Measuring Progress: Are We Looking to the Past or Towards the Future?

Measuring Progress: Are We Looking to the Past or Towards the Future?

“Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” —Winston Churchill

In his 1948 speech to the British House of Commons, Prime Minister Churchill cautioned his fellow citizens by stating those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it. Borrowing directly from the philosopher George Santayana, Churchill delivered his message in the aftermath of World War II when the nation’s infrastructure and its culture were in desperate need of rebuilding. Though some members of society desired a return to pre-war norms and its rigid hierarchy, others desired an entirely new “counterculture.” Ultimately, an alliance of traditional values and social changes resulted which continues, often uneasily, to the present day.

So, what does post-war Britain have to do with the sport of dogs in post-COVID America? Well, the obvious parallel is that, like those mid-century members of parliament, today’s established purebred dog fanciers tend to lean heavily on the traditions passed down by reliable mentors. And just like the British (and American) kids of the 1950s, who grew their hair long and listened to rock and roll music, many of today’s dog buyers have embraced “new” canine companions in the form of doodles, rescues, and DNA-tested mixed-breeds. The result is a challenging predicament for purebred dog breeders in contemporary society, where the tradition of breeding to a Standard is confronted by the convenience of shopping online. To the uninformed shopper, devoting time to being mentored in a breed can seem overwhelming when it’s so easy to purchase a dog on the Internet, sight unseen—with no strings attached.

Unfortunately, this conundrum has resulted in decreased registrations among many (too many) breeds, putting their future in serious jeopardy. Yet this is precisely why the experience of self-described preservationists should be utilized to greater effect. Unlike greeder-breeders, today’s responsible breeders are genuine historians whose efforts in the whelping box reflect lessons learned over many generations. Each puppy produced represents an alternative to the pitfalls that are likely to be made by those who are not guided by tradition, standards, or a code of ethics. Unlike random-bred animals, responsibly produced purebreds are part of a past-present-future continuum that offers insurance for the future by bringing to life predictable genetics inherited from the past.

The major dilemma facing reputable breeders today is determining how to remain relevant in a culture that embraces the new and novel at the expense of the tried and true. A knowledge of history, in and of itself, cannot compete in a marketplace that values convenience over context. Promoting a breed’s historic legacy is essential, of course, but it needs to be offered in a way that appeals to those looking for a dog in 2025. Preservation-minded breeders should be able to compete successfully with backyard breeders and others who broker the sale of dogs for profit, but it won’t happen by relying on tactics that worked well in the 20th century.

Today’s responsible breeders must continue to learn from the past, but the lessons learned need to be disseminated in a way that reaches those buyers who are likely to become tomorrow’s breed advocates. For every Internet search that results in a curiously popular “designer dog” or a remarkably resilient “rescue,” there needs to be an available purebred puppy offered by a reputable breeder. To avoid doing so, simply because meeting demand wasn’t done in the past, is not learning from history. (As Churchill and Santayana might say, it is being doomed to repeat the past.) Instead, promoting purebred dogs in the 21st century requires looking to the past with understanding and respect—but not at the expense of a bright future.