Who the Hell is Jim Engel,
and What Is He Up To?
August, 2001
Although I have been a very minor figure on the American working dog scene for more than two decades, my chosen role has evolved over time, to the perplexity of friend and foe alike. In the past several years, these changes perhaps seem dramatic.
But in reality, I am a simple man, driven by simple fundamental principles.
At my very core there is a profound love of the protective heritage working dogs, of every breed, and those without a man invented breed also, for they are the foundation stock. I have seen the simple aggressive dog, incapable of the potential for control and handler partnership, and find them useless and dangerous, and a danger to the heritage at large. I have seen the willing but weak dog, the dog who will back down from the aggressive man with the stick if something outside of the choreography occurs. Such dogs may score points, but, ultimately, are of no long term value. Then there are those dogs of strong character and a strong work ethic, capable of being molded by the good trainer into a strong working partner. This is what working dogs are all about, the seeking out of such dogs for training and reproducing the race at a higher level.
The concept of testing of the breeding stock against this ideal was the contribution of von Stepinetiz, and a century of breeding according to this principle, with many lapses along the way, has made the German Shepherd the best over all protective heritage working dog in the world, with only the Malinois of an over all comparable stature.
In the late 1970's I took up the cause of the Bouvier des Flandres. This was a noble breed, with a noble but troubled heritage. For a decade there was the illusion of progress; growing enthusiasm, more activity and impressive events. But early in the 1990's it became apparent that the wheels were spinning but that the perception of progress was an illusion. Although I had spent considerable time in Europe, I returned with a focus on understanding the stagnation of the breed.
It became apparent that the Bouvier was slipping away as a working breed because none of the national organizations, in Belgium, the Netherlands or France, was led by men with a true commitment to the working heritage. The breed in Europe was in fact in the hands of what we in America have come to categorize as "show breeders." There were of course differences. The Dutch club and show breeders had no real interest in working character, and during the period of great popularity in the 80's tended to regard it as an impediment to "pet quality" puppy sales. The Belgians and French spouted noble words, but their actions belied their lack of real understanding of or commitment to the protection dog heritage.
In reality, the vast majority of working Bouviers were drawn out of the Dutch KNPV police lines. These lines, once strong, were even then fragile. Forty years ago, even twenty years ago, the Bouvier was a significant factor on the KNPV trial fields. The demise of the KNPV Bouvier over the past quarter century, driven by the ineffectiveness of the breed club, the quick maturity of the Malinois, leading to the profitable sale and finally the European bans of ear cropping and tail docking have brought this noble working dog chapter very near to a close. Now only a mere handful of Bouviers obtain the coveted KNPV title each year, not nearly enough to provide a supply of stock for export or even to maintain breeding lines.
In America, the North American Working Bouvier Association came into existence with a fatal flaw, a perception of "work" so wide and lacking in focus that it degenerated into an organization by and for pet owners and play trainers. The German Shepherd has prospered primarily because of the unity provided by a single definition of work, the Schutzhund trial. It is true that it is also possible to qualify for breeding and conformation through a herding test, but these tests are so advanced that only working herdsmen in practice qualify. The herding test does not provide any sort of "short cut" for the person with a weak dog or an unwillingness to train.
Twenty five years of observation and research have led me to believe a simple but profound principle. In a working breed, the working trial as a prerequisite to breeding is fundamental. Serious conformation competition must be limited to those dogs who have certified their ability to work and passed the appropriate medical tests. The concept of working capability and confirmation as equal is the plan for the demise of the breed, for the "show breeders" will evolve, become politically active and flood the world with dogs unable to do the work that is the purpose of the breed. The inadequate dogs will debase the breed and ultimately drive the serious trainers to other breeds, those true to the working heritage.
NAWBA began conformation with the expectation that the working class would predominate in the natural course of events. In fact, rather than gradually limiting conformation to the working class, a "temperament test" has been borrowed from the Belgian and French show breeders to qualify dogs without a title for the select designation. This process has been in place for thirty years in Europe and has gone hand in hand with the decline in the breed. There is no reason for the show breeder to do more, and since the show breeders are in control there will never be a more demanding standard.
Thus, the moment a dog without a title walked into a NAWBA show ring on an equal footing with the working titled dogs, the organization ceased to merit the status of a working dog organization. The rest is the long slip into oblivion, which is apparently at hand as the NAWBA 2001 annual event seems destined to not take place.
In a similar way, the moment the AWDF allows a dog without a serious, internationally recognized, working title to walk into the show ring on an equal footing with the working dogs it too will lose it's credibility as a working dog organization. And it seems there is no turning back on the slippery path to mediocrity.
So far Schutzhund USA, the German Shepherd breed club, has done a good job of maintaining integrity in its conformation events. If the AWDF falls below this standard, how long can USA maintain it's active membership?
Clk to enlarge
In Germany in 1935 the Nazi's were in power, and millions of good Germans joined the party or supported it's leadership because it promised much to a beleaguered people. Those who stood up and spoke out against the atrocities that were even then becoming apparent were widely regarded as disloyal, as "not good Germans." Everybody was expected to put on the blinders and pitch in for the cause, and the ugly side of the German national character came to predominate. The result was preordained.
Although the scale is different, the principles are the same. The NAWBA leadership has made many compromises and betrayed many principles in order to maintain power, and we see the results before us in the continued decline of the breed. At this point, no person who truly understands the working dog heritage can in good conscience be a member, and I am not.
If the AWDF in a similar way compromises working dog principles in order to build the illusion of progress and popularity, then it too will have taken the first step toward decline and ultimate irrelevance.
It has become apparent that the long term survival of the second echelon of working breeds, those below the Shepherd and Malinois, have only a marginal chance of surviving for another quarter century. If the AWDF and the individual breed clubs continue to compromise principle in order to build popularity, they will only accelerate the decline.
Who today could advise a young trainer to cast his fate with one of the secondary breeds? Given the situation in Europe, the lack of breed leadership there and the hostile political environment, and the inability of American organizations to stand on their own, is any choice other than a Malinois or a German Shepherd not an act of futility for one who wants to contribute to the next generation?
As for myself, I will continue to train my Bouviers because of loyalty to my own dogs as individuals rather than seeking out another breed. A younger man might make a different decision.
I see thirty years of effort, by hundreds of dedicated people, in jeopardy because the true working dog people continually allow show breeders, meddling pet owners and those with primarily commercial motivations to water down our sports and our working breeds.
As a group, we need to spend less time worrying about what will please European bureaucrats and focus on the grass roots issues of making training and competition available to working and middle class Americans. Schutzhund in America increasingly panders to the elite who can afford to buy titled dogs and run around the country for training and exhibition. We need to focus on American competition for Americans, not on the support and glorification of what are essentially demonstrations of their wares by and for dog brokers.
For these reasons, I intend to speak out in opposition by every avenue open, not the least of which are these independent web sites dedicated to working dog affairs.
Background and Reference:
Jim Engel ResumeThe Fourth Estate
Glossary
Orginizations and Conflicts
Legacy Lost, the Other Breeds
The Americans
Style and Opinion Sports
Has Sport Subverted the Trial?
How We Play the Game
Commercialization of Schutzhund
The Mother State