why does the UK still have only a FTCH title?
January 22nd, 2012 § Leave a Comment
In many other countries, breeders and puppy buyers can make very informed decisions about where to purchase a puppy from, for working purposes, and which dogs to use as breeding stock – because the dogs on a pedigree have a host of detailed titles and awards after and before their names, which provide useful information about the abilities of dogs on the pedigree.
Many countries in mainland Europe require dogs pass specific tests before breeding. The Slovakian Rough Haired Pointer Club in Slovakia have these tests, for example, which they use to select breeding stock. Weimaraners in Germany are subject to similar requirements.
Here is a list of titles available in the US, which would be meaningful to a US field Weim breeder, on a pedigree:
- JH – Junior Hunter
- SH – Senior Hunter
- MH – Master Hunter
- AFC – Amateur Field Champion
- FC - Field Champion
- NAFC – National Amateur Field Champion
- NFC – National Field Champion
- RDX – Retrieving Dog Excellent
- RD – Retrieving Dog
- NRD – Novice Retrieving Dog
- SDX – Shooting Dog Excellent
- SD – Shooting Dog
- NSD – Novice Shooting Dog
- UT – Prize 1/2/3 – Utility score
- UPT – Prize 1/2/3 – Utility Prep score
- NA – Prize 1/2/3 – Natural Ability score
- VC – Versatile Champion
- HAE – Hunting Aptitude Evaluation
- AHAE – Advanced Hunting Aptitude Evaluation
- PE – Performance Evaluation
- FTCh
That is IT. There are no ‘lesser’ field awards which confer titles. It is no wonder that many breeders try to create a title by putting FTW in front of dogs’ names (Field Trial Winner), but this isn’t a KC recognised title. We also have the Working Gundog Certificate – but this does not confer a title on the dog, either, and would not appear on the pedigree. Gundog working tests never result in titles.
How many UK Weimaraners have ever become UK FTChs? TWO. Ever.
Just to spell out what that means: Looking at a UK Weimaraner’s pedigree can tell you absolutely nothing about the working ability of any of the individual dogs on it. Unless you personally knew those dogs behind your dog, you have no information on them.
By comparison, how many show titles are available, in the UK?
- ShCh – Show Champion
- ShCoM – Show Certificate of Merit
- JW – Junior Warrant
And how many UK Weimaraners have become ShChs? Loads. How many exactly? Well, I could find out for sure, but I’d guess it’s in the hundreds. Both Slate’s parents were UK ShChs, owned by the same breeder.
The problem isn’t just the lack of titles, it’s that in order to improve the situation and to breed more dogs with field ability, UK breeders need to be able to select for that ability in the field. And just how do they go about that, when in the UK there is no information on the proven field abilities of any dogs behind a particular dog? You can go by what the single, individual, dog in front of you is like – but that’s breeding purely for phenotype and not genotype. Who knows what might get thrown up, from previous generations? It’s entirely random and therefore hardly selective at all.
In breeds with more FTChs, it is much more possible to select for field ability. In the UK, GSPs have something in the region of 45 FTChs (ever). This means there are a great deal more FTChs appearing on GSP pedigrees than on Weimaraner pedigrees. Which, in turn, means that it’s possible to breed and buy puppies with that information in mind, and to improve the breed in the field even more. The same is even more true of breeds like labradors and spaniels, which have even more FTChs on pedigrees. By comparison, Weimaraners (and other minority HPR breeds) can’t get out of the Catch-22 situation they’re in without ‘lesser’ achievements being recognised, so that some sort of selective breeding can begin.
Finally, even when a titled dog is imported from abroad into the UK, most foreign titles are stripped from it: The UK KC refuses to recognise many titles from other countries on UK pedigrees. Grey’s great-grandfather in Slovakia was IntCh Koro Hajasov Dvor FS, JS, VP, I.c., MJS II.c., SO3. How do I know this? Because I have looked it up on Slovakian pedigrees, where the titles appear. On her UK pedigree, he appears as just IntCh Koro Hajasov Dvor.
And what is the IntCh bit? Yes, a show title, which the UK KC, in their infinite wisdom, will recognise.
More, anon.
