Hebiron's
Working Groenendaels

NOT ALL CHAMPIONS ARE EQUAL

 
 A working dog is a reflection of the trainers, the dog, the handler, and the dog's pedigree. When a dog is able to achieve working titles, it proves that the dog has the ability to work and demonstrate certain desired traits. Titles only offer us clue about the dog.... much is still a mystery. It is important to understand that two dog with the same title doesn't make the dogs equal. Many things can affect the performance of a working dog and the level of their achieved titles. Good training can make a average dog appear stronger. Undesired traits can be hidden with good training. Great trainers can bring out the good traits and try to hide the issues. If you don't know what your looking for, a good trainer can hide many things. If this dog had an average trainer, what would the outcome be? Who wants the type of dog that requires a master in dog training tricks? Dogs with  issues can gain advantage by trialing on familiar grounds, work with familiar decoys, or objects. Careful selection of judges, trials, and field location can be a benefit towards getting titles on a dog with problems. Strong dogs might never reach their full potential if they have bad training or limitation. It is important to use titles as aids to gaining a hypothesis about certain dogs and pedigrees. It is crucial to go meet the dogs and see them work. To gain a understatement of the lines strengths and weakness. A pedigree full of titles are nice, but the titles don't always answer all the needed questions about a dog.

CURRENT PLANS.... the search for the perfect dog

Current Plans

My complete focus is with the completion of my dogs' current training and preparation for future trials

                          IMPORTANT NOTE 

If you believe that you would be a possible good home for a future puppy, rehome, or retired dog, it is important to contact me. I place more importance in the quality of home, quality of training, and commitment given to a dog.

WORKING PROSPECTS: If you are interested in the possibility of a new dog, please understand that I will expect working homes to provide references, training club/instructor contact information and/or training video. All dogs are placed with limited registration until they are screened for hips, elbows, and eyes. Only exception will be with agreement of co-ownership until the health screening have been completed.

PET HOMES: If you are interested in adding a new family member, please understand that I will require the completion of my questionnaire. All belgians placed into pet homes will be come with limited registration. Although belgian are masters of becoming the perfect dog... Belgians are active dogs that have exercise and mental simination requirements.  They enjoy hours spent on the couch enjoying their family accompany; however, a happy belgian requires time placed into scheduled physical activities and mental simination.

SERVICE DOGS: Community service with K-9 is something that we support. Interested parties are required to supply reference to organization, membership numbers, veterinarian references, personal and proffessional references, and contact information to training coordinator. Spay/neuter requirements.

 

 

My dogs are my passion and not a form of a business. I am a small kennel that prefer to focus on quality and never on quantity. For me, it isn't about making a name for myself, proving a point, selling puppies, or gaining public approval. My main concern is with the breed's future and the ability of uniting my efforts with the efforts of other breeders around the world.  I limit myself to pursuing a very limit number of litters. I don't like to settle, so I place much focus in finding  the best possible dogs. My dogs' futures come first, I prefer to have an approved list of homes before I ever consider a litter. I choose to have my puppies placed in good prospective homes before I consider having a liter. Please contact me if you are interested in locating a groenendeal with working capability. I am more than happy to suggest promising litters from other kennels. I understand the frustration in trying to locate answers to questions and  concerns. I will offer my assistance in attempting to answering your concerns, suggest reference material, and offer the contact information for more educated people.  Finding buyers for my dogs is not my goal.  It is more important to help good dogs find good homes that will benefit the future of the groenendeal breed.

I have included a list of reference links that will offer Assistance in locating working kennels, history on different foundation dogs, pedigree search engines, search engines that offer documentation on health clearances, and lists of different titled dogs. More links found on my links page. I hope this help.

 

PEDIGREE, HEALTH, AND TITLE SEARCH ENGINES

  • OFA Database - look up hip ratings on individual dogs
  • CERF - Canine Eye Registration Foundation
  • CHIC - Canine Health Information Center Compiled list of links that is useful in research. This list is not complete and is still growing.

BREEDING: DO TITLES MAKE A BETTER DOG?

          Not all working dogs are the same. It is important to understand that different breeds of dogs can work in each sport. Each of these breeds may differ greatly from the acquired traits that they gained from their breed. It is true that all these  breeds have some similar traits that allow them all to succeed in their sports; however there are also differences that separates them. It is these differences that make each breed special and in their own way superior from all the other breeds. Many people can debate on which breed is the superior breed for each sport, but it really comes down to the preference of a certain breed's hereditary traits and the handler's ability to exploit these traits. There are benefits to each breed  and success can be found if you know how to exploit the breed's natural talents. With the acknowledgment that each breed is different, there comes the question about the difference between the working dogs found in each breed. Each dog demonstrates simular traits that are  gained from it's breed, but there are differences found between the working dogs from different pedigrees and breeding programs. Each breeding program works to strengthen certain traits and often focus on different agendas. Personal preference often  dictateds the choices and prioritizes the importance of required traits in the breeding program. The selection and focus on these selected traits can affect the future generation of breed. These choices affect the type of character, level of nerve, sensitivity to a handle, sharpness, aggression, type of motivation to work, stability, and many other import ingredient of a working dog. Example... I love dogs that have huge hearts and desire to please. I want a dog that has focus on it's work and it's ability to work is only strengthen by it's desire to please me. I respect courage, determination, and dependability in a dog. I want a dog to work, but a dog must work for me. My desired breeding program would focus heavily on character and temperament of the dog. In my desired breeding program, I would never compromise in intelligence, trainable, stability, and type of working drive. These are the traits that I value in a dog, but success can be found in dogs that have less focus, less of a stable nerve, has handler aggression issue, sharpness in temperament, less intelligence, and selfish traits. I can work these type of dogs, but I perfer a differnent type of dog. With protection sports, there are many debates over the benefits and disadvantages of a dog that thinks too much. A more intelligent dog requires more focus and concern on the complete and solid foundation in training. Like a computer. a smart dog will utilize all it's training to formulate a strategy to conquer new problems. Without solid foundation in training and exposure, a smart dog will dwell on new things and possibility find it's own solution to conquer obstacles.... this can be frustrating if the new found solution compromises the future foundation training. A less intelligent driven dog has the benefit of not dwelling on new things, but you lose the all the benefits that an more intelligence dog can offer. Some people like size and mass. Other people want the speed a smaller dog offers. Again it really comes down to the preference to a certain line's hereditary traits and the handler's ability to exploit these traits. It is possible to find success in working sports with dogs that present different character and hereditary gained traits.

          Success in a breeding program doesn't come from the attempt to gain the most titled dogs in a pedigree. Not all lines will compliment each other. A successful breeding program isn't found by putting the most titles in a pedigree, but the attempt of combining compatible hereditary traits together. Combining two great working dogs together isn't always enough. One must look at all the traits offered by these dogs and the traits that are demonstrated by their relatives. Health, drive, trainablity, character, nerve, and are only a few things to consider. By combining two great working dog, what traits are you also combining into the future litter.... what is being introduced to the future of the breed? What possible success can be found by breeding two dogs together that will combine different sets of issues of health, character, and stability? Success and titles can be obtained with a dog that might be sharp and possible handler aggressive. Success and titles might be obtained in a dog that is sensitive to soundings and offers weaker nerve. Success and high level titles might be found in dogs with a wide range of drive, stability, sensitivity to handlers, sharpness, and temperament. Each dog might be beneficial to different breeding programs, but some lines will not compliment each other. What benefit will be obtained by breeding sharpness into a line that has weak nerve? What benefit will be gained by breeding  high drive and  determination into dogs with unstable character? Problems don't disappear. Bad combinations create a complex mixture of concerning traits that are pasted to the puppies.... and future generations. What benefit will be gained by breeding two titled working dogs  that  share hereditary health issues in their pedigree. The outcome of these breedings will be devastating to the breed's future. It is important to look beyond the titles. Titles offer crucial clues about a dog's ability to work and it's ability to demonstrate desirable traits, but titles alone don't make a dog worth of being added to a breeding program.