The Lesser-Known Breeds. I am always fascinated by the breeds we don't have the opportunity to see often: the American Bulldogs, the German Pinschers, Argentine dogos, Chinooks and Alaskan Klee Kai, to name just a few. Theirs is not an easy lot. Those who support these less often seen breeds must set type, educate and recruit interest all at the same time.

Recognition is important for these breeds but recognition of what is correct is of even greater value in the early years. The difficulty always remains in that standards of any breed are not always interpreted in exactly the same way and different styles - variations of the standard - result.

The average Judge, or for that matter average new breeder, without history and tradition to rely upon, will often gravitate toward the middle of the road or even toward what is familiar.

Let us take, for instance, the German Pinscher breed. This is a breed that resembles the Doberman Pinscher in a number of superficial ways. The German Pinscher, however, is not a Doberman in miniature at all. the inclination, because of the similarities, is to make it so. This is extremely unfortunate for the breed in that preserving the differences is what maintains the essence of the breed.

Winner UKC Top Ten German Pinscher 1999 UKC Grand Champion, BIS Danrhon's Royal Velvet

This is why I was delighted to see Linda Sever's German Pinscher, GR CH Danrhon's Royal Velvet's rise to the top of the Terriers Group in at least one of the weekend's shows. royal velvet, constructed in the proper make and shape, serves her breed well. Wins of this nature encourage those with correct dogs to persevere. Interestingly, only a few weeks later I judged German Pinschers at a show in Canada where the breed is also recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club. I made my selection for first on the basis of what I understand to be correct for the German Pinscher breed. The same people owned all the dogs that were entered but were particularly pleased that i had selected the dog I did.

"We are becoming so discouraged," they said. "Judges want htis breed to be a miniature version of the Doberman and we are practically to the point of giving up."
It's lack of knowledge, of course. That and lack of exposure to the breed that sends us off into the wrong direction. Something we must all be careful of. And as discouraging as it may be, those who do know what is correct must persevere or correct type will be lost in their breed forever."

"The Lesser-Known Breeds," is a portion of the article, Ringside Conversation by Richard Beauchamp and is located on page 25 of the October 2000 issue of UKC's "Bloodlines." Mr. Beauchamp has given permission for it's display on this webpage. All Rights Reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyrights reserved herein, no part of this web site may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form, or by any mean (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without express written permission of the author and the United Kennel Club. Please respect US/International copyright law.

UKC Top Ten German Pinscher Winner 1999 & 2000 UKC Grand Champion, Danrhon's Royal Velvet photo taken Kalamazoo, MI, 15 June, 2001 Owner-Handler: Linda J. Sever

GermanPinschers Around the World	German Pinschers Photo Gallery	LAKAI German Pinschers	German Pinscher RESCUE	e-mail WEBMASTER

Paw Prints since 12/06/97

Last modified on Tuesday, 26 June, 2001