Please tell us a little bit about yourself. Where do you live? How many years in dogs? How many years as a breeder? What is your kennel name?
What are the hallmarks of your breed and why are they important for maintaining breed type?
In your opinion, are there enough puppy homes to support breeding a litter this year?
How have you implemented new technologies in science and communications as a breeder?
In your community, have you noticed a change in the public’s perception of purebred dogs?
Have you noticed any trends in the sport? Anything to be concerned about?
What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen in the sport in recent years?
Aimee Kincaid
1. My name is Aimee Kincaid, and I own Coolibah Kennels in Orlando, Florida. I have been involved with purebred dogs for over 30 years, starting in Australian Shepherds, and for the past 10 years, Danish-Swedish Farmdogs. I’ve been a purebred dog breeder for 25-plus years, switching to the DSF about seven years ago.
2. The Danish-Swedish Farmdog is an ancient breed, going back to the Viking era in Scandinavia. They are a small pincher-type dog that had many jobs working on the family farms, including vermin control, some herding, alerting the farmer to strangers, and the children’s loving little pet. They remain incredibly adept at murdering small creatures such as rats, mice, moles, rabbits, squirrels, and ground hogs, to name a few. Therefore, structure is paramount in keeping this ability. Strong jaws, large strong teeth, wide deep chest, good angulation, and a very happy, lively, get-along personality. They are a quiet dog that loves to work with you and is incredibly biddable and trainable. They excel at all sports such as Obedience, Agility, Rally, Fast CAT, Dock Diving, Herding, Flyball, Frisbee… you name it. Most of the dogs a judge sees in the Conformation ring will have lots of other performance titles at both ends of their name.
3. As our breed gets better known, the small handful of breeders in the United States typically have no difficulty selling their puppies. The dogs usually have relatively small litters… three to five is normal, with an occasional larger or smaller litter. I typically breed one or two litters in a year and have a deep wait list that I vet with great care to ensure I pick the very best homes where each individual puppy will thrive. I choose the puppy for the buyer based on my talks with them and their references, and what their goals are for the dog, whether it be part of the family or a performance prospect. After 25-plus years of breeding, testing, and selecting puppies for people, I am convinced this is the best way to ensure a good fit. That puppy that runs to you and climbs your front to lick and bite at your face is NOT the puppy for just anyone.
4. The Danish-Swedish Farmdog has a very high genetic diversity even though there are only about 400 in the US. We maintain this by carefully breeding for diversity vs. a particular thing we hope to improve, such as ears or heads. This is not to say that we are not trying to improve the type in the DSF in the US. The breeders frequently have good relationships with Danish or Swedish breeders and are able to import frozen semen for breeding or take their dogs to Europe to be bred. We almost all do genetic testing on our breeding dogs even though there are no common genetic ailments that are attached to our breed. They are very healthy and long-lived dogs. frequently reaching 16 to 18 years or more. This testing helps us to not double up on some of the lesser known genetic issues that could affect the breed in the long run.
5. There are always those who think no dog should be bred due to the large number of dogs in shelters. However, statistics show that the dogs in shelters rarely come from a responsible breeder. They come from puppy mills or mixed-breed dogs that are allowed to breed at will. Every DSF breeder in the US will take back a dog at any point in its life if the original buyer cannot keep it for any reason. It is a part of the DSFCA breeder code of ethics. All breeders in the US are members of our parent club, the Danish-Swedish Farmdog Club of America. As of today, there are no DSF in any shelters, rescues, or puppy mills because our breeders are very careful in the placement of each puppy. I personally have not had any negative encounters with the public. In fact, our breed is such a friendly and happy dog that people are instantly in love with them when I have them out at a restaurant or while walking around town. I have had some of these encounters lead to adding that person to my puppy wait list.
6. Since most of the DSF that are showing in Conformation are being shown by their owners, it can be frustrating when some professional handlers appear to have special relationships with judges and some judges appear to pick winners from the dogs being handled by handlers they know vs. which is the best dog in the ring. This may just be perception. The pro handlers likely present their dogs better than the amateur owners, but this is a common complaint that I hear from people who have begun showing their DSFs. We’re the newest breed to the AKC, gaining full recognition in the AKC Working Group just this past January, and I know it takes time for judges to learn all they really need to know to judge the breed appropriately. I strongly urge all judges who may judge our breed for the first time to take a judges’ education seminar or, if not available in time, visit our website and view our 30-minute Judge’s Ed video: www.dsfca.org.
7. I absolutely love the National Owner-Handled Series as it more “evens the playing field” for those of us who are relatively new to Conformation. I have also taken advantage of the new handler briefing that is available, at least at some shows. It is a very welcoming effort on the part of the AKC to the novice handler. Thank you to Showsight magazine for this opportunity to present our best-kept secret of the Working Group.
