**Kennel Update**
Summer has been a busy time for us. We are continuing the build on our new 50-acre kennel, with a log shelter cabin and a second larger puppy pen in progress. The days are getting shorter and before we know it, we will begin our season conditioning and training runs with the team!
There have been a couple of hot-button topics in the Seppala world recently that I haven’t had the chance to address because of family, church, and kennel obligations — so I wanted to take a moment to do that now. While this may be of some interest to the general sled dog fan, these are in-house discussions among Seppala breeders, so I will cross-post this on the International Seppala Siberian Sleddog Club Facebook page.
**AKC Seppalas?**
First, I want to address the recent buzz about what it would take to get our breed recognized by the American Kennel Club. While I would not classify myself as opposed to seeking AKC acceptance, it should not, in my opinion, be a high priority for us as a breed club. Here are my thoughts:
The American Kennel Club does not have performance requirements for their working breeds. And while breeding for conformation does not rule out good performance, it has certainly been to the detriment of a great many working breeds in the past. Form naturally follows function. Function does not necessarily follow proper form. Or, as we would say in the South — “Pretty is as pretty does.”
The Seppala Siberian Sleddog already has a breed registry — the Continental Kennel Club. This partnership has allowed us to maintain performance standards and address issues surrounding the Coefficient of Inbreeding. Inclusion in the AKC would prohibit such needed action.
If we ever do want to pursue AKC recognition, the first thing we need to do is stop registering our Seppalas with them as Siberians — that only serves to further the mainstream Siberian Husky narrative that we are merely a strain. We should invest our efforts into the CKC, where we can resolve our genetic bottleneck once and for all through a rigorous breeding program and continue field-test proving our teams.
Only after we have established our breed as genetically healthy and ensured its work ethic within the CKC should we consider seeking such restrictive confines as AKC recognition.
**Counterfeit Seppalas**
The other issue I wanted to address is the continued use of the “Seppala Siberian” label by Siberian Husky breeders — one prominent one in particular — in order to bolster puppy sales.
For more than a year I have tip-toed around this, blogging about how buyers must take responsibility in doing their homework and asking to see pedigrees and CKC Seppala registries. But the issue has not gone away. It has gotten worse.
Mostly I have avoided this because I want to steer clear of social media flame wars whenever possible. Another reason I’ve held back is that I think this kennel has good dogs, and the owner seems, to me, to be a nice guy. But that doesn’t excuse the continued false advertising.
And to answer the question I see bounced around often by his supporters — yes, I have spoken with him directly. Early in the conversation he called his dogs Seppalas, until I started asking where he got his Seppalas from and told him who I was. He then quickly backpedaled and said his Siberians were “Seppala in type.” Despite this, he continues publicly to claim that his are “the closest to the original Seppala as possible.”
That statement can’t be left unaddressed. It is a kick in the gut and an insult to those of us who have carried on the torch from Willet, Bragg, Wheeler, McFaul, Sheerer, and Seppala himself — kennels like Deer Creek, Evergreen, Gatineau, Gealoch Mor, Arcticpac, EverSepp, Seppfire, New Hope, Poland Spring, and many others who have done the difficult work of preserving this breed when it would have been so much easier to go with racing Siberians or Alaskans.
This past winter I was asked to give a talk on my expedition at the 100 Mile Wilderness Race. Imagine my excitement when I was told that ours was not the only Seppala team at the race that weekend — there was a New Zealand Seppala team competing as well.
I raced around trying to find contact information for the musher. I know Seppalas have gone to the UK, Finland, and Norway, and I truly hoped this was a line that would provide new breeding options for both of us. When I finally reached him, I asked where he had bought his team. His answer was the name of the very kennel I speak of here.
And here again is my frustration — this fine New Zealand musher had a great team of beautiful Siberians. The team stood on its own merit. There was no need to upsell by misleading him into thinking he had purchased a Seppala team.
While I haven’t been in the Seppala forums much lately, I’ve stopped in enough to see that others are now hotly debating this. And even now, I pull back from naming names. I really don’t want a flame war — especially with someone who has a good breeding program of solid working Siberians.
But what I do want is to see Siberian breeders stop duping unsuspecting buyers.
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but we in the Seppala breed club are not flattered. The counterfeit does, however, speak to the value of the original.
There is a real Seppala Siberian Sleddog breed. It has its own breed club and is recognized by the Continental Kennel Club.
I am sorry there are so few. It is not by design. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not our desire to keep good, ethical, working kennels from having them.
What most don’t realize is that flooding the market with mislabeled Siberians only hurts the breed’s prospects of survival — so please stop. Or better yet, reach out and join the effort.
To this particular kennel I will say: reach out. Let me help you get real Seppalas. Give me a reason to take this article down. The only unethical thing I’ve seen you do is mislabel your Siberians. You’ve got great dogs. Breed your Siberians — or join the cause of preserving the Seppala.
The ISSSC is committed to a “big tent” approach whenever possible. If you have an ethical breeding program and a reputable kennel, we want you on our team. We are looking for judicious outcrosses as we seek to close the chapter on genetic depth. Perhaps you have a good candidate in your kennel to add to the mix and breed back up to acceptable Seppala percentages. But right now you’re not helping — you are hurting the breed. And I don’t think that is what you want.
—
Long rant over — I guess I shouldn’t let these issues get so pent up!
I think I’ve said all I can say here. Thanks for taking the time to read, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
