09/05/2026
šš¼āāļø Thereās a BIG difference between saying youāre doing something to better your program and actually being active in what you say youāre doing.
I see a LOT of āwe breed for thisā and āweāre improving thatā and ātemperament is so importantāā¦
Okay. But what are you actually doing with that?
Because posting about it doesnāt make it true.
And before someone says, āYou donāt really know a dogās temperament until itās proven in the show ring, agility, performance, etc.ā
Sure. Those things can absolutely tell you something about a dog.
But letās not pretend a title is a magical little certificate that says GOOD TEMPERAMENT APPROVED. š
You can learn a LOT about a dog by actually living with it.
Train it.
Expose it to different situations.
Watch how it handles stress.
Watch how it recovers.
Watch how it reacts to strangers, kids, other dogs, new environments, weird noises, frustration, correctionā¦
And thenāpay attention to the dogs that come from that dog.
That matters.
Because if temperament is supposedly a priority, then it should actually affect your breeding decisions.
Who you keep.
Who you breed.
Who you donāt breed.
Which combinations you repeat.
Which ones you donāt.
Thatās the part I pay attention to.
Structure is nice.
Great genetics are nice.
A gorgeous dog is REALLY nice.
But honestly?
Pretty dogs are a dime a dozen.
A dog can have the most beautiful structure in the world and still be a dog I wouldnāt want to reproduce.
Because at the end of the day, most puppies arenāt going to spend their lives standing in a show ring.
Theyāre going to live in someoneās house.
Theyāre going to be someoneās family dog.
Theyāre going to be around kids, visitors, other animals, vacations, chaos, thunderstorms, the UPS guy, and whatever else life throws at them. š
Temperament is EVERYTHING.
And I donāt mean āmy dog is sweet because it loves me.ā
I mean stable. Adaptable. Resilient. Confident. Trainable. Able to recover. Able to function in the real world.
THAT is what I want more of.
Because I donāt need to convince anyone that Iām ādoing the work.ā
Iād rather let the dogs coming out of my program do the talking.
Donāt tell me youāre bettering the breed.
Show me in the dogs youāre producing. š¾
