame either side I am only saying what you already know. Whether we like it or not, this has been happening with many dog breeds for a long time. We see dogs of exceptional temperament and working abilities but wonder what kind of mix they are. And on the other hand we see dogs with dog show titles with non-existent temperament and serious health problems.

There is no excuse, we must all accept our share of responsibility. There is no going back, the breed is evolving following the natural course of things. Reproducing dogs without a pedigree – this is reproducing not breeding- accompanied by statements like “the International Canine Federation is useless” and “ I breed the old type Bull Terrier” and such, is at best a joke.

To breed exclusively on the criterion of looks – morphology- while ignoring the dog’s temperament and health is equivalently wrong. Funny thing is that supposedly a dog’s temperament is also judged at dog shows. Well it’s time we said things as they truly are. Dog show judges observe and judge clearly and solely the dog’s morphology – appearance- and give the titles based on looks alone. In the breed standard however, the dog’s character is also mentioned not just the morphology.

We have many a time been sent messages from people asking to see our dogs’ Pedigrees or asking on what criteria we chose a dog to participate in our breeding plans and more alike. With no intention to offend anyone, we consider these questions to be aimless. Personally, they remind me of young people at the gym. They will approach the stronger person in the gym to ask what supplements he takes and if he uses steroids thinking that if they use what he uses they will become strong like him. Overlooking how hard the person works out , how many years, what diet he follows , how many hours he sleeps and many other factors. This is what I see in questions like “I want to see the pedigree” and “ on what criteria will a dog participate in your breeding plan”. Feels like you are looking for the shortcut.

There are no shortcuts to dog breeding. Only sincere love for what you do, vision, great reserves of psychological strength, a desire to study and a capacity to observe. The reward for breeding dogs is not money. The reward is the results, happy dog owners, and the feeling of achieving a goal. The money a new dog owner pays for buying a dog is not for the dog in essence. It is for the time, the effort and the expenses a breeder spends for years.

My advice to any one with a real interest in dog breeding and not reproduction, is to ask essential questions when communicating a breeder and not be looking for shortcuts. Showing true interest is the only way to make someone offer his precious time to help you.

The only reason two persons devote our personal time to writing articles and share our knowledge with you is because we adamantly believe that : the more informed dog owners are – especially for a demanding breed like the Bull Terrier- the better the coexistence of dog-human and the presence of the breed into society become.

The reason we emphasize on our dogs’ athletic skills is not just to show the athletic skills of the breed. Through athletic activities we have a chance to find out how willing our dogs are to try something new, how determined they are to push themselves beyond their limits and how strong their drives are.

Engaging in dog sports on a higher level, requires a very good obedience training and a very good and trusting relationship between the dog and dog owner. Try as you may, you cannot force a dog to jump high, go over obstacles to chase the ball , to keep his balance on narrow surfaces etc. The dog can always choose to not jump, not chase the ball. You cannot force any of it on the dog and trying to would be meaningless. The dog will do it because he trusts you, because you have a very good relationship, to please you. More on how to achieve this, on the chapter “Building the Dog” in our soon to be published book.

When engaging in the working and training abilities of a breed you need to have a spherical approach to the subject. This way the traits that need strengthening will come forth. Choosing a dog to participate in a breeding program based on one criterion alone – like jumping a certain height for example- is useless.

Simply because, 1.5 meters may be a very easy task for a dog , one he easily performs after three-four training sessions but the dog may not have the will to work to jump any higher. Whereas for another dog, 1.5 meters may be his limit and has worked very hard to reach it. It is not the height that matters. It is the effort the dog has put to reach and exceed it . What holds the greater value is to see the dog trying, move on through difficulty and remain unaffected by failed effort.

Likewise, it is not enough for a dog to show signs of good guarding, unless he shows a will to cooperate in obedience training at the same time.

When breeding , one has to look at the bigger picture and work in a spherical manner to discover as many aspects of a dog’s character as possible.