If we do not stand strong to our commitment now, but allow ourselves to support the efforts of those that have chosen not to work toward the same goals that our Breed Founder was working towards when she opened up her Shiloh Shepherd™'s kennel doors for others to enter in order to help her realize her dream for these wonderful dogs--then we will be the ones who will suffer when this breed has ceased to exist. And not only us, but our children and our children's children will be robbed of the opportunity to own one of these amazing creatures, because, by then, surely they will no longer exist.
 

2006 Update

The slivers have continued to mass-produce (and promote) their Fake "OTX shilohs."  Please take a moment to view one of my more recent articles and join our Community Forums to meet hundreds of REAL Shiloh owners!

In a nutshell

1. Due to the fact that the specially selected dogs that entered into the elite select group that would be later called "Shiloh Shepherds™" were already heavily inbred, the gene pool would need to receive continuous infusion of *New Blood* in order to survive long enough to attain full breed recognition.

2. Since I had already been working with these foundation lines since 1962, I felt that I had attained enough experience (especially since I was operating a kennel that housed over 100 dogs, and produced dozens of litters per year) to continue expanding my gene pool properly, in order to retain the qualities I wanted, while purging those that were not beneficial to this breed's future welfare; like unstable temperaments, small size and various health issues.  

After all, I created the "Shiloh Shepherd™", and who else could possibly continue to maintain the quality that I established better than I could?

3. However, some people did not agree with the path I chose to take. They felt that all of the dogs should continue to be inbred, and that my choices of potential outcross NB (New Blood) dogs should not be used. Don't Fall 4 the Fraud

Of course the more I tried to teach them about the dangers of inbreeding the more stubborn they became, eventually leaving the ISSR in order to do "their own thing" and ended up creating what they consider to be "their own" registries. For more details, please read Confusion and Puppy Producers: What Are They?.

Interesting Links to the Development of Other Dog Breeds

Argentine Dogo

Distinguished as the only dog developed in Argentina, the Dogo Argentine was created in the 1920's through the stratagem of Dr. Antonio Nores Martinez. The breed is well known throughout Europe, especially Germany, and was granted recognition by the FCI in 1990. 

For more information, please read the entire article: Dogo Argentino Information

Molosserworld Dogo Argentino

Cesky Terrier

Developed by Frantisek Horak in 1949, this breed, a mixture of two different types of terrier, was recognized by the FCI in 1963.  For more information, please read: Cesky Terrier Breed Information

Chinook Dog

"Walden was finally getting the quality of dogs that he was accustomed to; and in 1920 his new line of "Husky half-breds" (as he called them), made their debut at the Gorham, NH winter carnival, and he started seriously promoting dog sledding for draft, recreation, and sport. Racing in New England began a year later, at the 1921 Gorham carnival; it was a modest race (two teams of three dogs each, over a six mile course) and Walden lost, but interest built rapidly from there. Walden had also been promoting freighting by dogsled to the woodsmen as a faster, more economical way to move supplies to their logging camps, and convinced the Brown Paper Company of Berlin, NH to sponsor the first Eastern International Dog Derby in 1922 in part to encourage more people to breed quality sled dogs in the region. Four teams competed in this 123 mile race; and Walden, with Chinook in lead, won hands down. Competition was keen, however; and Walden realized that Chinook, weighing just over 100 pounds in fit working condition, was too massive an animal to continue leading winning race teams. He started breeding Chinook with an eye for lighter boned, faster offspring, who still carried Chinook's intelligence and trademark coloration."  For more information, please read: The History of the Chinook Dog
 

Sepalla Siberian Sled Dog

<<NOW AT LAST Seppalas have recognition as a breed in their own right, sponsored by a federally-chartered animal pedigree association, The Working Canine Association of Canada. By the efforts of two lifelong protectors of Seppalas, they now have "evolving breed" status with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

THIS WEBSITE is dedicated to the goal of saving Seppalas for posterity. The few lucky people who have owned real Seppalas usually feel strongly about the uniqueness of these dogs. Unfortunately there is much misunderstanding about what Seppalas really are. Many dogs represented as Seppalas are really just racing Siberian Huskies. Show-dog fanciers and Siberian Husky breed books often deny that Seppalas even exist!

For more information, please read: The Seppala Siberian Sled Dog Ideal

Old English Bulldogge

A few words from David Leavitt:

<<In 1971, I started this project of breeding a dog with the looks of the 18th century Bulldog. I had become disenchanted with English Bulldogs, due to breeding and breathing problems. I discovered that they didn't look like their ancestors, who were healthier and less extreme. I found that bull and bear-baiting had been very widespread for hundreds of years. Extreme cruelty to animals was inherent in baiting sports. This cruelty was abhorrent to me, but I was fascinated by the great tenacity and courage of the over-matched underdog. I was also drawn to the Bulldog because of his fierce appearance. A modern protection dog, who looks really tough, will repulse an assailant without having to bite. This is the most desirable end to a confrontation. I couldn't find a reliable source for old style Bulldogs, and set about the daunting task of breeding back. I call the breed the Olde English Bulldogge.>>

For more information, please read: Rare Breed Network: A Few Words from David Leavitt.

American Indian Dogs

<<Although it is very loyal and trainable, capable of learning as much as the owner (alpha pack leader) is capable of teaching it. It is a high-energy, primitive type-working breed that needs “TOUGH LOVE” and a job to do, to feel it has a responsible place in the family group or pack. As this breed becomes more and more well known, we need more and more education to stop the “Puppy Mill” type, “Wolf” and/or “Coyote” hybrid breeders from trying to market their hybrids as American Indian Dogs. THIS IS FALSE ADVERTISEMENT and just because they may look somewhat alike, THEY ARE NOT at all the same. People need to know what they are getting. Most hybrids end up passed from one home to another or put down. Please be sure you get a REGISTERED AMERICAN INDIAN DOG. Ask for the breeders number, the litter number and check with us at the Registry before you purchase. Every American Indian Dog Breeder has to be CERTIFIED through the Registry to breed true American Indian Dogs. >>

For more information, please read Founder's Message (by Kim La Flamme, registry owner)

Leonberger

<<Th. Haring writes a story of a dog breeder in Leonberg (Essig) where Essig claimed that he had been breeding dogs for about 20-24 years. In the same article, the dogs mentioned are Leonberger or Gotthard dog and a picture was published to show to readers what they looked like.
Large impressive dogs were very much in demand and there were years that Essig exported more than 300 dogs. The St. Bernard was very much in favor, but had become very rare. In fact, after a catastrophe in 1855, there was only one couple left at the St. Bernard pass. These dogs were crossed with Newfoundland females from Stuttgart, other local dogs, and English breeders crossed them with Mastiffs to obtain a more powerful head. >>

For more information, please read: Internationale Union fur Leonberge Hunde

History
  
The early history of the Leonberger is clouded and tumultuous, revolving around the enthusiasms and exploits of Heinrich Essig  (1809-1889). Essig was a successful politician with a genius for    marketing and public relations. He was an alderman and a prominent    citizen in Leonberg, a town on the outskirts of Stuttgart in southern    Germany. (Leonberg is just 50 kilometers from Rottweil, another famous town that gave its name to the dog breed that originated there.) Essig    was a successful professional animal trader who surrounded himself    with a variety of rare and exotic animals. In dogs, he preferred large    and imposing breeds, which he bred, bought and sold internationally.    In our time, we would probably consider him an rresponsible  puppy-mill owner. He bought and sold dogs for a span of fifty years,  trading sometimes 200 to 300 dogs a year at the height of his career. Like other entrepreneurial individuals, Essig's strong suit was vision    and marketing communications, not attention to detail! So,    unfortunately, he kept no detailed logs or records of his breedings, nor did he believe it necessary to write a standard for the breed he created. What we know of the development of the Leonberger comes from word-of-mouth reports, copies of advertisements written by Essig and others, references in a handful of nineteenth and turn-of-the-century    dog breed encyclopedias, and some very lively articles and    correspondence found in nineteenth-century animal periodicals like Hunde-sport und Jagt, Der Hundefreund, and  Der Hund , a German    nationwide dog magazine still being published today.

Please read: Leonbergers Breed FAQ's (from rec.pet.dogs) for more information.

Canaan Dogs

<<The Genuine Article! Both Tzel's sire and dam were bred by Myrna Shiboleth of the Shaar Hagai Kennels in Israel, Myrna has been breeding Canaan dogs for over 30 years and acquired some of her original stock from the founder of the breed, Prof R. Menzel, notably including Laish me Bnei HaBitachon the first Israeli Canaan champion and the dog Prof. Menzel considered to be the best she ever bred. In the early days of the Shaar Hagai Kennels Myrna brought all her dogs to Prof. Menzel to be judged and evaluated. Prof. Menzel would explain exactly what the qualities and the faults of that particular dog, and how it related to her ideal vision of the breed and whether or not it should be registered and bred from.>>

Please read: Kanaan Hund, Canaan Dog, Chien de Canaan.

<<It is said that the Canaan Dog should look like it has the potential to survive in the harsh conditions of the desert and many people rely very heavily on this to help describe what the breed should look like. Professor Menzel, the breed founder, described and studied several different types of Pariah dogs from the heavy extreme type, Type I, to the small grown type, Type V. It is clear that dogs ranging from very large and heavy bodied to very small and light bodied and with various types of coat are all capable of survival in these harsh conditions. Therefore just because a dog looks like it has the ability to be able to survive in the desert does not necessarily make it the light medium type (collie like) that Professor Menzel preferred and subsequently named the Canaan dog. What makes a Canaan Dog a Canaan Dog, as with every other breed, are its unique breed points such as head shape, body shape, ear and tail set and carriage, coat type and character.>> 

Please read: The Canaan Dog for more information.

Sealyham Terriers

<<The Sealyham Terrier is named for the country estate of the breed's founder, Captain John Edwardes, in Pembrokeshire, Wales. During the mid-1800s, Captain Edwardes needed a dog that could rid his acreage of the foxes, badgers, otters, rats, polecats, and rabbits that infested it. He did not care for the other terriers in the region so he decided to create his own breed. It is not known what breeds he used but there is speculation that they include the Pembroke Welsh Corgi, the West Highland White Terrier, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, and the Bull Terrier. The Sealyham was recognized as its own breed by the Kennel Club of Great Britain in 1911 and the American Kennel Club in 1913, long after Captain Edwardes had passed away.>>

Please read: Sealyham Terriers for more information.

Answer:

NO, because there is a lot more involved to this, then just "looking" like a certain breed!  We often see dogs that "look" like a Collie, or GSD, or some other known breed, but unless they have the proper documented registration papers  (unfortunately) they are still considered to be a "mixed-breed"  or  at the least an "unpapered" lookalike.

I would like to take a moment to repeat a very important fact that people often get confused about.  There is NO such thing as a "perfect" dog!  Although some dogs will  be better "representatives" of their Breed Standard <blueprint> none will be 100% perfect!!  The Standard is just a guide for breeders to aim for, and the shows are only there to pick out the best specimens,  in the ring -- at that time


However, all of the other pups that were rated as "pet quality" due to various conformation faults, still have the right to consider themselves as members of their particular breed!  Can you imagine asking every dog to pass a "test" that would determine if they were - or were not a Labrador, Rottweiler, Doberman, or whatever, strictly determined by their appearance?? How foolish is that!  Every dog breed is classified by a certain name depending on the lineage he/she is descendant from .. not by its "actual"  appearance! Please take a moment to read the "Shiloh Shepherd" requirements established back in 1990!  Shiloh v. LHGSD

So let me start this lesson off with a bit of   GSD History GSDLounge.com

If you read the GSD history articles, you will soon find that various "kennels" worked very hard to produce certain "TYPES" within the breed ..... "types" that were easily distinguished, and often referred to as "Such & Such Shepherds."  When at the shows it was very common to hear things like "that's a WIENERAU dog, or that's a LIEBESTRAUM dog, etc. etc...... and such kennels that "made a name" were highly respected!!  In turn, they demanded a higher price for their pups ..... so guess what happened??  

<<One drastic example of the widening split between German and American bloodlines in the 1960s is "Bodo vom Lierberg SchH3, FH". He was the 1967 German, Dutch and Belgian Sieger (Grand Victor), was sold to America, but didn’t make US Grand victor and ended up contributing very little to the breed. His brother, "Bernd vom Lierberg Sch3, FH" being as similar to Bodo in look and temperament as only a twin brother can be, remained in Germany and became THE most famous working dog ever since. They where the last all-in-one "universal" working and show dogs. Any real working Shepherd breeder in the world would give just about anything to have the name Bernd or Bodo vom Lierberg in his/her pedigree. Some breeders even use "sound-alike" kennel names to cash-in on the fame of that name. [emphasis added]>> Kimba gsd history

Shotaan German Shepherds, the UK's number one progressive kennel

Now expand your education a bit and read  Tullibardine Farm Chinooks. Here is a tiny sample!!

<<As new enthusiasts of the breed, and potential breeders as well, we also put a great deal of time into learning as much as we could about the Chinook, and about conservation of minor breeds and working breeds. As for history, breed founder Arthur Walden was often interviewed, and also produced three published works of his own that drew heavily on his “dog punching” experiences in Alaska; and our local antiquarian bookseller was most helpful in locating much of this information. Curiously, the most consuming part was actually learning enough about the modern history of the breed (post 1963, to date) to develop a breeding strategy to suit the needs of the modern Chinook. Fairly early on in the process, I did make the following observations:  Diversity Advice on breeding genetics varies somewhat from one professional to the next, but most seem to agree that the key to long term breed survival is to protect the breed’s genetic diversity above all else. While some linebreeding is generally recommended to maintain breed type, 8 generation inbreeding coefficients in the 10% - 15% range are also recommended to maintain healthy diversity; but inbreeding coefficients in the Chinook, with pedigree records dating back to Harold Smead’s stewardship in the mid to late 1960s, were much, much higher.   >>

EVEN if you purchased a pup from Fran-Jo kennels, and later bred her to Lance, **you** (as the breeder) could NOT (would not dare to) name your pups Fran-Jo's this or that!!  It would be IMMORAL!!!  RIDICULOUS!!  INSANE actually!!  If this was YOUR breeding, you should name the progeny using your kennel name!!  After all, you were trying to develop *your* own kennel type ... right?? 

Not so these days! All/most of the frauds insist on calling their kennels (something) Shiloh Shepherds! The ISSR Licensed Breeders have the integrity and pride not to stoop so low!

Shiloh Shepherds™ has been MY kennel name for nearly 30 years now!!  Since 1974 all the dogs (be they AKC GSD'S or whatever) that were bred at my kennel should reflect that name! In 1991 I brought them "out" to the public via the ISSR (allowing others that agreed to follow MY strict guidelines) to use MY name, via the ISSR, Inc. Licensed Breeders Agreement  because those dogs are bred under MY supervision ........ and therefore deserve to be recognized as Shiloh Shepherds™, in order to EXPAND the gene pool sufficiently enough to establish them as a "real" breed (probably in another 5-10 years). 

Just like in the example I gave above .... If the pup WAS produced by the Fords, then it should carry the Fran-Jo name, if not (even though a Fran-Jo male was the stud) the puppies cannot carry their kennel name ..... that principle has been accepted universally ..... WHY "some" folks seem to be having a problem with this is ALSO confusing to ME!

IMHO, it's just simple identity theft utilized to cheat, steal and destroy!

In all honesty .... I don't know how to explain this new **weird**  "multiple registry" phenomenon any better    Just Don't Fall 4 the Fraud

The best I can say is that ..... IF the dogs have AKC papers stating that they are GSD's .... then THAT is what they are!!  If they have official ISSR papers stating that they are Shiloh Shepherds™ .... then THAT is what they are!  If they have papers generated by someone that calls him/herself a "registry" ... then the buyers are getting the wool pulled over their eyes, because they are probably unregistrable "mixed" pups that would NOT qualify for acceptance into the AKC or the ISSR

I sure hope this helps ... please feel free to research and discuss this issue further! You are more then welcome to join  Our Shiloh Shepherds™ Community - Powered by Infopop.