-------George Santayana, in Reason in Common Sense, The Life of Reason, Vol.1
I have been a lot of things to the WPM breed but one thing I been more than anything is a booster to new fanciers and breeders.
Over the past nearly 10 years, I have put these dogs into the hands of countless potential fanciers, (nearly all of whom were high-level experienced animal trainers like myself or what I would consider a high end fancier, with the correct required attitude, at least at first).
In my experience, potential new fanciers/breeders have also, for the most part, succumbed to the breed's quirks (mentioned all over this blog) or other paths of life got in the way.
The dogs were returned or rehomed and many were spayed and neutered.
It has been a rather painful journey for me and much hard work in trying to find good potential new fanciers and breeders has been spent.
This is simply not a breed that compares favorably to its larger or smaller relatives in temperament and habits. Trying to compare it to the Grandes or the Pequenos is futile. They are nothing like them.
It is also extremely ignorant to think that it must be that I must just not have the proper training or dog experience.
I suppose it would be the easiest attitude to have, the very opposite of what is true, if one were in need of a contrary point of view. Why that would be I do not know but it is laughable in its sheer lack of respect and fully discredits (and questions the mental capacity of) its source.
But it is certainly not accurate and is, in fact, very wrong and very dangerous (see quote above).
In my long experience with the WPM, I have found that the breed succeeds in a home in which there is 1 or 2, unless they can be used for hunting and kept in a kennel, as they are in their homeland.
I have sought hunting homes to no avail. When beagles are cheap and plentiful, there is no need for an American hunter to want another type of hunting dog.
That is the only way the breed is ever going to be a success as a pet. Those who cockily parade around with arrogance and attitudes that I am in the wrong, will see, eventually, that I am correct about this. It's only a matter of time. As it has been, so shall it be.
They obviously do not have the experience that I do and it makes me sad that the lesson will be repeated with blissful ignorance.
I can only help so much and frankly, I am tired of seeing history repeat itself.
Go on, make the mistakes, do not learn from those of us who have tread long and hard in these shoes, fully equipped with more experience in many types of animals, not just dogs, than you could ever know.
They will follow their noses anywhere, throwing all good training out of their minds,
Our healing thoughts are with his owners.
