I knew absolutely nothing about Belgian Shepherds when I started thinking about getting a dog. I actually wanted a Border Collie. I think at heart, I believed possessing such a dog would somehow magically help me inhabit a fragment of that classic dreamy landscape; the one where the fiercely independent shepherd stands watch, isolated on a windy hill, looking out across a thousand acres of farmland dotted with sheep, attended only by the intelligent, loyal dog responding to the slightest command.
At the time, I was a lawyer living in suburbia. I knew less about dogs than I did about differential calculus and there were, sadly, no sheep on my block. The Homeowners’ Association wouldn’t have stood for it. This was no obstacle to my fantasies.
The Ottawa Kennel Club was having a dog show about this time, so I dragged The General along one morning in the hope of seeing some Border Collies. Dog shows were just one more dog-related thing I knew nothing about. I think I had a vague idea maybe breeders would be there, selling puppies. Of course (another dream shattered) they weren’t. Anyway, at that date, I don’t think Border Collies were even recognized as a show breed by the Canadian Kennel Club. In fact in the U.S., a lot of old hands with working Border Collie fought against American Kennel CLub recognition for their breed.
A lot of people were milling around with their dogs, having either just exited the show ring, or waiting for their breed to be called. I stopped short at the sight of a gorgeous medium sized dog, with a foxy face and a luxurious fawn coloured coat, tipped with black.
Okay, that’s a picture of my beloved Toby as an adult (aka CH Gemfire’s Auberon CD), not the dog I actually saw at that long ago dog show, but you will want to know exactly why it was love at first sight, right? (Any excuse to show off my beloved Toby.)
I was sure he must be a cross between a German Shepherd and a Collie. I approached the person who held the leash of this beauty, and blurted out, “That can’t be a purebred dog – he looks just like the farm dogs around where I grew up!”
Fortunately, she had a sense of humour. Rather than feeding me a knuckle sandwich for this insult to her dog, she allowed me to pet him. I’m sure it helped that I went on to gush at great length about this being the most beautiful dog I had ever seen. She assured me that Terveruns were one of the varieties of Belgian Shepherds Dogs, an uncommon breed in Canada, but certainly recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club.
I asked her where I could get a puppy.
Leaving aside everything I did wrong in deciding what kind of dog would be good for our family, I did actually stumble, by dumb luck, on a good place to start looking for a breeder. The person I asked was at a Canadian Kennel Club dog show, and puppy mill breeders aren’t usually found at such venues.
This lady knew a couple who were embarking on breeding and who were waiting for their very first litter of puppies to be born. She gave us their names and location. I found their phone number and called them.
Fortunately, Glen and Lynne Stark, the couple to whom I was referred, might have been new breeders, but they were fanatically dedicated, knowledgable and passionate in their commitment to the breed.
It was literally unbelievable good fortune that the litter of puppies from which my beloved Toby would come, was sired by their male dog (Am./Can. Ch. Corsair’s Gaiter CDX) who would go on to become the top Belgian Shepherd in Canada. He won the Herding Group at the Canadian Kennel Club’s prestigious “Show of Shows”. During the course of one wonderfully exciting year, Gaiter ranked as number eight of the top ten dogs among all breeds in Canada.
Here he is, the magnificent beast.
Having no idea what we were doing, we lucked into the beginning of an incredible line of Tervs, bred by incredibly dedicated people. What are the odds? Not good. Not good at all. Which is why you need to know how to go about finding a reputable breeder.
Gaiter’s puppies were relatively few in number, as a year or so after he joined the ranks of top Canadian dogs, he died in a tragic freak accident. Not only did Lynne and Glen lose their beloved pet and companion, they lost an incredibly expensive investment as well, just when they were finally started to see their investment pay off in terms of the stud fees Gaiter could command.
That bring us to a fundamental truth about reputable breeders, which very few people know or understand. If it is done the right way, there is pretty much no money to be made in breeding dogs.
While there are some exceptions, by and large the only people who are making their living at breeding dogs, are commercial breeders who are selling puppies to pet stores or even to laboratories for experimental purposes.
Puppy mills.
Anyone with a male and female dog can breed puppies. There are lots of regular people who breed their dog because they think it will be a wonderful experience to have a bunch of cute puppies running round and they think their kids will benefit from watching this ‘miracle’.
Some people end up with unplanned litters because they didn’t spay or neuter their dog. They put signs up at the side of the road, or advertise them on kijiji or craig’s list as “Purebred (fill in the breed) Puppies – No Papers”.
The only people who should be breeding dogs are those who are know what they are doing.That is, they know how to breed to produce sound, healthy puppies from sound healthy parents, and ensure they have good homes lined up to take their puppies.
To do that costs time, effort and money. Breeders have to be willing to spend thousands of dollars on each litter of puppies: vet fees, genetic tests, whelping boxes, special foods, the costs of registering those puppies with a recognized Kennel or Breed Club. Those are just a few examples. Stud fees alone can cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
They should let their dogs be seen and judged as sound and trainable, especially their breeding stock dogs. This means entering them in dog shows, and putting titles on them, both conformation and obedience. That costs money.
Glen and Lynne, over the years it took to breed over 60 champion Terveruns, campaigned their dogs in Kennel Club sanctioned Conformation shows all across Canada and the U.S.. They spent hours and days and weeks and yet more money, training their dogs. They put Obedience Championships on their dogs, showing they had smarts and manners in addition to beauty. The cost of entry fees, transportation, hotel rooms and meals on the road added up to way more than they would have earned in any given year from selling one or two litters of puppies.
Dog breeding is for the dedicated, knowledgeable people whose day jobs afford them enough money for an expensive hobby.