My writings

1. 
   2009 March 25

   Dawn McNamara permalink

   Have you written anything on the change in German Shepherds? Do you know if Shiloh Shepherds are healthy dogs or being bred for looks? My son wants to get one and all of the information I’ve found is very biased either for or against. Thanks.

   Reply
   • 
     2009 March 26

     retrieverman permalink

     I don’t have any information this particular breed. I just know that it exists.

     GSD’s have changed amazingly over the years.

     Check this out http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/watch-the-german-shepherd-deteriorate-before-your-very-eyes/

     Reply
2. 
   2009 April 7

   Promethean permalink

   The Shiloh shepherd grew out of the fact that children tend to remember things bigger than they are. The giant dogs that Tina Barber imagines never really existed, she was just a little girl and everything looked bigger. In fact if we look at breed survey books from the early 1900s we see the GSD described as medium sized dogs, coming in at around the 70lb mark.

   Reply
   • 
     2009 April 7

     retrieverman permalink

     The original was something more like a Malinois.

     I didn’t know that the Shilo shepherd people were promoting their breed as “the original.”

     And the main stud dog of Max von Stephanitz was very similar to a Malinois: http://www.gsdca.org/GSDReviewed/hdogs/HorandGrafrath.html

     Even today, you can find herding dogs in Germany that are very similar to this: http://www.altdeutschehuetehunde.de/?id=8

     Some are sheep-poodle types, others are shepherd type, and others are Australian shepherd/”tiger dog” or “German collie” or “koolie” type.

     And then there’s this dog from the Czech Republic: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bohemianshepherd.htm

     I think the smooth-haired Thuringian shepherd is extinct, but I haven’t really looked for it.

     Reply
     • 
       2009 June 3

       GJGolden permalink

       Just thought you might like to know that many Belgians look down on the Malinois term. I just returned from a working dog conference in Ieper and during the introductory talk (Lt. Col Manuel Stevens) we were encouraged to begin calling them Mechelaar. Each of the Belgian shepherds are named after regions and the Malinois is from Mechelen.

       I love the blog. I can’t wait to dig in more.

       Reply
       • 
         2009 June 3

         retrieverman permalink

         Yes, I’m very aware of this fact, but if I say “Mechelaar” no one knows what I’m talking about.

         This is a Flemish issue, because Mechelen is a Flemish city. The Flemish people have become rather strong in their nationalism in recent years, and Malines is the French (Walloon) name for the city.

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         • 
           2009 June 4

           GJGolden permalink

           Well, you were one up on me. I’ve worked Mals, sorry, Mechs for over 20 years and didn’t know anything about the background you describe. This also explains some of the discussion that occurred as we passed a large arch with the word “Pax” inscribed on the way to the WWI trenches. I’ve just realized it was the Flemish Emancipation Memorial. Thank you for the education.

           Reply
           • 
             2009 June 4

             retrieverman permalink

             Belgium’s a very interesting country, because of its mixed French (Walloon) and Flemish (which is very similar to Dutch). To maintain order, the various political parties share leadership position among French-speaking and Flemish people. In the last election, that broke down. Because Belgium’s party system requires coalitions to form a government, it took months for the government to form.

             http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/archives/belgium_no_government_150_days_after_elections/

             Reply
3. 
   2009 November 6

   Patrice permalink

   You might be able to do something with this:
   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/10obwolf.html?_r=1&ref=science

   Patrice
   http://patricedodd.wordpress.com/

   Reply
   • 
     2009 November 6

     retrieverman permalink

     Just did a post on it, but I focused more its relationship to the “red fox on stilts whose urine smells like marijuana” (maned wolf): http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2009/11/03/the-warrah-mystery-has-been-solved/

     The original DNA research on the warrah (they aren’t really wolves) said that it was a relative of the coyote.

     Everyone thought they were closely related to the culpeo and other South American foxes, but they aren’t.

     Reply