Years ago... and yes here I go again on a rant about my dogs. But it relates to my current hobby of rabbits so be patient. So years ago, I decided to learn the breed of Staffordshire Bull Terriers. They are very rare in the US. This made them difficult to find and when you did, the breeder was usually a Backyard Breeder/ Pet Breeder. Dealing with any bully breed I knew I had to find someone who was dedicated to the breed and found an incredible woman who had been raising them for 25 years. Hers were the top lines year after year in the AKC Westminster. If there was one thing I took from that entire experience was learning about good breeders and building a reputation on Standard. She took no chances. She did not allow for weakness. No matter how cute a puppy was, never mattered. She warned me of the ignorance once I owned the breed and that I would become very tired of such idiocy. She was very right. I became so tired of it I finallly quit taking my dog to Petsmart because I was sick of people claiming they had a "Staffy". Not that rabbit people will care, but a Staffy weighs about 30-35 pounds. They are usually below your knees and have huge heads. They only have black eyes. And yet time and time again people with pit bull mutts would come up to me and refer to my dog as pittbull... or even worse, suggest their dog was also a Staffy. I will post examples.
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If you look at the two dogs you may think they are similar. But once you know the breed you will quickly notice that it's ears are way too long and not set accordingly. This is a head breed and the white dog has a very weak head. The red dog has a very well formed body, where the white dog is clearly long and tall and not proportionate at all.
So the first year or so I stood my ground and tried so hard when people came to me saying they had a Staffy. I would patiently explain the standard to them. I would say how Staffies don't get that big, and their eyes aren't blue and so on. But year after year of people not caring to learn wore on me and I finally just grew numb to them. Now when people tell me they have a Staffy I just smile and agree and think in my head how clueless they are.
So this brings me onto Hollands. Who knew that I would end up falling in love with a rabbit, come to find out it too is a head breed! And not only a head breed but also a very similar set of breeders. I watch posts of people who post pictures asking for critique. Knowing full and well these people have full access online or in books to see what Standard Hollands should look like. And I see many rabbitries boasting of beautiful Holland lops, and when I look at them... well, I see that white dog. And I suppose if I hadn't had the dog experience I would fight hard to educate people and help them see the light. But I have come to learn, people only see what they want to see. Some people have no problems having a horrible narrow faced long eared scrawny boned rabbit and calling it a Holland.
In the end we all live and learn our own way. As for me I will stick to the Standard that has been laid out. I refuse to be a backyard breeder because I am setting standards for myself as well. I refuse to ever take the road of thinking I am to profit from my rabbits. The only thing I hope to earn from them is knowledge of the breed and respect amongst other like minded Breeders.
So the first year or so I stood my ground and tried so hard when people came to me saying they had a Staffy. I would patiently explain the standard to them. I would say how Staffies don't get that big, and their eyes aren't blue and so on. But year after year of people not caring to learn wore on me and I finally just grew numb to them. Now when people tell me they have a Staffy I just smile and agree and think in my head how clueless they are.
So this brings me onto Hollands. Who knew that I would end up falling in love with a rabbit, come to find out it too is a head breed! And not only a head breed but also a very similar set of breeders. I watch posts of people who post pictures asking for critique. Knowing full and well these people have full access online or in books to see what Standard Hollands should look like. And I see many rabbitries boasting of beautiful Holland lops, and when I look at them... well, I see that white dog. And I suppose if I hadn't had the dog experience I would fight hard to educate people and help them see the light. But I have come to learn, people only see what they want to see. Some people have no problems having a horrible narrow faced long eared scrawny boned rabbit and calling it a Holland.
In the end we all live and learn our own way. As for me I will stick to the Standard that has been laid out. I refuse to be a backyard breeder because I am setting standards for myself as well. I refuse to ever take the road of thinking I am to profit from my rabbits. The only thing I hope to earn from them is knowledge of the breed and respect amongst other like minded Breeders.
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