Oak Ridge
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Aug 2003
Location: Indiana
Posts: 6168 |
Re: great coondogs
quote: Originally posted by elvis
are very rare , regardless of what you may read on a message board or in a magazine, very few great coondogs exsist.
it is human nature to believe that our dog is better than it actualy is, and is also the human nature to be jealous of, and to find fault with, the lucky few that are fortunate enough to have one of those rare dogs.
I find the threads about genetics and breeding interesting , yet amuseing. It seems to me those that study and educate themselves the most on the subject, dont know one bit more about it than bill hill up the road with his 3rd grade education.
If they did, they would have better coondogs than he did.
The proof is in the pudding,so to speak.
I have came to the conclusion, that one can only breed for consistantly decent coondogs with the traits that we desire, such as color,comfirmation,mouth,etc. But to raise a pup that is freakishly good in ability is just dumb luck, and one can not predict when and where the next great coondog will come from.
I see certain lines of dogs do quite a bit of winning by beating the system. A dog that always has first strike on who knows what,many times nothing,and always gets by himself so he dont have to compete with another dog on the same easy coon,will do a tremendous amount of winning,but it sure doesnt make him a great coondog.
anyhow,i couldnt sleep,so i got on the classifieds, and after reading about all the great dogs and puppies for sale, i just had to rant and rave for a bit.
elvis,
I've always stood in your corner as one of the truly wise men of our sport. And once again, you've made some profound statements.
I may well be one of those guys that talks about genetics, but does not know one bit more about it than bill hill the 3rd grader.... However, I do know this. Truly great dogs are freaks...simple as that. Not any more than the Micheal Jordan's, Tiger Woods, or Johann Sebastian Bach. You simply can not breed for "talent" You can breed for type....and you can become satisfied with the type while waiting on that "special" one to come along.
Marv, you have had the pleasure to hunt with, lead, and yes to enter into competition more than your fair share of great ones. I'm not familiar with a single breeding program that those dogs have come from. They all seem to have some common ancestry, that would lead one to believe that "type" is at least important.
Not having the finances to go out and purchase a "great" one, I will continue to be fascinated by genetics, will continue to breed coon dog to coon dog, and continue to breed for "type", all the while being honest with myself about what's on the end of my lead, and wait patiently for my "great" one to be born. Who knows...it may have already been born, the rest is up to me.
I'm not always "satisfied" with what's on the end of my lead, but I'll get my share any night of the week. I'm satisfied with a good one, all the while waiting on the arrival of a great one.
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Joe Newlin
UKC Cur Advocate
Home of Oak Ridge Kennels
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