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Tina M. Barber, the breed founder, replies to the <sliver groups> lies <<Outcrossing: '"If it's not an ISSR Shiloh Shepherd, it's not a real Shiloh Shepherd". This continuously rehashed statement by the breed's founder is incredibly misleading and most definitely false. The only dogs in any Shiloh Shepherd pedigrees that are not Shiloh Shepherds are those that were intentionally brought in as outcrosses to maintain genetic diversity and expand the gene pool.>>
In order to bring in "genetic diversity" or to
expand a gene pool, only a few CAREFULLY SELECTED dogs would be needed. A good
example of this type of outcrossing can be seen via the Basenji project. <<Although the use of African Basenjis for breeding will
increase genetic variability, it is possible that African Basenjis
have the same health problems as American Basenjis. It is also
possible that African Basenjis have different but equally serious
genetic diseases. A high frequency of genetic disorders among
African Basenji is unlikely, however. The owners of African Basenjis
do not provide veterinary care for their dogs, and they do no
interefere with their dogs' breeding. This insures that African
Basenjis are subjected to the rigors of natural selection. Dogs with
genetic problems that reduce their fitness early will be much less
likely to breed than healthy dogs. For this reason, African Basenjis
are less likely than American Basenjis to have serious genetic
health problems. In the words of Ernst Mayer, who first described the
founder effect, evolution 'takes a dim view of the future prospects
of populations with depleted genetic variability' (Mayer, E,
Evolution and the Diversity of Life: Selected Essays, Cambridge,
Harvard, 1976, p. 204). By using as many carefully screened African
Basenjis as possible for breeding, breeders may be able to turn the
American Basenji's bleak future into a promising one.>> So did these folks just ran over to Africa and start cross breeding every dog they could find?? NO -- after seeing hundreds of dogs, only 5 puppies and 1 bitch (in whelp) were chosen to be (possibly) incorporated into the genepool!!
Now be sure to
read the rest of the story.
This is just one example of breed development and using outcross blood in order to attain a specific goal!! When done right, it can do wonders for a breed's chances for a healthy future -- what the slivers are doing is not even close to anything like this!! They are just randomly breeding GSD's in order to sell more pups! What the slivers are doing is simply unacceptable! Within the last three-four years we have already documented a total of at least 26 outcrosses! When you consider the fact that their original gene pool consisted of only a few dozen "REAL" Shilohs to begin with, most of the litters being produced are either extremely heavily inbred Selah dogs or just complete GSD (some very questionable) lines that would never meet the strict ISSR requirements used in 1990 in order to select the original foundation dogs.
This statement clearly proves my point! Obviously these folks have NO CLUE as to what they are doing! The Breed Standard is just a "blue print" (like a road map) that is established for breeders to use as a goal to work toward, and to help the judges select the best future potential breed stock! Can you imagine a builder that starts to work on a complex housing project that keeps changing monthly? Breed clubs take their breed standards very seriously, if any change (no matter how minute) needs to be made, it's only done via a long process that concludes with a majority vote of the parent breed club's membership! Consider any breed's standard on the same level as the US Constitution. Nobody can just change/amend it/parts of it at will! Yet, the slivers think that they are "above" reality? They just do as they please and expect the public to fall for their foolishness!
<<The "splinters" have been accumulating for many years, and there's quite a tree now! The first question that should come to mind of anyone truly investigating the breed must be "Why are there so many splinters?">> It's only natural! When dealing with any breed, you will always find more BYB's than REB's! Just look in your local paper. You will find many ads for a variety of breeds, but if you take the time to honestly investigate these folks you will discover that most of them are not affiliated with their breed's parent club, etc! Take some time to read:
As far as the splinters' claim of growing into a tree? Well, chipboard/flakeboard/particleboard never lasts as long as the real deal! The REAL Shiloh Shepherd started in 1974 and has continued to expand into a fantastic "breed" under the direction of the ISSR and will continue to grow with the help of honest, dedicated Licensed Breeders from coast to coast!
<<Are breeders of Shiloh Shepherds registered in the NSBR, SSBA and TSSR all frauds? Absolutely not! It's actually fraudulent for any "salesperson" of Shiloh Shepherds to disregard the Genetic Heritage of a dog the've sold for thousands of dollars, and arbitrarily alter your Guarantee of a fully registered breed/show quality Shiloh for any reason. Regardless of the final chosen registry, a Shiloh Shepherd is a Shiloh Shepherd, providing the pedigree indicates as such. Calling any owner or breeder of a registered and DNA'd Shiloh Shepherd a "fake" is defamatory and criminal, particularly when parentage is readily provable.>> Obviously these people still don't understand the difference between breeding and pet quality dogs, never mind the more detailed pedigree considerations that must be analyzed prior to proper selection! This applies to any breed! BYB's take pet stock and continue to breed these faulty dogs in an effort to produce "AKC" pups that are sold in your local paper/at live auctions. This is no different than what the puppy millers are doing, only on a larger scale--although in reality, there are a lot fewer mills than people realize! That's why the BYB's are the worst offenders! They sell their "pure" pups with full breeding rights, thus encouraging other BYB's to do likewise! What the slivers are doing is even worse! They are crossing GSD's and demanding large sums of money for their inferior product, thus defrauding the consumer and debasing the real Shiloh Shepherd reputation.
<<"Investigate before you invest!" This common statement should be well known to today's consumers for raising red flags. The psychological assumption in the statement is that the author is the true authority on the subject, and you've found the source for all you need to know. Savvy people usually recognize this manipulation for what it is and continue investigating. However with the countless internet webpages on the founder's numerous web sites, how can a newbie possibly dissect the wheat from the chaff?>> Just read the FACTS!
<<Oh, the never ending scare tactics! "If you talk to the splinters we will be forced to remove you.", "When our dogs receive official recognition, your dogs will NOT be included", "sliver dogs will eat your children", "the LORD will crush the evil splinters", "the book is almost sold out - so order your copy now before it's too late", "order a dozen of my little stuffed dogs in bulk to get your discount", "you will end up with a worthless mutt, like the puppymilling splinters," etc.>> First of all, we have many splinters on our public forums and they have received quite a bit of latitude by our membership! Of course, they are not allowed to promote their fake shiloh litters. but I have spent countless hours answering their questions! As for the other "claims", anyone that has been on our forums knows the truth. I have never claimed that <<splinter dogs will eat your children>>. However, I have warned folks not to purchase Shiloh/Czech import crosses! If not properly temperament tested, such combinations can prove to be lethal! Just like I would try to warn folks not to "flick their BIC" while pumping gas! The articles I write are fully documented with facts in order to educate the consumer! Period.
<<As a group, we've made it a mission to ignore the founder's ongoing assault on our ethics and our dogs. After all, it would be too easy to counter-attack a large kennel full of untrained, un-cared for, malnourished and often sick dogs being sold for thousands of dollars to loyal, trusting devotees. The poor reputation of the founder and her kennel reflects so negatively on the awesome potential of our Shilohs, that the less attention paid to her the better. And ultimately the proof is in the pudding! We have a great big pot of that sweet Shiloh Shepherd recipe with over 40 diligent breeders and an accumulated database to rival most breeds! Soon our database will be be going online!>> First of all, this statement was made in early 2007 and no database has been offered! Why? Probably because they don't even have the real info, that has been protected by the ISSR! Years ago I released silly pedigree data with false names like "Sis to Cheyenne" etc. that the slivers have gobbled up and continued to use because when the time does come for the ISSR to turn over the real database, be it to the AKC or other credible organization, we want to be sure that none of the sliver dogs can manage to "slip" in! Keeping my data secret is the only way I can protect the real deal from all the fakes out there!
As for their attacks on my kennel, well, the proof is in the pudding! I am still producing the same quality dogs I did 10-20-30-40-50 years ago--not one of those folks can say likewise! They claim to have 40 "diligent" breeders? How many of them have even met a real Shiloh? They may love their LHGSD mixes, but how much do they know about my vision? I have read their websites, yet have any of them even bothered to read all of my articles? Common sense should tell you that if you want to copy a great artist, musician, whatever, you should know something about him/his work! Don't you think? LOL Instead, these folks go around, spewing forth venomous lies about me, while claiming to "know" my vision for these dogs? I think not!
Publishing history: Written by Tina M. Barber 11/25/07 for Tina Speaks!
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