It takes perseverance to navigate the journey to AKC recognition .
Rare-Breed Pioneers
It takes perseverance to navigate the journey to AKC recognition .
INTERVIEWS BY ALLAN REZNIK
QUESTIONS
1 . Name , kennel name , city and state , breed for which you are best known . 2 . When and how did your involvement in rare breeds begin ? 3 . Did you have prior experience in breeding and showing an AKC-recognized breed ? 4 . What were / are the greatest challenges in working toward AKC recognition ? 5 . What were / are the greatest rewards ? 6 . How difficult is it to guard against generic judging ( e . g . rewarding dogs with
TRAD , overgroomed exhibits ) and have judges abide by your breed standard ? 7 . What are the pros and cons of having total novices come into your breed vs experienced exhibitors from other breeds ? 8 . Do breed club politics ever hinder rather than help a breed move forward toward AKC recognition ? 9 . Is the AKC ’ s process of moving breeds from Miscellaneous to full recognition too fast and superficial ?
Richard W . Eichhorn
RICHARD W . EICHHORN , AKC JUDGE AND BREEDER OF MERIT
1 . Drakyi . Palmdale , Calif . Tibetan Mastiffs . 2 . I discovered the breed in a 1978 issue of Life magazine
that featured eight of the rarest dog breeds in the world . I called my friend Rita Boget , who had Tibetan Terriers ( Shampa , a Hall of Fame prefix ), and asked her about the Tibetan Mastiffs . She said that the woman who had imported the first Tibetan Mastiffs to the US , Ann Rohrer , lived just an hour away , and we planned a visit that week . My foundation bitch was born in January 1979 . That chance encounter changed the course of my life .
3 . I owned and bred Miniature Poodles and Basset Hounds
prior to my Tibetan Mastiff involvement . After seeing the Disney movie Big Red as a child , it was my goal to own and breed dogs and have a kennel in the country . Check !
4 . In a word , people ! Specifically , as I have often said ,
“ Rare breed , rare people .” Political agendas , power plays and conflicts kept the breed in the rare-breed world for decades .
5 . It ’ s nice to have Big Brother keeping the stud book ,
maintaining the breed standard , issuing pedigrees and registration paperwork , putting on the shows and keeping the instant experts in the club in check .
6 . Now , 10 years since full AKC recognition status ( 2007 ),
more and more judges have been educated , have judging assignments under their belt and have a better idea as to what constitutes a correct example of the breed . Even with that said , with the diversity of types seen and allowed in Tibetan Mastiffs , less experienced judges often go with safe , generic working dogs for their placements .
7 . What a double-edged sword ! Every breed needs fresh ,
novice blood to keep future rosters full . Some will seek out mentoring and form the lasting , mutually supportive relationships that help to secure the future of a breed . Others get too big for their britches too fast and take off their training wheels at the first sign of blue ribbons . They either don ’ t last , or they are content to produce mediocrity and flood puppy sites on the internet with pets at discounted prices . Experienced ex-
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