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Follow on Google News | There Is An Increasing Number of Breeders Breeding “Working Dogs.”Kris Kotsopoulos is a well-known breeder of working Dobermans and German Shepherds. Kris has been breeding and training dogs for the past 29 years beginning at the age of 16 and has been working with dogs ever since.
By: Sarah Healy The National Dog Trainers Federation (N.D.T.F): T.C.S.C / NDTF: Good morning Kris. Kris: Good morning. T.S.S.C / NDTF: There are an ever-increasing number of breeders breeding “Working Dogs.” What is your feeling on this situation? Kris: Firstly I feel it’s a positive thing because it shows an awareness that the working dog is a desirable and necessary part of our modern world. However, it is not simply a matter of putting two titled dogs together and hoping the progeny are as good, or better, than their parents. Chances are that they may be of less quality than their parents. Consistently producing a quality dog with the necessary and desirable traits is an extremely complex and time-consuming venture. Simply stating that you are breeding working dogs does not mean that you are. Breeding is about ups and downs, trial and error, and scrutinizing why the ups and downs exist in relation to your breeding goals. For this to occur we all need to be extremely critical of our own breeding stock. For me it’s about creating a bloodline that will constantly reproduce itself. I want German shepherds and Dobermans that also look like German shepherds and Dobermans with good bone, strong heads, functional conformation and of course, balanced high drives that endure stress and are uncomplicated. T.S.S.C / NDTF: In your opinion what are some of the mistakes that breeders are making in attempting to produce working dogs? Kris: The most common mistake is the belief that because a dog has a title after his name he is a working dog. The fact is that just because the dog works somewhat, doesn’t mean it’s a true working dog. My opinion still stands today as it did 20 years ago, you must breed with the extreme dogs as nature naturally produces sufficient to insufficient in the type of dogs we require. It’s difficult to fight thousands of years of evolution in a hundred years. Up until the year 2000 there were very few true working lines in Australia and there are fewer breeders that can identify them. T.S.S.C / NDTF: How did you come about getting German shepherd working lines into Australia? Kris: I had been involved with dogs that work since 1981 and knew what was required. Jim Tokis, Boyd Hooper and I went on a dog training tour to America in 1993. During our travels I saw some incredible German shepherds; shepherds I had never really been exposed to here. I should elaborate on this by saying, their prey drives were higher than the dogs in Australia. These dogs were highly driven and maintained a clear head throughout all their work. It is important to note that if the dog can keep a clear head during protection work, he is also able to do the same in obedience and tracking. Behaviour is like fluid and its always flowing. As a breeder, what amazed me the most was their ability to successfully reproduce themselves. At a Schutzhund club in California I had the pleasure of seeing four generations of one dog’s line that were almost identical in type and mentality. This was evident not only in California but also throughout the U.S.A. Since that day I have done lots of research on bloodlines and, most importantly, personally visited and tested many of the dogs that were highly admired. Nothing beats seeing the dogs first hand and working them yourself! It was great to be able to see them in a relaxed state and in a normal environment. I got a lot out of doing this. I was also very surprised at the amount of dogs that lack territorial aggression. I mean, I could walk into 98% of people’s homes and take the house, not to mention the dog. This is not a true German shepherd or Doberman in my opinion. In 1993-1994 I began collecting frozen semen because many of the great dogs I saw were not for sale. So far we have over fifteen German Shepherds and eight Dobermans on ice. These form a collection of the best dogs I have seen to date that also reproduce themselves. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION please go to www.vonforell.com or email info@vonforell.com Information, orders and Training Seminars Telephone from Australia 03 5786 5388 Fax from Australia International Calls International Faxes Head Office PO Box 419 Greensborough 3088 Melbourne Australia Internet www.vonforell.com www.detectordogs.com.au www.k9security.com.au Email: www.forellproducts.com Personal Advice: By telephone, e-mail or at our facilities, our specialists will answer any questions what ever they may be, and guide you in your choice of products and services. # # # Global leaders in Working Dogs Genetics & K9 Handler Training Breeders of Dobermans & German Shepherds for Family, Competition & Police Suppliers of leading K9 training products Australia, Dubai, Greece, New Zealand, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia End
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