Cathy,

I am sorry I offended you. I have looked at your website and it is clear that we have one thing in common, love for our dogs.

For me, thats enough. 

This will be my last post on this forum. This is a challenging topic to talk about without folks getting heated... including me.

I have never once claimed that my dog is pure bred, other than to say that he came from two AKC registered GSP's. I have also made it clear that I have no plans on breeding the dog AND that I AM paying for DNA testing to find out what happened. My pup is only 12 weeks old, these things take time.

I really expected a bit of controversy with a couple "cute pup, glad you decided not to breed him"... instead I got some genuine help (Patte, Dennis and Bruce) and a  healthy dose of snobbiness. The breed will suffer when conversations dont  happen.

I will continue to work on finding out what the origins of my dogs color is...

My wrongly colored guy is coming along nicely. This is from last Friday at a preserve.

Flash, I am purely asking here, didn't read all million pages, but did you say the AKC says you can register your dog?  In a GSP's AKC Paperwork you must choose, liver and white, liver, white and liver, white and liver patched, etc.  Where is there a selection for lemon?   Or, whatever color this dog is.  Not to say you can't ignore the color choices, but if you do, can the dog be registered??

I do not represent the AKC. I suggest you call them and ask the following question:

"Can I register a dog from two AKC registered dogs, even if the coloring of the pup in question would be a disqualifier for shows?" See what they say.

edit: Dont mean to be snotty, but I have started referring folks to do it themselves so they can ask the AKC all the questions that their question to me usually implies, but they are too polite to state outright.
 

I believe you may be misinformed as to exactly what "disqualifer" means. It's not terribly surprising though. Many people react emotionally to this issue and many don't seem at all bothered by passing judgement without being "too worried about" getting facts or educating themselves.

As far as me "getting around the color restriction", I think here again you have been misinformed or have failed to do the most basic research.

A restriction or disqualifier is a conformation show related item. Conformation shows were developed to encourage folks to breed certain animals that meet a group of standards. There are lots and lots of registered dogs that would be disqualified or not seriously considered in the conformation show ring.  Registration with the AKC is contingent upon the two parents being registered, nothing else. I have done DNA testing to prove that my pup meets that critera. If anyone would like to come swab dog cheeks and pay the money for the DNA testing to be done again, I will take you out to dinner while you are here if that would satisfy your inherent distrust. As far as registering him, I only did so because if his skills prove worthy, I may enter him in some NSTRA events and registration is a requirement to enter events. I did not "get around" or "fudge" any rules or guidelines in doing this, despite what misinformed people have said here. I made several phone calls to the AKC and was VERY specific about the circumstances to make sure his registration would be legit. It is. I paid for genetic testing to make absolutely sure. It still is.

I am not sure what posts like yours that I have quoted are meant to add to the discourse on this topic, but while we are here I will just say the dog is not for sale. I have had three offers to breed him already and have politely turned them down. I am keeping him intact for now due to my belief that his development would be hindered by early neutering, but (as I have said several times before) have no intentions of breeding him.

And just for the record, I didnt buy him either. Pick of the litter was a gift from the breeder to my 11 year old daughter. She picked Apollo when he was two days old, long before he displayed any of the lemon coloring. When it did appear, well... you try to talk an 11 year old out of her choice of a tiny puppy. Plus, at the time, we thought he might 'grow out of it' as he got bigger, since none of us had even heard of a dog this color.

The breeder is an honest, ethical man who has been breeding shorthairs for 25 years and never produced a dog like this and would never knowingly cross a dog, let alone cross them and represent it as a purebred.

It continues to make me sad how people take their own little corner of the world and impose those beliefs and constructs to the rest of us, without bothering to even attempt to understand. With that said, there are some folks on here who have been great to talk to about this (Bruce and Patte) even when their message was contrary to what I hoped.

A good new years resolution might be to get a little "more worried about" learning stuff, and a little less worried about passing judgement on others.

Happy New Year from me and Apollo!

 Flash -

You are absolutely right on registering a dog.  You can even register a dog with a PAL listing without any pedigree or  knowledge of a parent.  A couple of pictures is all that is required and the color is not a question.  Of course, a PAL registered dog can only compete in performance events. I am assuming that you were able to register your pup with a full registration since both parents were AKC registered.  The only thing that would keep him out of the breed ring is his color, but that does not necessarily make him any less of a GSP any more than other disqualifications will keep other GSPs out of the breed ring.  

Enjoy your pup as you obviously already are and good for you in doing the right thing by your dog.  All that really matters is that you have fun with your pup.