Scroll through any group on Dogbook and you’ll hear some commonly used phrases like ‘breeding to improve the breed’, ‘breed preservationist’, and ‘breed conservation’. These buzz words are thrown about as the gold standard for finding a good* breeder, and yet, they mean very different things. The meaning is not intrinsically clear to pet owners or new breeders, and it is important to know the differences and how it affects an individual breeder’s goals and the direction of the breed as a whole.
* A ‘good’ breeder might be a reputable breeder, responsible breeder, or ethical breeder — which also mean very different things — but that shall have to be a topic for a different post.
Breed Improvement
The goal of breed improvement is to make every generation better than the last. Success in conformation or performance is a key objective of improvement above all else. Typically this places heavy emphasis on creating more winners in the conformation ring or occasionally a particular performance sport. Some breeders will also focus on minimizing health issues as a way to improve the breed. However, conformation and typiness always have highest priority because a perfectly healthy dog who is lacking in breed type is not considered an improvement. Breeding to improve will often mean following current fads in the conformation ring, which may not actually be what the breed standard calls for.
Breed Preservation
The goal of breed preservation is to protect and maintain a breed in its original or natural state. Minimizing alterations to the breed is a key objective of preservation above all else. Breed preservationists try to keep the same form, function, and temperament of the breed. In some ways, preservation is antithetical to breeding to improve the breed, because improvement inherently requires change. Reducing health issues and increasing diversity is considered part of preservation, since most breeds were healthier at foundation than they are today. However, preservation may propagate ‘correct’ temperaments that were fine for the breed’s job in the past but are difficult to live with today.
Breed Conservation
The goal of breed conservation is to manage a breed for future generations. Sustainability is a key objective of conservation above all else. Breeders balance maintaining conformation and temperament, increasing biodiversity, and minimizing traits which impact the health or which make them difficult to own as family pets. Breed conservationists must consider the long term impacts of short term fads like popular sire syndrome and how that might influence future generations of the breed. They must also take into account how the modern world and dog ownership continues to change from the breed’s foundation. Conservation does not look to intentionally alter a breed, except to make adaptations to fit modern life.
Popular Breeds and Rare Breeds
You’re more likely to hear about breeding to improve a breed if the breed is popular and numerous. Popularity is a double-edged sword when it comes to dog breeds. Having a larger population makes it easier to sustain the breed’s diversity for the future, but it also comes with a higher number of poorly bred dogs from unethical breeders. Good breeders must set the bar high in order to combat the drifts and trends caused by bad breeders. Thus, there is high emphasis on breeding to improve.
In rarer breeds, the threat of extinction is greater than the threat of poorly bred dogs. It is unusual to find rare breeds in the hands of unethical breeders, simply because of the lack of demand and profits. Good breeders will place more emphasis on preservation and/or conservation, knowing full well that unless they increase the population and diversity that it may not be around for much longer. Yet the lack of demand that somewhat shields them from bad breeders also makes it hard to find qualified homes for puppies.
My Personal Goals
You will never hear me say that I am breeding to improve the breed. The Nihon Ken breeds are native to Japan and to say that I am improving them is to say that I know better than the Japanese breeders. It is astoundingly arrogant, and we’ve already been down that road once before — that is why there is now the American Akita and Japanese Akita. American breeders can shape and improve their own breeds as they see fit, but it is not my place as an American to change the direction of the Japanese breeds.
I do not have a problem with being labeled as a breed preservationist but I think breed conservationist is a better fit. Many years ago I posted on the now-deleted Nihon Ken Forum, “Who are we preserving them for?” In it I asked who we would place puppies with, if the breeds no longer served their original function as hunting dogs but had temperaments difficult for family pets. I think about that post often, as this was my first step towards thinking about future generations of the breed rather than focusing on keeping the current generation the same as it had been in the past.
My personal goal is breed conservation. I would like to encourage other breeders of Nihon Ken and rare breeds to think of themselves as breed conservationists as well. I certainly believe that we can breed true to the standard and select dogs with correct conformation and character, who look and act like their ancestors, while also making good decisions for future sustainability. No breed standard states that a breed should be unhealthy or unsuitable as a family pet. Not a single one.