Canine Preparation And Application
Breeding, Training and Mental Tactics For Working Dogs
2012
Interview with Dobermann, German Shepherd Breeder and K9 Trainer Kris
Kotsopoulos From Von Forell International on His Latest Philosophy by Vithala
Singh USA
INTRODUCTION
Hi Kris, Tell us about yourself. How did you become
involved with Working Dogs, German Shepherds and Dobermanns? How did you enter
your current position as a supplier for Law Enforcement, Military, Private
Security, and Sport.
Certainly Vit, it all began when a
very good friend of mine, Jim Tokis whom was also behind some of the philosophy
in my new tracking book, picked up our local news paper in 1981 pointing out a
Dobermann litter that was available. I was in the market for a protection dog
because my parents' home had been burgled four days prior, and so I convinced
my father to take me to view the litter, I ended up taking a male puppy home.
That day was to change my whole
life.
I began training my new dog and he
served us well. My hunger for information about dog training increased over
time and I began to realise that my dog was a nice natured pet with only a
medium desire to work. This realisation came to a head when I began working as
a Security Officer and called upon my dog for support. Unfortunately he was
unable to offer me the support I required. This incident was a lesson I would
never forget and it propelled me into breeding working dogs.
Living in Australia in 1981 meant it
was difficult to obtain information on the training or breeding of working dogs
and everything I learnt at that stage was simply through trial and error. At
the age of eighteen, I started a dog training school and from this period a
great deal of progress was made in the training of dogs in Australia.
This was partially due to a number
of International trainers visiting Australia to conduct seminars. Some of these
events were extremely beneficial, and simultaneously destructive. The
destruction was in part, due to the fact that everyone attending these seminars
was at a different stage of learning with regards to their knowledge and
abilities. Some attendees only had 2nd or 3rd hand knowledge without any
practical experience. Naturally this caused conflict within working dog
training groups around Australia.
Decoy / Clear Communication Seminar
With time and numerous discussions,
it became clear that the direction I wished to take with the training and
breeding of working dogs was different to others. In 1987 I went to Europe in
search of the elusive super dog.
I was introduced to a Dobermann in Belgium,
which I imported into Australia. At the time he was quite a good dog compared
to those in our country and he went on to produce some nice dogs. A few years
later other Dobermanns were brought into Australia offering some genetic
diversity. I incorporated the appropriate dogs into my breeding program.
Von Forell Levi 5 Months Old
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| Von Forell Levi 16 mths old |
The thing
about all this is that we make our selection based on our own world view. Most
people today have not given much thought to their own world-view. In fact, many
people do not even realize they have a worldview. Such people tend to think
that all knowledge is acquired by unbiased observation of the evidence around
us. This view is called "empiricism" and is itself a kind of
worldview. We cannot help but have some beliefs about how the world works, how
we attain knowledge. Even if we believe that we have no such beliefs — this is
itself a belief.
So
there's no escaping it. A worldview is inevitable. A rational worldview is not.
Our worldview is a bit like mental glasses. It affects the way we view things.
In the same way that a person wearing red glasses sees everything as red, a
person wearing "Fixed behavioural" glasses as opposed to the correct
behavioural glasses, see fixed behaviour every time. The world is not really
red, nor is there the same behaviour every time but our behavioural glasses
affect our perception of the world and the conclusions we draw.
I
hope that my world view may be a little bit like corrective lenses on breeding
and training and the complexity involved.
So to answer your question, currently
we breed and supply dogs to the National community who want that little bit
more from their dog. Some have gone to competition homes although that is an
ever decreasing situation in our country due to the Dangerous dog Laws in my
state, many go to families and finally some of our dogs are used by Police,
Military and Correctional Services. In this country we have an immense shortage
of quality service dogs and it is cost prohibitive for us to supply
internationally produced dogs due to our quarantine restrictions, hence we have
taken it on to develop our very own in house dogs that are bred and developed
by Von Forell for the Law Enforcement community. We have been supplying, like
many others a few here and there but finally I am proud to say we have began an
elaborate program that will provide many dogs to Law Enforcement per year. Not
unlike our Customs department, which is a global leader in the breeding of
detection dogs. The difficulty is the vast capital investment required to
create a breeding cell that operates at that level.
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| Von Forell Custo Blind Search |
What sort of clientele do you have in terms of export (besides
Vit Singh acquiring the best Gento son)?
We have a few
International breeding programs pending as we speak. There are some very
interesting people around the world that have some faith in the genes we have
accumulated and I am sure it will work towards a global advantage. There are
traits in these genes that I don’t see much of. The only thing we all need to
agree on is that there are dogs for family, competition, police and of course
breeding. They all have variation in
qualities and trait requirements. The clients for export are usually breeders
and competition handlers. Law Enforcement requires mature developed dogs, and
we are a global supplier of service dogs that we source from our global
contacts for a given requirement. Almost all our International requirements are
for Law Enforcement.
Von Forell Saber
BREEDING AND TRAINING
Living in Australia, please explain your methodology for
setting up a breeding station there and the hindrances to such.
I realise that much
of my success and failure is directly attributed to my level of understanding
of behaviour, genetics, and genetic compatibility, behavioural and
developmental traits, which are ultimately governed by selection. Living in a
country like Australia makes it incredibly difficult to source and test the
appropriate dogs due to its geographic isolation from the rest of the
World. Hence extensive travel is the
only possible way that enables me to source such dogs. Dogs of this quality
rarely fall in your lap. You have to find them, test them, breed from them and
hope they will reproduce their qualities.
Appropriate selection
was therefore the turning point in my breeding which incidentally also steered
my training. The moment I made a
decision to personally test and select all the dogs that would contribute to
the gene pool is the time my breeding forged into the direction I envisioned,
knowing very well that the entire process is evolutionally and that I always
question what is and isn’t working. There are many times it just does not work
for multiple reasons which are too numerous to get into here.
Vit, there was a time
I believed I was being mislead by my sources, because the results I was achieving
were nowhere near my expectations, but I quickly deduced that contrary to my
beliefs, that the reality was that my sources did not have the knowledge depth
and were often selecting traits contrary to what I was looking for in appropriate
working dog traits.
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| Grim x Flori Son 4 months old. |
Over time it also became
apparent that global training systems were also polarised and that not many
agreed on how to achieve optimum training responses from dogs.
For me breeding and
training works hand in hand. We need to breed the right dogs and then train
them which inevitably becomes a positive feedback loop. The more you can see and
know about your dogs the better your selection will be.
I believe one without
the other can’t work. So for me my mission was to thoroughly understand both
disciplines (Breeding and Training) intimately but nature will always surprise you.
That’s the beauty in this whole thing. That’s
what keeps me going. The only thing that disappoints me is that my dogs don’t get
titled these days. I am so busy with running five companies that there is
little time to actually train for the sport however I am an avid fan of
training and thoroughly recommend all people do the sport. My wife and I make
it our mission to travel annually and visit the WUSV and all my friends to keep
up with the latest, not to mention it’s a great time away.
Knowing very well
that the opportunity to compete in Schutzhund is difficult for me, we
consistently test and measure our dog’s capability to ensure that the traits we
require are there. I personally subject my dogs to all types of testing to
ensure they meet my expectations, probably far harder than necessary but I have
grown to realise that in order to expose the good and the bad, environmental
pressure is the only way to expose these behaviours and most importantly as a
breeder we must throw out all the excuses. I am tired of excuses - the dog is
either good or it is not.
In the past who are the people that have helped you from
other countries, influential Europeans. Also from whom do you get the ideology
of breeding, or is it your own creation?
If there is one thing I have learnt. It is that there is not
much out there that is original.
Things are usually rehashed or repackaged in some shape or
form. Much of the information is out there but it is scattered in remote places
around the globe and my mission was to find it. One of the things I have grown
to realise is that people don’t think about these matters deeply enough
creating the lack of true in depth understanding. Many years of practical work
and theorising with many people around the world has driven me to this point in
my life. Along the way, there were several people who attributed to the
knowledge contained in my philosophy, in ways they probably aren’t even aware
of. It’s not just the Europeans that have the knowledge; there are people all
over the world, Africa, USA and our own country has some brilliant people. I
know most dog people here in Australia and I must say I am proud to know them.
DR Helmut Raiser and Kris Kotsopoulos
They are deep thinkers, intelligent and driven. If I could only unite them
emotionally and geographically we would see some wonderful results on the World
Stage. Now that you ask me
this question it makes me think about it deeply. I want to thank the following
people for the many long hours of in-depth discussion and practical
applications that proved extremely successful in my breeding and training
philosophy. Steve Tolis from Australia for his breeding philosophy, Jim Tokis
from Australia for his precise detail in training, Dr Helmut Raiser from
Germany for his wisdom and unification of global training systems, Koos Hassing
for selling me a dog that changed our country, German Dobermann Breed Warden, Ottmar
Vogel for his in depth understanding of the Dobermann, Ret Sgt Donn Yarnall
(LAPD) for training philosophies that constantly evolve, and finally for a lady
who encouraged me regardless of the pressure she experienced, Bev Ross, breeder
and exhibitor and former President of the Dobermann Club.
Mike Yarnall, Kris Kotsopoulos and Donn Yarnall
These people have devoted
a large part of their lives to come to the scientific breeding and training
conclusions that inspired my breeding and training sequences. It was and still
is the subtle things and the power of observation that make a tremendous
difference in coming to these conclusions. Which are forever evolving for me.
Additionally there
are many other breeders and trainers that have contributed to the overall
philosophy and to all of them I say - THANK YOU. My breeding philosophy has
developed over a long time and has also been influence by the global demand and
requirements in training.
I know what type of
dog and behaviour I want and consequently look for the dogs that posses these
behaviours and traits. Hence why we have such a large frozen gene bank.
Many of the dogs I
liked in the past I had to freeze in an effort for our females to catch up or
exceed their qualities so that we could use the appropriate dogs. There is no
perfect dog but the right female will make all the difference if it clicks.
Blending the old
lines with the modern lines is difficult as they are different dogs but they
both have traits that are quality. The old dogs in the late 70’s and 80’s seem
to have been a little more robust but the new dogs have better drives, grip and
conformation.
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| Security Pekahia |
The old dogs would
not cut it in our modern world and its current demands. Particularly in the
sport of Schutzhund; however, they offer some fundamental traits that are
missing today, mainly hardness, robustness, calmness a little more edge in
their attitude to humans when provoked yet sensible, which is what all dogs
should be but hey good luck trying to find them. Most dogs are so
highly geared these days that they are becoming impossible to live with. I like
drive but not drive that drives me nuts.
People have asked me
…so what is the secret to breeding good dogs?
And my answer is …
buy a load of dogs, breed them for 31 years, travel the world for 25 years and
see how you go. Unfortunately you can’t gain knowledge about how to read
behaviour just from text books, it takes years of experience.
It
takes forever and so does the ability to read dogs. For me observing dog behaviour
in protection training is like looking at a photo of a galaxy. Most people see
a hazy elliptical blob but any physicist or astronomer will tell you that a
galaxy is mind blowing if you knew how it functioned. There are stars, planets, moons, asteroids,
comets, solar systems, governed by gravitational fields, dark matter and black
holes that defy complete understating from the human mind. That is what I see
when I watch dogs work to make a selection for breeding.
Please elaborate on the story of the lady who worked
within the DDR system and received remuneration of breeding stock from East
Germany and how that has impacted on Australia's and your breeding program.
I knew a gentleman in
Melbourne who was from the Czech Republic and by all accounts quite a
controversial personality. He knew the owner of three or four DDR dogs that were
brought to Australia in the late 70 and early 80”s. There were three females
and one male I believe. The male was an Ex v Reidstern son called Don von Trafalgar.
These dogs produced some really intense animals and I now realise that one of
them Amando Yonny DDR epitomises the “OPITIMUM
FUNCTION ZONE” model that I conceptually talk about.
When I watch the
Videos of Amando Yonny “Kirt” as he was called I see my Von Forell Pamela and her
three brothers in 1997. Kirt was well respected in my city and rightly so.
I worked him as did
many others. He was a great dog and a pleasure to see and it proved we subconsciously
knew what a great working dog was but had never really been taught what to look
for, or how to identify them. I guess not knowing how to explain it either,
hence why there are people who just have a breeders eye and who breed great
dogs but can never really tell you what makes a breeding dog.
Now as the story
went, apparently the dogs were selected and sent to the owners in Melbourne
Australia as a political favour and what a favour, it absolutely revolutionised
the breeding in our state. By sheer chance we had a dog called Ingo v
Hafenlorhtal Sch 1, Sch 11, Sch 111 who was a Lido v Allmannspfort Sch 1 Sch
11, Sch111, grandson and a Bodo lierburg Sch1. Sch 11, Sch11, great grandson;
he was bred to the old DDR lines and produced some of the best producers we had
ever seen here. In addition we had a Marko Cellerland Sch 1 Sch 11, Sch111 son
here as well, that combined well with the Bodo and Ex lines.
To date nothing has produced
that overall calmness, cool, clear headed, hard and active aggressive dog like
Stobar Hardt did. We have frozen semen from Stobar Hardt “Vulcan” as he was
called (thanks to Neville Williams – the pioneer of working dogs in Australia) and
we shall be using him in around two years. I have the females that are bred to
suit him and to date they are the right character. These old dogs needed a
little more agility and higher drives which my females have and I guess we
shall see if it all works.
What are the major
divergences you see nowadays between Sport dogs and Working dogs, and is it
more now than ever before? Are there good dogs in the past, like Gento or
Hassan, that you admire traits of, that did not necessarily occupy the podium
in the sports?
The
only difference I see as a general rule is the level of active aggression
towards humans. It has decreased significantly. Quality aggression, which may
sound strange is in decline and has been for a while.
I
am not talking about dogs that want to bite people indiscriminately but an
aggression or some self assuredness when provoked, and the reflexive behaviour that
is exhibited that depicts absolute sureness under stimulation. If we observe
the evolution of working dog breeding and training there is one thing that is
obvious; that being, the results that breeders and trainers have achieved to
date have been created by conscious or unconscious design.
Over
time breeders in the show ring have selectively bred for a low prey drive dog
for ease of handling, but in doing so have created an innately unbalanced dog.
It is also true that highly specialized working kennels have created the
opposite imbalance where if the dog is not constantly at work (in a world where
opportunities for such are reducing rapidly) they are also highly subject to
behavioural disturbances.
To
add to the disparity, the majority of working kennels are intentionally
eliminating aggressive tendencies favouring the promotion of prey instincts solely,
creating further unbalanced working behaviours. I do agree however, as
responsible breeders we must address the issue of undesirable and unmanageable
defensive aggression in dogs in the interest of public safety, but we must
simultaneously address the issue that we are inadvertently producing dogs that
lack strength of character producing reactive dogs that consequently develop
maladaptive behaviours far more easily.
Defensive
aggression is highly undesirable and certainly unfavourable in working dog circles;
however the active aggression that manifests from my “Optimum Function Zone’
model is predictable, stable and manageable and in my opinion should be highly
sought after.
It
is not my intention to say which of the polar extremes is right or wrong;
rather, breeders have specialized their dogs specifically for their own desires
resulting in unbalanced dogs that on average make very poor family pets. The
key for all breeders is to achieve a balanced dog through careful selection and
to ensure that the right people are trained with sound training principles to
own such dogs.
I believe a detailed
evaluation of a dog’s emotional reactivity should be done prior to any serious
attempts at training and or breeding, emphasising the importance of identifying
a dog’s personal thresholds and reactivity potential, and adjusting any
training methods accordingly to best suit the individual concerned. That is why;
in my opinion the “Optimum Function Zone” model is a better approach in
evaluating a dog’s innate thresholds and emotional reactivity to testing,
training and breed worthiness. This
“Optimum Functional Zone” is unique, heritable and visually identifiable and
can be a bench mark for future assessment and there is less reliance on the
adjustment of training methods to suit, simply because these dogs are far more
adaptive.
Any advice you may have for persons who want to choose
breeding partners for their stock and primarily use the sport world as their
choices.
Yes I have a lot of
advice. Firstly you will never see the dog in its entirety when choosing dogs
for breeding from the sporting world. Every breeding system has its own assets
and liabilities. Every breeding system evolves out of need and cultural
influence. The sport if not careful can create a gene pool where there is less behavioural
diversity and I believe it is happening now. The same applies to individual
countries. West Germany, East Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden - they
all have their own qualities and problems. There are no perfect dogs nor
perfect training systems and by default we are all left with our personal
opinions, so my world view is that the West German dogs today generally have
solid nerves and nice drives. The DDR dogs mostly have low prey drives and look
nice but their nerves are questionable. Some Czech dogs are similar with low
motivation for obedience and so on.
Asa v Haus Gebets DDR
I am not saying all these
specific bloodlines are like that but I am emphasising the general behavioural
pattern. For me I look at what I like, what I have and what my breeding
requires. It does not need the latest Import; it needs the correct dog to further
the breeding program. It needs good health for sustainability and longevity.
Every dog and its
bloodlines have issues and that’s the way it is. It’s all about selection and
in this case we are talking about working dogs with correct character, and the
better you get at identifying correct character and selecting for it, the
better the dogs you produce will become.
It has nothing do to
if the dog won the BSP, WUSV or Sieger Show.
Here is the advice:
I know now that conventional breeding and training
philosophies and models of working dog behaviour generally convey ambiguity and
are filled with contradiction. There are hypotheses, which claim that canine
behaviour accurately reflects mindset reality. Although behaviour should
reflect mindset reality I seldom find this to be the truth.
Humanity is only just embarking on the deep understanding
necessary to consistently create and work with dogs that express powerful
working canine behaviour. Few people understand it let alone are able to convey
it.
Dogs that operate
within an “Optimum Function Zone” of
which I conceptually refer to contradict conventional drive theories and
consequently exhibit far more predictive responses. They display less
volatility with negative feedback loops and if anything mentally grow and
develop a form of mental inoculation even if treated irrationally. As a result
they are adaptive in nature and appear to acquire a buffer of tolerance or adaptive optimism that enables
them to cope more effectively with uncertainty.
Adaptive dogs tend to
adjust to error in a proactive way, reactive dogs by nature operate outside the
realm of an “Optimum Function Zone” and tend merely to react to negative
feedback without learning from it and remain inhibited, causing maladaptive
behaviours and negative feedback loops. My focus in
my life is on training, the relationship to breeding and the reflexive feedback
loops that characterize dog behaviour and most importantly ‘powerful’ working
dog behaviour.
There
are two kinds of feedback, negative and positive. Negative feedback is self-correcting, and positive feedback
is self reinforcing. Thus, negative
feedback sets up a tendency towards individual equilibrium, but negative and
positive ‘emotional’ feedback within the “Optimum
Function Zone” sets up a dual feedback system producing “dynamic equilibrium”.
This is not to say
that these adaptive dogs should be treated with disrespect, quite the contrary.
Access to knowledge regarding genetic selection and animal learning (canine
learning) establishes that such dogs are easier to train and maintain robust
responses because they are naturally more forgiving. I am a strong believer that breeders and
trainers should be focusing their attention on these dogs which will in fact give
the World behavioural predictability.
Do you have sport dogs now in Europe that you like for
their ability to transmit their traits to real work...
I have seen many dogs
over the years but there are some dogs we have Australia that are quite
impressive. As always in my country they are either in the hands of the
inexperienced or owners who are only interested in having the dog as a family
guardian, however some are committed to training for their own satisfaction.
I am unable to
comment on what is happening in Europe in detail but as a whole I find these
days I can’t get away from certain blood lines which have infiltrated most breeding
lines of which I prefer not to comment about.
What I will say is that
the quality in the last 7 years is the most improvement in the European gene
pool I have experienced in decades. Training philosophies are brilliant from
brilliant people.
I do know that a mixture of the gene pools West, East and
Czech works for me, but hey let’s not forget that they all come from the same
origin – West Germany. I am currently writing about all this in my protection
training book due for release this year. The book is
philosophical as much as it is technical and I will eventually refer to the
behaviours described above in video on our website www.vonforell.com for people
to begin to visualise and identify for future reference, my only limitation
currently is time and resources, nevertheless is must be done for the benefit
of the working breeds, German Shepherds, Dobermanns, Rottweilers and the
Malinois. The breeds may appear visually different but the fundamental behavioural
traits of a quality dog are the same.
Please elaborate on the methodology of producing a female
from your kennel or finding one otherwise that is worthy of the males from
which you have frozen semen.
There have been many
good dogs over the years and unfortunately some of these dogs were underutilised.
I am sure there are many people kicking themselves for not doing a mating they
now know they should have or have seen males that were never mated to that
ideal female. I am sure we have all said: “Imagine if we had that male now 20 –
30 years later!”
Well the dogs I have
saved were great for their time, offered traits I liked, and they operated
within this Optimum Function Zone. Finding the correct female for them was
almost impossible. Firstly because not many existed and secondly because we
could not really identify them, hence I took it upon myself to breed a female
line that I can utilise some of the dogs I have in the frozen semen bank. This way I am able to diligently
control what I produce by testing and selecting our dogs and when that right
female comes along I will use my males on ice and potentially produce the
balance I am looking for. I have so
much diversity in frozen semen that my program will never reach a point of inbreeding
decline and to test this we conducted inbreeding coefficient testing with a
genetic laboratory in Australia to establish how close we are. The results were
promising and concluded that we can in breed for 7 generations before the genes
begin to get too close in both my Dobermann and German Shepherd Breeding
programme.
Some people may think that you are a DDR/Czech GSD
breeder.... what do you say to that and can you give more details on how you
have combined the major bloodlines like WGR, DDR and Czech.
I am a German
Shepherd breeder and have no preference to any particular country or cultural
influence, just like my Dobermanns. I look for what I admire and I do my best
to test the dog myself or the very least watch the dog being trained in
multiple environments.
Seeing its sire, dam,
and siblings where possible helps me see any consistencies, positive or
negative. I am not a breeder that breeds one type over another. Each line has
its traits and it’s our job as breeders to identify the traits we want and get
away from the marketing we are steered by. It’s old and antiquated and has no
real merit in the grand scheme of things. A good dog is a good dog, no matter
which country and no matter who owns it, it’s really that simple. When we stop judging dogs by the owners we
shall all move forward in hurry.
Please elaborate on
the theory of optimal zones. How does this influence your choices of breeding
stock? Also, can you give examples of dogs in the past who worked in that zone,
and are there any names of dogs now from Europe that we might recognise?
This answer will be scattered throughout my
next book but I will give you a glimpse into my current thoughts.
For some time, I have
been observing and working with protection dog trainers and the results they
achieve. From these careful observations and from discussions with many, my
observation is that the root of the confusion that most dogs seem to have is
that they are unsure of what is expected of them and or are simply genetically
unequipped to meet protection dog training demands. This confusion is also a
result of a decoys lack of awareness and or the inability to work with the
inherited reflexive mechanism that high drive dogs operate from. Incidentally I prefer to describe
protection training as “drive fulfilment
training” or “reinforcing
instinctive behaviour to achieve drive fulfilment”. The phrase “protection
training” is a human generated term which creates ambiguity in our community’s
emotions and I must confess it generates conflicting emotions in me. Although the phrase “Protection Training”
seems to convey what appears to be transpiring in the general public eyes, the
reality is that there is much more occurring than meets the eye; through the
positive reinforcement of naturally occurring instincts, which is nothing like
the community perceives.
From my standpoint as
a canine trainer, this view and book is geared towards the apparent complexity
of the process. This complexity can be simplified when the correct steps are
taken to ensure that all components that make a quality dog are in place and in
the right order. To the working handler of such dogs, it is my hope there will
be a better understanding in the area of breeding, selection and training of
working dogs that has never been quite fully understood before. To my fellow
trainers, I hope my world view in this book will provide a deep inquiry on how
we get from the nest to a dog that is full of instinctive expression harnessed
by thoughtful scientific training models.
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Von Forell Tess and her puppies
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The information presented
is philosophical as much as it is technical and is orientated to all elements
that must be present before complex training can commence, with a view that every
training session must be structured and a positive occasion for the dog and
handler.
With the idea that
thoughtless forced learning will only lead to resistance and make application
of the systems almost impossible.
The correct dog is
also as critical for a quality result. For if all the correct behaviours are
not instinctually present, our job of mental and physical preparation is
impossible for any working dog application.
Additionally care
needs to be exercised so that the dog is not over stimulated, as its cognitive
function wil be impaired as much as if the dog is experiencing anxiety and
fear. The chemical imbalance in the brain reduces cognitive functioning and
poor learning results in the dog:
Unfortunately for
dogs, once conditioned fears are learned, they can be amplified and encoded as
relatively permanent emotional memories that distort reality. Stress is a
fairly ubiquitous phenomenon in the life of most dogs and dogs don’t have the
cognitive ability to be cured with psychotherapy. The right dose of negative
feedback is therefore critical and is determined by each and every dog’s
individual reflexive mechanism and thresholds.
It gets much deeper
and too deep for this interview but it will all be in the book. The above are
some traits and responses that we must take into consideration and they
influence my choice in the dog I breed with and the dogs in the past that
exhibit or produced were German Shepherds - Gento v Haus Larwin, Robby
Glockeneck, Hassan V Gruntal, Amando Yonny DDR in Melbourne, Dares zum Geradonu,
Link v Muikenshof, Tom vant Leefdaalhof, Stobar Hardt, Von Forell Pamela and
her three brothers, Queck v der Kroteck, Amando Victor, Stormfronts Brawnson,
Sirk v Haus Antverpa, Dobermanns - Kleo v der Weyermühle, Ilo v der Weyermühle,
Gero vd Mooreiche, Gero Mooreiche, a male dobermann in Melbourne currently, Wallkuer Carue a Rottweiler in Melbourne and of course
there are others.
I will eventually be
uploading these visual traits on our website for the book upon its release so
that the “Optimal Function Zone” model is identifiable. Many of my
international colleagues have wished me luck for they comment that there are
not many people that will recognize them. I tend to disagree, the world is
getting smaller and smarter and I believe people will see it, maybe not in the
short term but definitely in the long term as their world view evolves.
FUTURE BREEDING
TECHNOLOGY
It has been said that
you are a futurist tell us about the Embryonic Transfer and Cloning project Von
Forell International have been working on.
In
1999, a Melbourne based Veterinary Surgeon with a government grant for
Embryonic Transfer assisted me in flushing ova from my 11 year old female “Tanne
v d Gleisdreick” Sch 111 FH. Tannne was a Lord v Gleisdreick daughter which I
am sure you are familiar with. Dr Metcalfe flushed 10 ova from Tanne and
inseminated five with Hassan V Gruntal Sch 1 DDR and Natan V Busecker Schloss
Sch111 FH and the ova did in fact fertilise and showed cleavage. The ova were
then frozen for an opportune time in the future to be implanted into a
surrogate mother.
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Tanne v d Gleisdreick Sch 111 FH
|
Unfortunately
technology has not caught up yet and we are waiting for the day when we will
have Tanne puppies in the 21st Century. The reality is there is not
enough money in dogs for the technology to warrant capital investment. If they
were cattle or horses it may have happened by now. I am happy to accept
financial contribution from anyone in the world that has some funding available
and make this happen. It will be a World first. So please feel free to contact
me on info@vonforell.com
About
a year later I asked Dr Metcalfe if we could take skin samples from certain
dogs in a future effort to clone them when the technology would catch up. We
took samples of Tanne v d Gleisdreick Sch 111 FH, Hassan v Gruntal Sch1 DDR,
Fax v Grenzganger Sch 11 FH, Security Tolis, and Asa v Haus Gebets. Well would
you believe a few years ago the Koreans cloned one Afghan hound and seven
Labradors. You can see what we are up to on these links http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/time-to-send-in-the-clone-dogs/story-fn7x8me2-1226114398566
and
I believe cloning – if successful –
can work alongside a quality breeding program to create a situation where
global breeding systems can develop exponentially. People can have access to
those great dogs in every country simultaneously and the raw character traits
in theory should be the same manipulated only by environment.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see
individual training systems and their impact on cloned dogs? Imagine what can
be achieved on a breeding and training level. I will leave that image in your
minds to ponder.
I love technology and Von Forell
International is a company that is driven by science, technology and the
future.
I hope this sheds some light on what
we are up to Vit and thank you for asking the questions. I look forward to
meeting up with you in Miami or Europe.
I would be interested in hearing
from anyone regarding this subject and I welcome any communication via the
contact details below.
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