> While I'm at it, I have to say also that I've never heard a knowledgeable and successful breeder of dogs EVER put health before type. EVER. Not that they ignored health issues, far from it....but before type? No. Again...except in Cavaliers.
To be honest, I've never heard of such a thing either. I know of several breeders (not enough) that give equal weight to type and health, but none the give more weight to health over type. Let's look at the big picture. I believe type, health and temperament are all equal. This means to me that I give weight to all 3 equally. IF I were to choose to breed a dog that cannot pass a cardiologist exam, a CERF exam, one that truly does not have dead solid patellas, one that may possibly not be able to pass OFA (you don't know for sure unless you do it!!)--then I am choosing type OVER health and I will not do that. IF I were to breed a dog that passed all health exams but was not typey--then I am choosing health OVER type. I would not do that. If I were to breed a dog that passes all health exams, was typey, but was atypical in temperament--then I would be choosing health and type OVER temperament. I will not do that. If someone chooses to not OFA hips, then they are giving MORE weight to type than health. I will not do that!! I give EQUAL weight to all 3. Do I know of some health conscious breeders who do not have good type? Certainly! But did it ever occur to some of you that maybe their *type* wouldn't be any better even if they didn't fully test? Maybe those people just don't know type all that well!!! You realize that some people are not capable of becoming knowledgeable about type, just as some people are not capable of becoming knowledgeable about calculus. We may all be equal overall, but some of us are definitely better at some things and others are better at something else. There is no sinister plot against Cavalier type. Maybe you should try to help these people instead of complaining about them! Laura Trunk Roycroft Cavaliers ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author.
