American Gamefowl

[roosterhavoc]

I also wanted to add that I love Dobermans and have had several. One special girl that I got in '79 lived to be 18 years old! It's beyond sad what is happening to some breeds these days. I was at the AKC site the other day checking on something and happened to notice that the life expectancy for German Shepherds is now listed at only 7 to 10 years. WTF?

Yeah I don’t have much experience with German shepherds but between the HD and a host of other issues they aren’t living as long as they used to. Most don’t have the same drives either. I know theres still some out there but they’re becoming like the Doberman. Very few are capable of even competing in a protection sport anymore. Imo the AKC isn’t what it used to be or could be the problem depending on how you look at it. Dogs are so inbred from show winners that they just fall apart after a few years. It’s pretty pathetic with the dobermans. There’s a staggering number of Dobermans that have Fedor Del nasi on one side or the other. Plus most Dobermans I’ve seen for sale have protection sport titles on one side but nothing on the female side (usually) yet still asking big bucks. The few out there with both are long since spoken for.
Imo too many people breed dogs like Dobermans and German shepherds to be cuddly house dogs and have long since totally ruined the breed.

 

[Geena]

I sure hope not I'd rather mine live a bit longer.

I sure hope she does too SOHC, good looking girl you have there.

 

[SOHC-FTW]

I sure hope she does too SOHC, good looking girl you have there.

Appreciate it she's a very good pup she'll make a fine dog.

 

[Geena]

Yeah I don’t have much experience with German shepherds but between the HD and a host of other issues they aren’t living as long as they used to. Most don’t have the same drives either. I know theres still some out there but they’re becoming like the Doberman. Very few are capable of even competing in a protection sport anymore. Imo the AKC isn’t what it used to be or could be the problem depending on how you look at it. Dogs are so inbred from show winners that they just fall apart after a few years. It’s pretty pathetic with the dobermans. There’s a staggering number of Dobermans that have Fedor Del nasi on one side or the other. Plus most Dobermans I’ve seen for sale have protection sport titles on one side but nothing on the female side (usually) yet still asking big bucks. The few out there with both are long since spoken for.
Imo too many people breed dogs like Dobermans and German shepherds to be cuddly house dogs and have long since totally ruined the breed.

GSD are prone to Hemangiosarcoma and Degenerative myelopathy among other things. I don't blame the AKC, they are just a registry. It's the breeders that, like you say, all flock to the stud of the moment and most of them don't have a clue what they are doing anyway.
So many water down the lines as well because their puppy buyers think they want a GSD or Doberman, but they want it to act like a Golden Retriever. Heaven forbid it growl at someone or kill the neighbors cat who came in your yard, better get rid of the dog, or put it to sleep, can't be bothered with training it, that's too much like work.
Unfortunately Malinois are going down that same road.
The girl in my avatar is the real deal. She will take on anyone or anything, best dog I've ever had, hands down. But the vast majority of people don't want a dog like that, or even a dog with any kind of prey drive, because they do require training and management.
Heck, look at some of the posts on here "I bought a Great Pyrenees, put it in the coop with my chickens and now all my chickens are dead. What went wrong? Do you think I should put a shock collar on it?"

 

[roosterhavoc]

GSD are prone to Hemangiosarcoma and Degenerative myelopathy among other things. I don't blame the AKC, they are just a registry. It's the breeders that, like you say, all flock to the stud of the moment and most of them don't have a clue what they are doing anyway.
So many water down the lines as well because their puppy buyers think they want a GSD or Doberman, but they want it to act like a Golden Retriever. Heaven forbid it growl at someone or kill the neighbors cat who came in your yard, better get rid of the dog, or put it to sleep, can't be bothered with training it, that's too much like work.
Unfortunately Malinois are going down that same road.
The girl in my avatar is the real deal. She will take on anyone or anything, best dog I've ever had, hands down. But the vast majority of people don't want a dog like that, or even a dog with any kind of prey drive, because they do require training and management.
Heck, look at some of the posts on here "I bought a Great Pyrenees, put it in the coop with my chickens and now all my chickens are dead. What went wrong? Do you think I should put a shock collar on it?"

I think people are assuming the AKC is like a seal of approval when that’s hardly the case. I personally could care less about a pure bred dog if this is what you end up with. Rampant health problems but they look good for a few years. It’s sad really.
I agree. I had my Dutch Shepherd in the woods today on leash and two guys walked by me. She stood there and growled while I said nothing. They didn’t say anything but seemed a little nervous. Lol oh well tough.
There’s enough AKC breeders out there that openly admit to breeding Dobermans for house pets. They do it on purpose. I’m done with them but it’s a shame the breed will never be what it once was.
It took me awhile to realize but eventually I did.
Lol. Most of those people shouldn't even have chickens let alone a dog.
I agree true working dogs are a ton of work and require you to be on top of them way more then most.
It’s not tough to find a good malinois or Dutch shepherd but I sure wouldn’t buy one from just anyone. I see people buying working breeds from Craigslist and wonder why they ended up with a $400 turd. Lol

 

[Geena]

I agree. I had my Dutch Shepherd in the woods today on leash and two guys walked by me. She stood there and growled while I said nothing. They didn’t say anything but seemed a little nervous. Lol oh well tough.

LOL, yep, I would praise her and pop a treat in her mouth too, good girl! I like my dogs to recognize and be ready to engage a possible threat. Of course you have to teach control as well, that goes without saying. But if a dog makes someone nervous, good then they should stay away from it, just that simple.

 

[roosterhavoc]

LOL, yep, I would praise her and pop a treat in her mouth too, good girl! I like my dogs to recognize and be ready to engage a possible threat. Of course you have to teach control as well, that goes without saying. But if a dog makes someone nervous, good then they should stay away from it, just that simple.

Yeah I’m not sure where this idea of a dog should be this cuddly creature to strangers. Obviously the problems arise when there’s a total idiot on the other end of the leash.
There’s was a few threads where people were going through dogs like crazy trying to protect their chickens. I’ve never seen such idiotic stuff in my life. How a dog is a throw away object I’ll never know but I’m guessing they didn’t pay much for them either.

 

[SOHC-FTW]

Yeah I’m not sure where this idea of a dog should be this cuddly creature to strangers. Obviously the problems arise when there’s a total idiot on the other end of the leash.
There’s was a few threads where people were going through dogs like crazy trying to protect their chickens. I’ve never seen such idiotic stuff in my life. How a dog is a throw away object I’ll never know but I’m guessing they didn’t pay much for them either.

Guess it's kinda the same idea where cocks, bull stags and older stags can coexist in fuzzy clouds and rainbows.

 

[Geena]

Guess it's kinda the same idea where cocks, bull stags and older stags can coexist in fuzzy clouds and rainbows.

Yep, exactly. Nowadays people grow up watching so many Disney movies that they truly believe animals should think and act like humans.
I can tell people several times not to touch my dog because she is not friendly, and the idiots will still try to pet her. Of course if she then bit them it would be her head on the block.
When I was a kid we assumed a strange dog might bite and didn't pet them without asking first.

 

[Wyorp Rock]