Rusty Rose Ranch Mini American Shepherds

08/24/2024

Sonic and Spyro at the Fort Worth trial, photos courtesy of Ryan Deaton

08/21/2024

BOTTLENECKS AND SIRE SELECTION ON THE FARM

The University of California at Davis has a nice 2016 post entitled “How a Genetic Mutation From 1 Bull Caused the Loss of Half a Million Calves Worldwide”.

A bull born in 1962, by the name of Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief, produced 16,000 daughters, 500,000 granddaughters, and more than 2 million great-granddaughters. His sons were also popular sires.

As a result, Chief’s chromosomes account for almost 14 percent of the genome in the current Holstein population in the United States.

It seems Chief was the source of a haplotype (a group of genes that are inherited from one parent) on chromosome 5 of Holstein cows that was associated with lower fertility rates and embryo loss.

Because Chief was such a popular sire, his genes alone were responsible for over 100,000 cumulative Holstein calf losses over 30 years in the United States alone, and about half a million worldwide.

What does this have to do with dogs? A bit.

When pressed about the poor genetic quality of today's ‘pure bred’ dogs, most Kennel Club breeders parrot the Kennel Club apologia: “We only register dogs, we don't breed them.”

In fact, the line is pure bunk.

The Kennel Club does far more than register dogs -- it sets the rules that guarantee more and more dogs will suffer serious (and often painful) genetic problems.

The problem, in a nutshell, is the closed registry system.

With all Kennel Club breeds, the ‘founding stock’ has always been small in number, and often fairly in**ed going in, since breed creation is a product of inbreeding and line breeding to ‘set’ the look of a dog.

Because a closed registry never adds new blood, it becomes progressively more in**ed over time.

Genetic diversity is never increased in the Kennel Club -- it is only reduced. In practice, it is often reduced quite rapidly due to the fact that show-winning males are in great demand to ‘cover’ as many bi***es as possible -- the so-called ‘popular sire effect.’....

How did the Kennel Club come to embrace a closed registry, and why does it maintain this system?

The adoption of a "closed registry" by the Kennel Club is an artifact of its history, while the continuation of this practice is driven by the economics of dog breeding and the political construct of the Kennel Club.

The Kennel Club was created in Victorian England in 1873, at a time when new theories about genetics were being promulgated by learned men who did not yet have a very good idea of what was going on in the natural world.

The "speciation" of domestic breeds of livestock began with the work of Robert Bakewell in the 18th Century, and the control of sires. Bakewell's work helped speed the rise of the Enclosure Movement, which in turn led to large estates, fox hunting, and the rise of terrier work.

Bakewell had no real knowledge of scientific genetics, and his breeding program was largely limited to the control of sires (made easier by enclosures) and the admonition that "like begats like" and that success was to be found by "breeding the best to the best".

The first stud book to document the breeding of animals was the General Stud Book of 1791 which tracked a small pool of racing horses. A stud book for Shorthorn Cattle was produced in 1822.

As more and more farmers followed the tenets of Robert Bakewell, sire selection became increasingly prevalent and inbreeding and line breeding more common. By selecting the best beef and milk producers, and pairing them, rapid improvements in cattle breeds were made.

What was different with farmers, than with dogs, however, was that down on the farm there was a clear axis of production.

Farmers inbreeding animals for improvement began to notice that fertility rates began to drop after a few generations. In some lines disease popped up, or defects such as weak hocks appeared. In**ed animals were not better if they remained increasingly in**ed, and so hybrids or out-crosses began to become the rule.

Because farm herds are large and often kept by families for generations, farmers were able to "tease out" data indicating drops in production, increases in mortality, declining fecundity, and a steady rise in disease and illness.

Inbreeding, which had initially boosted production, now appeared to be reducing it.

Because farmers had a clear "steak and eggs" axis for evaluation of stock, they were ready and willing to outcross to achieve the best results for their needs and their land. Consumers, after all, do not much care what breed of chicken their eggs come from, or what "champion" bull sired their steak.

Through experimentation, farmers discovered that outcrosses and hybrids of two "pure" types produce as well or better, while remaining more disease resistant, more fecund, and longer-lived than deeply homogeneous stock.

What may appear to be a pure Angus (the most common breed of beef cattle in the world) is likely to have a wide variety of cattle genes coursing through its system. In fact, entire breeds of cattle are now kept solely for their outcross potential. On today's farms the cattle in the field may be Brangus (Brahman-Angus crosses), Braford (Brahmam-Hereford crosses), Beefmasters (a cross of Hereford, Shorthorn and Brahman), or any other combination or mix.

In the case of the “popular sire” Holstein Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief, the fecundity and mortality problems embedded in the genetics of this particular bull reared its heads through careful record-keeping over 50 years.

The good news is that the dairy industry had actual production statistics to reveal the problem *and* they were (and are) not restricted from outcrossing to solve this or any other production or health problem.

But with dogs, not only are there few meaningful metrics to evaluate stock, but data in general is poorly kept, if kept at all.

When lack of production and performance criteria is combined with little or no record-keeping, and when closed gene pools are mandated by the artificial scarcity economic model of the Kennel Club, the result is a relatively rapid canine devolution as more and more breeds get sicker and less fecund.

Is there a way out?

Yes, but it’s not with more testing, which simply reduces a breed’s already small gene pool.

The way forward is to devolve back to type (i.e. “dairy cow” in the Holstein case) and allow outcrossing as needed.

In the world of dogs, types include pointer-setters, retrievers, terriers, herding dogs, livestock guarding dogs, pulling dogs, etc.

Where the world of dogs took a wrong turn was when they decided to elevate just-invented breeds over long-established types.

The result was a bit like over-sharpening a pencil; it seemed like a good idea right up to the moment the pencil tip broke when it touched paper.

The way forward is not to keep over-sharpening the pencil; it’s to embrace whatever works to sustain a solid line.

As with pencils, so it is with dogs.

————-

UC Davis article at >> See >> https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/genetic-mutation-1-bull-caused-loss-half-million-calves-worldwide

08/19/2024

I'm deeply disappointed and saddened by AKC's decision to ruin our breed by closing studbooks. This is why we should never have gone AKC to begin with in my opinion.

Nothing makes AKC happier than ruining a dog breed's long term genetic health I guess.

Every day I take a step closer to pulling away from AKC altogether and going into sport mixes or just sticking to ASDR for my MAS. I don't know that I'll be breeding another AKC litter at this point. I'll continue doing AKC rally and agility because I greatly enjoy the sports and they're the most local organization for me, but I just don't know if I can continue, as a breeder, to support a registry that has proven time and time again that it just doesn't actually care about the dogs.

I'm not making any decisions right now but it's definitely something I'll be thinking about over the next year before I breed again.

Send a message to learn more

08/10/2024

At 15 months, the "Spyro Pups" are starting their sports careers!!! Congrats to Meghan Ryder and Raptor (Rusty Rose Epoch Clever Girl) on their dock diving debut! I can't wait to see the amazing things this team is going to do in the sport world.

07/29/2024

Sonic is currently #11 Rally MAS for the first half of the year with only 4 shows under her belt! Yay!

07/23/2024

Nessie rally practice!!! Need to clean some things up but I think we are ready to enter novice!

07/16/2024

Nessie rally practice!

06/25/2024

Nessie's first time practicing Rally off leash. Can't wait to enter her at the next trial. I'm so proud of my little home-bred pup!

06/16/2024

Sonic (FHF Supersonic @ Rusty Rose) had a good weekend at the rally trial in Azle.

6 runs, all with qualified scores. 2 more triple Qs towards her RACH, 2 more double Qs toward her RAE, a big handful of RACH points, and one 4th place finish in a huge class that had 9 or 10 perfect scores.

Videos in comments!

06/04/2024

Rally Practice with the Ness monster!

05/05/2024

Look who I got to go visit today! Ranger (Nago x Spyro boy).

He's doing so well!

05/02/2024

Happy first birthday to the best thing I ever did: the Spyro the Dragon Litter! These guys are so amazing! My keeper puppy Nessie continues to amaze me every day and I have the BEST puppy parents ever with Kristopher Shield Lisa Boski Sandhop Meryl Anderegg Jennifer Bo-Jan and Meghan Ryder.

Please feel free to post new photos of your babies!!!

05/01/2024

A year ago today, I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of these little monsters. I will make an official birthday post tomorrow since Spy waited until after midnight to release her little hostages.

04/18/2024

So powerful and moving!

"Dear Past And Future Puppy Owners

I loved them first. I thought of you years before you even realized. I planned for and cared about your baby long before you started thinking of adding to your family. I worried about your future with that puppy before you knew there would be one.
There were hours upon hours spent researching lines for the parents of your puppies. Going over breeder after breeder, choosing not only my pet but looking for a dog that will make you your pet. Worrying if you'd be happy, if I had chosen correctly and your puppy would grow up healthy and happy.

Going over puppy after puppy with fellow breeders, running over my program with as many knowledgeable breeders as I can, determined to not miss anything. Tracing lines back as far as I could, learning the ins and outs not only for my knowledge but so that I was informed, prepared to go over every detail with you, to answer the questions that sometimes you don't even ask.
Then there's years of watching your puppies parents grow. Loving them and enjoying them as part of my family. Taking them every where I can, training them, socializing them, watching how they fill out.

Asking myself I had made the right choice in both of them. Scrutinizing their conformation, how they move, and their temperament. There was the stress of health testing. Praying not only that my babies were healthy but that they had the genes to make your baby healthy.

Finally came the time to put your puppies parents together. For the next 63 days I worried, I obsessed, I grew excited. I watched your puppies mom like a hawk. Making sure my baby was ok, monitoring her diet better than I do my own. Concerned that she was getting enough of the right nutrients and that your growing baby was getting the best start possible. I spent hours on the couch, floor, and dog bed with her watching her tummy grow and anxiously waiting.

As your baby and mine grew I laid my hands on her tummy and felt the first movements of your puppy. As the time grew close I spent most nights in the nursery with her. Making sure she didn't go into labor without me knowing, in case something went wrong and one of our babies needed help. When labor started my whole life stopped. I spent every second with her.

Your baby was born into my hands and I held my breath as I cleaned them up, watching for movement and breathing, cleaning them up, checking them over, and wondering if you'd love them as much as I already did. I helped your babies brother when mom got tired and he was stuck. I cried when your babies sister didn't make it.

For the first 8 weeks most of my life was filled with your baby. Watching them grow and making sure I was doing everything possible to make sure they started their lives the right way. Making sure each one was getting enough to eat, enough socialization time, that they were de-wormed and given their shots. I was the first person they saw when they opened their eyes. I spent my weeks playing with them and keeping them safe.

I searched for you and interviewed you. As you spoke I tried to read your character. Would you love them as much as I do? Would you bring them in as part of your family? Would you care for this tiny life that I brought into this world that I am responsible for? Some of you were turned away but some of you were welcomed into our family. The day you took your baby home was harder than I'd ever let on. I was excited for you but I was also terrified. Had I chosen correctly? Were you who you seemed to be?

My love and worry didn't end there. I thought about your baby regularly, saddened when I didn't get updates, ecstatic when I did. I hoped you were caring for your baby the way I care for mine. I answered your questions happily and answered them again just as happily to your babies siblings new parents. When your puppies sister ate a couch I stayed up that night she was at the vets, waiting to hear that she was ok. When their brothers parents decided he no longer fit in their life I welcomed him home, sorry that I had chosen wrong for him and promised him it wouldn't happen again.
I loved your baby first and I will never stop."❤️

-Author Unknown-

04/14/2024

What a good day for agility and the RRR crew!

Sonic earned 2 first place finishes to acquire her first AKC Novice legs in jumpers and standard.

Spyro is competing at preferred novice while we work on some issues. She won her standard class to earn her first novice standard preferred leg. Unfortunately we dropped a bar in jumpers.

I'm so proud of Sonic’s AKC debut!

04/07/2024

Can't believe how pretty this boy Beau (Nago x Spyro) has turned out....if it wasn't for the white ear, I'd have kept him....

"Rusty Rose Be My Beau"

03/31/2024

03/24/2024

Fort Worth Kennel Club Rally results for Sonic!!

We earned our first 2 Master legs.

We earned 2 RAE legs (giving us 4 total) .

We earned our first 2 triple Qs towards our RACH.

We also picked up a handful of RACH points though not as many as I would have liked.

We are on the RACH journey!

03/20/2024

Dog breeding and working terriers.

03/20/2024

Tight line-breeding and closed gene pools destroy breeds. If you can't see this, you aren't looking hard enough.

Stop prioritizing type over genetic health/diversity and stop acting like purity of breed is somehow an honorable goal in and of itself.

INBREEDING HAS BROKEN THE BULL TERRIER

From Popular Science comes this note about perilous health of the very heavily in**ed bull terrier:

“Bull terrier owners might feel some sense of relief upon hearing that a team of international researchers have identified a genetic mutation behind lethal acrodermatitis. Baby bull terriers with LAD don't grow well, have deficient immune systems, and develop skin lesions around their paws. They often die before their first birthday.

“But here’s the problem: at this point, we can’t really do much about it.

“The reason why lies in the very first sentence of the paper, which came out on Thursday in the journal PLoS Genetics. "Lethal acrodermatitis is a genodermatosis with monogenic autosomal recessive inheritance in Bull Terriers and Miniature Bull Terriers," the study reads. Maybe that doesn't sound like much to you, but it means a lot to canine genetic researchers — that's people who study dog genetics, not dogs who study genetics — because it highlights immediately why this disease is much like the vast majority of other diseases that plague purebred dogs. It's autosomal, meaning it can occur on any chromosome (not just the sex-determining ones), and it's recessive, meaning you need two copies for the disease to manifest.

"’About 70 percent of the genetic disorders in dogs are autosomal recessive,’ explains Carol Beuchat, Scientific Director of the Institute of Canine Biology. ‘And the reason why is because a recessive mutation doesn't hurt you if it's not expressed, so it doesn't get selected against.’ If everyone who carries a mutation suffers the associated ill-effects, they'll be less likely to reproduce and the mutation won't spread through the gene pool very much. But recessive genes can proliferate more pervasively, because carriers with one copy can lead perfectly healthy lives and have lots of children, some of whom will also carry the recessive gene on to their own offspring.

“.... If two siblings have children together, they have what's called an inbreeding coefficient of 25 percent. That means that their offspring are homozygous (have two copies of the same gene) for 25 percent of their DNA. About half of all dog breeds have an inbreeding coefficient above 25 percent. And bull terriers? They're the second-most in**ed dog of all. Their coefficient is around 60 percent. Generation after generation has compounded the problem, which is how they've got a coefficient even higher than pure siblings can produce.

“So it shouldn’t really be a surprise that the breed has accumulated a few genetic inconveniences along the way. Bull terriers are also prone to breathing problems, heart and kidney disease, deafness, and knee issues.

“.... Bull terriers are already at a 60 percent inbreeding coefficient, which means those recessive mutations have accumulated already. They're not going to go away magically, and they certainly won't disappear without raising a few more diseases to take their place. The only solution is to stop inbreeding. Bull terriers will eventually die out as they become increasingly in**ed. Populations with finite gene pools simply don't survive. To save the breed, you have to make it impure.

“There aren’t many breeders who want to do that, though. The Norwegian lundehund is almost entirely extinct because they’re so in**ed, and yet the effort to save them by outbreeding to other Norwegian dog varieties only comprises a handful of breeders. Most lundehund owners outright refuse to allow their dogs to mate with anything but another lundehund. It’s the same story with many other breeds.

“The majority of dobermans now succumb to the same heart condition. Bernese mountain dogs today have little hip dysplasia, but die of cancers that have become commonplace.”

You know what's sad? This is a breed invented by an Irish dog dealer who knitted it up by crossing half a dozen different canine types, and it is a breed that has radically changed appearance over the last 150 years. There is, literally, nothing to "preserve" and nothing to ruin by outcrossing. You could keep this dog's personality AND make it healthier. But will that be done? Nope.

For Pop Sci article, see >> https://www.popsci.com/purebred-dog-inbreeding-genetic-mutation/

03/14/2024

Education moment:

From the AKC Rulebook for Dog Shows, Section 8, page 44 (capital letters are my own emphasis, the .... represents sections unrelated to my post):

"A dog which ... HAS BEEN CHANGED IN APPEARANCE BY ARTIFICIAL MEANS (except as specified in the standard for its breed).....may NOT compete at any show and will be DISQUALIFIED.....

Glue is artifical. Weights are artifical. Tape is artifical.

Changing ear set by artifical means is unethical, explicitly forbidden and grounds for disqualification.

If you're taping to hide prick ears, you're purposely hiding a severe fault. If you're taping to prevent rose ears (which are completely correct and equal to button ears), you are perpetuating a stereotype that rose ears are somehow inferior to button or indicative of poor breeding (false).

When you alter a dog from his natural appearance (including ears) you are lying to the judges, who are there to evaluate your dogs appearance, quality and adherence to the breed standard in relation to their potential to be breeding dogs. If you want an honest evaluation of your dog, present an honest picture.

Just because a bunch of people do it, doesn't make it ethical or right. Genetically good ears will settle properly after teething. If they don't, they are faulty on a GENETIC level (maybe their size, maybe their height on the head, maybe the thickness of leather, etc). Stop hiding genetic issues to win ribbons.

And for my ASDR friends, our rule book is even more specific, specifically calling out the practice of gluing and taping. It is not allowed.

Ukc also does not allow artificial changes.

As always, I'm open for private debate on the matter, but I think the rules are very very clear.

Full disclosure: Spyro actually did have hers glued before I learned it was against the rules and that's why I share knowledge. Had I known it was against the rules, I would never have done it but I let unethical people bend my ear and convince me something was OK. Do your own research! Don't make my mistake.

03/10/2024

Best post I've seen on dog training in a long time!

THE BEST DOG TRAINING BOOK EVER

Psssst! I'm whispering. That's because I am a dog whisperer. I know secret things that others may not be willing to tell you.

Are you sitting down? Good. Now brace yourself, because I am going to (pardon the expression) let the cat out of the bag. Here it is: there are a LOT of ways to train a dog, and almost all of them work.

Yes, that's right: William Koehler's methods work, and so too do Ian Dunbar's.

Cesar Millan's methods work, and so do Karen Pryor's.

Victoria Stillwell's methods work, and so do Tamar Geller's, Jan Fennell's, Patricia McConnell's, and Barbara Woodhouse's.

All of these people have made careers out of successfully training dogs.

Anyone who tells you different is a liar.

Yes, that's right. The people who slag Cesar Milan are liars. So too are those who sneer at Karen Pryor. It all works.

Does it *always* work on *every* dog to solve every problem or train every behavior?

No. Probably not.

And it helps a *lot* if you have low standards for compliance.

You want another secret? Fine. Here it is: Like everything else in the world, dog training is subject to fads, philosophy and branding. Everyone is trying to sell you something (if only their own expertise), and part of sales is to convince you that they have something better, and the other guy has something worse. Sometimes it's true. Mostly, it's bunk.

You want more? Fine. Here's a little about dogs -- the tabula rasa we are working with.

Dogs, like humans, are pack predators and scavengers that operate within a loose social hierarchy. Like humans, they have their own language, and like humans they learn best when instruction is clear and consistent and when it comes after a "recess" period involving physical exercise.

Like humans, dogs operate for rewards, but they also shy away from adverse consequences. Like humans learning the alphabet, dogs can learn to string small bits of knowledge together to form entire sentences of instruction, but first they have to learn the vowels and consonants.

There. That's the basics.

You want more? Fine, here it is: While there are a lot of ways to make a puppy or young dog learn the basics of walking, sitting, coming, etc., most out-of-control adult dogs are a mess for the same three reasons:

1. Not enough ACTIVE one-on-one time with the owner (including real exercise and long walks);

2. No consistency, and;

3. A confusion, by the owner, that the dog is a child.

That's it.

Watch any dog trainer, and you will see I am right.

What most dog training professionals bring to the table is simply a routine: If you spend 10 minutes, twice a day exercising a dog, and another 10 minutes, twice a day, training a dog with ANY training system you find on a shelf, your dog will probably end up brilliant within a few months.

Of course, that will only happen if the owner/trainer is consistent. This is the second thing the trainer brings to the table. Most people and most families are wildly inconsistent and, as a consequence, are poor communicators. Professional trainers teach owners to be consistent in their messaging.

Of course, it is the third point where a great deal of the controversy lies. A lot of dog people are terribly confused about dogs. They think a dog is a child, and they think children should only have positive rewards. In their mind, no child and no dog should ever get a correction.

It is, of course, complete nonsense.

Here's a hint about dogs; dogs are the actual experts.

And guess what? Dogs do not click and treat. Dogs communicate through body movement, voice, and yes TEETH.

What? Dogs use "coercion" with each other? Yes, sometimes. A couple of times a day in my little pack.

And, of course, dogs have pecking orders every bit as developed as that of chickens.

And YES, dogs are looking for a leader. This last point is one of the secrets every successful dog trainer brings to the table.

Most dogs crave leadership every bit as much as they crave food, love, and time in the sun.

Most dogs have the capacity to be submissive to a true leader. Puppies are submissive to older dogs, and smaller dogs are submissive to larger dogs.

Submission is not fear -- it is followship, the analog to the leadership you should be providing.

Of course this notion of "leadership" runs riot in a lot of people's heads.

In the modern world, too many people eschew leadership. They want everyone to be equals, and they want every little thing to be talked out and negotiated, especially within the family.

What does that mean for children?

It means if you tell your teenager they need to be home by 10 pm, but move the hour to 11 pm after a half hour of argument, you are teaching your child that arguing works -- and you are sure to get a lot more of it!

The same goes for dogs.

Consider this: your refrigerator door is probably a better dog trainer than you are.

Why do I say this?

Simple: For your dog, the refrigerator door should be the most important door in your house. Behind it lies every type of food your dog has ever dreamed of.

And yet, your dog never barks at the refrigerator door.

Why not? Simple: because your dog knows that door will never open no matter how long it is barked at. When your refrigerator says NO, it means NO.

In some people's minds, this kind of absolutism smacks of "authoritarianism." They think there should be some give and take with the dog. "Just Look at Tricky-Woo. He looks so hungry!"

Here we come to the root of so many problems: Vacillating people who are unable to send consistent signals on the front end, and who are unable to deliver consistent consequences on the back end.

Let's think about the kids again.

Your teenager borrows the car and does not come home at 11 pm, as agreed, but sneaks in the back door at 3 am.

Best to ignore it, right? If you do, see if you do not get more of it!

And so it is with dogs.

Slip a simple chain slip collar on a dog, and give a decent jerk every time the dog pulls at the end of the lead, and your dog will straighten up and be walking at your side in no time.

Reward it with a small piece of hot dog, or a scratch on the head when it walks slightly behind you on a loose lead, and he will get the message even faster.

Yet, there are people adamantly opposed to simple slip-chain collars, just as there are people adamantly opposed to levying negative consequences on their own children for bad behavior.

Who are these people?

They fall into several camps.

Some are armchair philosophers who have no experience working with difficult dogs.

Because they have trained a few retriever puppies they are sure they know the score for all dogs all the time, and never mind that they have no clue as to how to handle an adult dog-aggressive Pit Bull, a deer-chasing Lurcher, or a sheep-worrying Collie.

Another group are folks who are emotionally incapable of being true leaders. These people will tell you they "love" their dogs so much they could never be so "cruel" as to jerk on a chain slip-collar, no matter that the dog quickly stops pulling and is not in pain from the correction.

Does that mean these people can never train their own dogs?

No.

The good news, is that almost ANY dog training regime will work if it is done consistently (even pure click-and-treat training) provided it is done consistently, and the dog is young or has no other serious behavior problems.

Will a "pure positive" training regime be a bit slower than if the owner had used a more balanced training system with a chain collar? Probably.

Will the dog be as "bomb proof" as it might be if a more balanced training method had been used? Probably not.

Will a pure positive training system fix a sheep-worrying terrier? Nope.

But will it probably work for you and your young dog? Sure.

As noted at the beginning, almost any published dog training method will work provided it is done consistently, every day, by a calm owner who clearly communicates with his or her charges after a decent period of exercise.

This is the real "secret" to dog training, and it's really no secret at all.

03/09/2024

Sonic earned her CD title at Azle today! So proud of my girl!

03/06/2024

Way to go Sonic!

03/06/2024

Rusty Rose Ranch dogs are family.

My dogs will NEVER live in detached kennels away from the family. They are my kids and they belong in my home, on my couch, on my bed.

We do have kennel enclosures inside our home, but our dogs are only there when we are gone or for short periods of time when we have females in season and need to crate/rotate.