David Eikelberg

Thanks Aimee! This is great information and I am going to share it with a few colleagues along with a couple more articles you have placed on DogWellNet. I just can't thank you enough for making these types of information available. Great job! You are appreciated!

Thank you! So much available to read and learn! There are not enough hours in the day to read and digest everything that is of such great interest.

This is the most outstanding and comprehensive collection of BRT information I have found. Thank you so much for putting this all together and making it available! I will promote this far and wide among the breed's enthusiasts! Extremely Well done and much appreciated!

Line breeding in our chosen breed, the Black Russian Terrier used to be much more common than it is currently. It was done to set type before anyone really realized the damage done to health, in particular as related to autoimmune diseases and manifestations such as allergies. Fortunately, much education has taken place in our breed that discourages line breeding and things are getting better, but there is still a long way to go in education of both the general public and much of the old guard in our breed, particularly overseas. The awareness of genetic damage done through careless breeding is only a decade or two old at least on our breed. We can only hope that the genetic diversity that remains in our breed is sufficient to carry us into the future. Our breed was founded by the Russian Army and Red Star Kennels from about a dozen different breeds anyway. Perhaps someday we may have to use outcross techniques to restore genetic diversity. If we do, hopefully we will still be able to retain the positive characteristics of this most incredible breed of canine.

In our very small population of the Black Russian Terrier, we have adopted a policy of "working in a positive direction" and trying our very best to educate anyone who will listen, in intelligent genetic sorting for breeding pairs, using the best we have while at teh same time striving for the maximum genetic diversity possible as well a requisite traits and attributes. Where our breeders have gone awry, we attempt to correct the situation through judge's education seminars and articles in our newsletters, as well as just plain talk on social media. Not ideal but it is our hope that the tremendously successful efforts of the Red Star Kennels in Russia, which resulted in this amazing breed, will be preserved for as long as possible. Further, our small numbers mean that we have an opportunity to make course corrections that encompass a large percentage of our breed, long before our population of BRTs becomes unmanageable, as is the case with more popular breeds. What a terrible loss it would be were someone to declare that none of them were fit to breed, and thereby cause their extinction. I would suppose the brachycephalic breed lovers would feel the same. Anyone interested in an intense 5 volume study of the lineage of the BRT and the incredibly science-based and purpose bred breeding strategy utilized by Red Star in Russia can access an incredible depth and breadth of information and definitive action in a series available via Amazon by by my good friend Canadian author, Mr. Donald B. Anderson. And yes, the ever-pragmatic and dogmatic Russians did terminate some breeding lines that were beyond repair. But they did it with a clear punch list of required traits. For example, when they introduced the Ovcharka, the result proved too vicious to control and a portion of that lineage was destroyed in order to work in a better direction. A more humane approach suitable for today's ethics and morals might be to let certain bloodlines simply die out, while the remaining more suitable others are used to work in a positive direction. https://smile.amazon.com/Creation-Black-Russian-Terrier-KGBeast/dp/1500932191/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Donald+B+Anderson&qid=1599135839&s=books&sr=1-2

Perhaps funding a commission established specifically for selecting mating pairs with the goal of bringing back healthier physical attributes is in order.

I can also attest to the robust nature of the UC Davis Veterinary Genetics lab (VGL) DNA testing program. We have used them extensively in our Black Russian Terrier breeding program as mentioned above. Our DVM just this past weekend suggested that we have our BRT tested by VGL for Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) in an attempt to diagnose the reason(s) for the weakness in his rear. So, as you can see, even DVMs look upon UC Davis as a source of diagnostic information and support, not just hobbyists and breeders. See them at: https://vgl.ucdavis.edu/myvgl/login.htm

Great information that we all need to be reminded about now and again. Article brings people back to "center' in their thinking about breeding programs. I forwarded this on to my Black Russian Terrier Club of America breed club. I hope everyone else also forwards on to as many breed clubs as possible.

Here is the majority of Dr Friedrich's translation: Dear dog friends, Today, from my personal point of view, I would like to say a few words to you about the current situation at the VDH. Logically, the first priority is the health of all people, be they dog owners or not. It is indubitable for each and every one of us to avoid spreading Covid 19 disease (caused by the coronavirus) as far as possible. In many ways, although this often hits us hard, we have to accept cutbacks in terms of social life, work, finance, mobility and leisure activities. Fortunately, we can continue to provide our dogs with adequate care; and as family members and companions, the wagging four-legged friends are of greater importance than ever for most of us. But unfortunately, even when it comes to hobbies with the dog, nothing is what it was. Breeders with covered bitches and already born litters are just as unsettled as those who are thinking about the future of their breeding ambitions. Others find it difficult to do without sports and exhibitions. In many respects there is currently hardly any freedom of choice due to justified government measures. Regardless of the state restrictions, I would like to comment on a few facts. I am particularly concerned with those periods in which legal requirements have been relaxed, but normal conditions are still far from being reached. For this period, the VDH recommends that visits to kennels that are already active are temporarily not carried out. New breeding facilities, where no first kennel inspection has yet been carried out, should not start their breeding activities until an initial breeding facility inspection is more reasonable and feasible. Depending on the possibilities, a type of litter acceptance should take place before the puppy is given, whereby the clubs are given more freedom of choice regarding the design in the current crisis period. Individual clubs are considering planning their litter acceptance in connection with veterinary vaccination for a few months in the future. Further litter inspections that take place before the litter acceptance should be avoided. Shifts in time are also permissible, and a suitable form of implementation must be observed. We expect that no exhibitions, performance tests, meetings etc. can be considered until the end of May because they are prohibited by the responsible authorities or imposed with hardly achievable conditions. More will then be seen. It is particularly painful for many of us that we cannot obtain breeding permits with our animals because the relevant tests have to be postponed. However, breeding may not continue without the correct breeding license of each individual dog; we are therefore required to be patient. Controlled breeding at the VDH is a quality feature that we are all committed to and that must also persist during this time. Relief in breeding approval is possible, clubs that are intended to have exhibition results as a condition for the breeding approval test can be dispensed with if a breeding judge on the breeding approval test in question thoroughly inspects the dog and the club takes a corresponding decision. Breeding approval events for individual dogs are permitted provided that they can be carried out without endangering everyone involved. A review of the behavior in a group of people must be omitted. Associations have the right to submit certificates for seminar visits in connection with activities or offices. I myself expect that a number of activities that are important to us cannot be carried out for a certain period of time. It is particularly disadvantageous that some highly questionable dog breeders outside the VDH are taking advantage of this situation and are increasingly offering puppies. If you should ask yourself now whether it is right in a situation in which many human lives are threatened to carry out planning with regard to dog beings, it should be remembered that we have a great many inquiries about the topics listed. And of course our members have the right to get answers. It is not easy to find the right way and the right measure here. The VDH board and the management endeavor to lead the dog being through the current emergency times without exaggeration, but also without omission. Please allow me one last comment. We are all frustrated right now because our lifestyle is severely impaired and we cannot achieve important goals. Even serious economic hardship threatens not a few members of our clubs and also one or the other club itself. It is all the more important, not inconsiderable.. Also, the reference to the AKC publication on "Placing Puppies in the Age of Covid-19... " article makes some excellent points and most importantly for non-veterinary-schooled canine enthusiasts directs readers to the AKCBreeder Education Courses available through the AKC, which are an excellent source of very basic information on canine health. For the more curious, I have also found that non-DVM-educated individuals can obtain subscriptions to AVMA peer-reviewed publications and research journals through the AVMA website for a minimal subscription fee without paying the full $400 annual membership. Tons of information here in the above article and what with so many people being home, now is a great time for making this study information available to advance IPFD Members' learning. Thank you for posting! Dave

It would be great to get this message out to the media to prevent dog adoption problems when people go back to work. In so doing we could also make the global audience more aware of the great things IPFD is setting out to do.

This newsletter is outstanding! Love it! I am so excited about what the IPFD is doing for our canine companions. The world needs a leader organization and IPFD fills that void.

What Dr. Bonnett says is so true. IPFD is the perfect and obvious organization to orchestrate just such a world-wide collaborative effort. This is such a worthwhile endeavor lacking only major funding to make it happen. We must all work toward finding a way to fund this work within this organization.

I believe BetterBred.com has a great system for helping breeders make better decisions regarding breed pairs. However, it seems their services are vastly underutilized. They need more exposure in the media for their capabilities and services to become more widely known.

I love this page! It most importantly captures the heart, as well as the soul of what IPFD "is", and where it is headed in the future. As mentioned in the article at the very end..., "The possibilities are exciting!" I agree!

I am confident that I could be useful as a breed expert for anyone with questions about the Black Russian Terrier (BRT). They are not for the first time dog owner, as is commonly advertised. However, despite the depth and breadth to which this advice is transmitted, there are still people who get BRTs and end up giving them up because they cannot handle them. If my acting as a breed expert for the BRT can help prevent even one BRT from being abused, or from having to be re-homed, I would be happy to provide advice to inquiries on this breed.