Mt. Feist Ass.

[John Williamson]

There's been many discussions on a registry for Mt. Feist. I never really knew the real difference until I've owned Feist, Treeing Feist and the Mt. Feist. I've talked to different folks and they are interested in a breed registry for the Mt. Feist alone. It's like the Mt. Curs have the OMCBA and the Feist has the AFBA, but still not one for the Mt. Feist. So what's y'all's thoughts on it?

[George Stamps]

I think it would be a good idea.

[Marc Gray]

I agree that there needs to be one. After going through this process before, some important things to consider are below. Let me resurrect an old draft I put together as a point of discussion/starting point.

1) What is the purpose?
2) Register Dogs?
3) Hold sanctioned events or buddy hunts?
4) Have member kennels/individuals?

Without going into too much detail before I find that draft, there needs to be caution to avoid any appearance of it being a money-making scheme or easy way to title dogs. It should not be confused with trying to tell established breeders what they can & can't do with their dogs.

In my opinion, it should be a group of enthusiasts that agree to register dogs as Foundation Stock for a period of time and then have the books closed to new dogs not descended from the originals. There are already myriad places to register & hunt Feist-type dogs.

[John W]

One of the biggest reasons I believe would be simply for the breed its self. Many individuals in the past took a lot of time, and pride to develop such a great breed of dog. In order to continue this great breed from getting crossed up with other breeds and falling by the wayside there should be a registry with the standards that's been placed and set on them. Right now one could breed a dog pound mutt with the look of a Mountain Feist and register the pups as Mt. Feist.

[Marc Gray]

Below is a DRAFT I put together:


MOUNTAIN FEIST CLUB (MFC)



The Hunters and Breeders of the various lines of the Mountain Feist used to hunt small game in America have united to provide an umbrella association to incorporate these different types into single breed. The purposes of this association shall be advancing, promoting, protecting, and improving the breed of hunting dogs known as Mountain Feist; to insure responsible high-quality breeding; to raise quality dogs that are assets to the breed within the hunting dog realm; to educate the hunting public to this breed through sponsorship of competition squirrel hunt events, buddy hunts, etc., and to work collectively toward the betterment of the Mountain Feist breed as a whole. Further, it is the purpose of this club to support and protect the inherent rights of American citizens to own, hunt and protect the dog breed and type of their choice; and to promote complimentary conservation and management of wildlife species commonly pursued by the Mountain Feist breed.


THE OPEN REGISTRY

The MFC will register any dog that meets the following criteria:
1. The dog must meet the breed standard.
2. The owner must provide a minimum 3 generation pedigree, with the dog being registered, counting as 1 generation. This pedigree cannot show the dog to have more than 25% non-recognized Mountain Feist blood. (For example Mt. Cur, Bird dog, Rat Terrier, etc.)
3. An appointed Breed Inspector, MFC officer or BOD member must inspect the dog.

The MFC will tree certify any MFC registered dog by any one of the following methods:
(A) Dog has a Squirrel Champion title from another registry (NKC, UKC, WTDA, USDR, ATFA, PKC) or,
(B) Dog must pass a hunt test given by one of the above mentioned inspectors or,
(C) A dog can be tree certified at an MFC sanctioned hunt by meeting the following requirements: (a) the dog must score first tree points during the hunt; (b) the other handlers in the cast must sign off on a card that the dog hunted, treed and interacted with dogs and humans in an acceptable manner. Note: should the handlers not agree, the owner may appeal the casts’ decision and take the dog out with an impartial judge who will judge the dog according to the pre-determined criteria or,
(D) Provide a win slip from another registry sanctioned hunt (NKC, UKC, WTDA, USDR, ATFA, PKC).

Special Notes

1. This registry will be open for 2 calendar years or until 200 dogs are entered. At the end of 2 years or when 200 dogs are reached, an announcement will be made and the registry will be closed 1 month after the announcement from the BOD.
2. Also in special circumstances, an individual dog that highly exemplifies the goals of the MFC, may be granted special inclusion by unanimous vote of the MFC Board of Directors or a majority vote by the membership at an annual meeting. If the MFC BOD is unanimous, then the dog will be granted admission. If the BOD vote is not unanimous, then the applicant can request a membership vote at the next regularly scheduled annual meeting.
3. Two pictures of each dog to be registered are requested to accompany the application. One picture should be a side view and one picture should be a frontal view. Pictures may be emailed to: [e-mail].
4. Two documents will be issued to tree certified dogs; registration papers and a treeing certificate.

RESTRICTED REGISTRY

In order to preserve some of the old and established lines of Mountain Feist, the MFC will recognize dogs submitted by recognized strains or registries. To qualify for an established line, the following criteria must be met: 1. The breeder or registry must submit an application in writing to the MFC BOD. This application shall include pedigrees of foundation dogs. These dogs need not be living. (Obviously some of these dogs will not have pedigrees. In this instance, pedigrees must be traced back to the dogs that have no known ancestors. This pedigree would have to cover a minimum of 5 generations, with the dog being registered, counting as 1 generation). 2. A line, strain, or breed standard that falls within the general MFC Breed Standard. 3. A person or list of persons qualified to inspect this strain. 4. Proof of line breeding practices that would show the establishment of said line, strain or breed. An optional page for the Owner’s Line History and Overview of the line of dogs will be provided for the owner to explain the origin, breeding practices, goals, etc. of the line. Dogs recognized under this registry would be required to meet the following criteria: 1. They must meet the general MFC Breed Standard. 2. The person on file as the inspector must approve them. 3. After the foundation stock, the puppies must be litter registered. Individual dogs must be individually registered before given permanent papers.
The MFC will tree certify any MFC registered dog by any one of the following methods:
(A) Dog has a Squirrel Champion title from another registry (NKC, UKC, WTDA, USDR, ATFA, PKC) or,
(B) Dog must pass a hunt test given by one of the above mentioned inspectors or,
(C) A dog can be tree certified at an MFC sanctioned hunt by meeting the following requirements: (a) the dog must score first tree points during the hunt; (b) the other handlers in the cast must sign off on a card that the dog hunted, treed and interacted with dogs and humans in an acceptable manner. Note: should the handlers not agree, the owner may appeal the casts’ decision and take the dog out with an impartial judge who will judge the dog according to the pre-determined criteria or,
(D) Provide a win slip from another registry sanctioned hunt (NKC, UKC, WTDA, USDR, ATFA, PKC).
Special Notes - Line breeding and sound genetic breeding principals are necessary to establish lines, strains and breeds. However, it is understood that from time to time, “outside” blood must be introduced to the genetic pool. The MFC strongly urges this out crossing be done from within the MFC registry whenever possible. Any cross in the restricted registry using outside blood must be so noted on puppy registrations. The puppy papers and permanent registration of this cross will note that this is an “outcross”. Subsequent breeding of the offspring MUST be back to the line bred dogs. This is to ensure the integrity of the line, strain or breed.- The MFC reserves the right to request more information, if needed, concerning any portion of the application. -Two pictures of each dog to be registered, is requested to accompany the application. One picture should be a side view and one picture should be a frontal view. Pictures may be emailed to: [e-mail]. -Two documents will be issued to tree certified dogs; registration papers and a treeing certificate.


FEE SCHEDULE:

The registration fees through Dec. 31, 2013 are: 1-9 dogs, $15 each; 10-19 dogs, $10 each; 20 or more dogs, $7 each. After Dec. 31, 2013, the registration fees will be $15 per dog.

Litter registrations will be $20.00 per litter.


Fees payable by check or money order to Mountain Feist Club.





A Mountain Feist SHALL be between 12 and 18 inches tall. Dogs outside these height ranges may not be permanently registered or participate in MFC events. Height is to be measured at the withers at a point directly up from the back of the dog’s front elbow. At the time of an official MFC measurement, a dog shall be placed on a cloth covered (carpeted) bench or table and shall be measured by a means approved by MFC’s Board of Directors. Rules for disputing height measurements taken by MFC Inspectors may be made to MFC's Board of Directors. Dogs shall be at least one year old before they are officially measured. Dogs must be no more than 30 pounds when in prime hunting condition determined by similar methods as height employing a correctly-calibrated scale.

Mountain Feist should have a short, smooth coat with hair length of approximately one inch or less. Dogs with semi-wire, wire, or long coats over more than 50 percent of their body shall be excluded from registration. Mountain Feist may come in any color or combination of colors.

Mountain Feist should have a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors bite.

Erect ears, semi-erect or cocked ears, and button ears are acceptable. Erect ears preferred.

Mountain Feist should have small compact feet with the knuckles on the two center toes being just slightly longer than the two outside toes. The toes should be well arched. The front dew claws on a Mountain Feist may be removed. Rear dewclaws are cause for disqualification from registration or participation in MFC events.

The tail on a Mountain Feist may be long, docked, or naturally bobbed. Docked tails are preferred.

To be registered as a foundation stock Mountain Feist, a dog must be from descended from mountain feist, treeing feist or feist as registered by all-breed registries and shall not be more than 25% non-recognized feist breeding. This percentage will be figured from a three generation pedigree. Before any dog can be registered or bred as a Mountain Feist, a dog shall prove that it will independently tree a wild squirrel per such methods of proof as established by MFC.

[hobo]

Sounds good to me... Except for the part in Marc's draft about docked tails preferred.

[Marc Gray]

Jul 11, 2013 9:49:28 GMT -5 hobo said:

Sounds good to me... Except for the part in Marc's draft about docked tails preferred.

Preferred doesn't mean required. That was my compromise in the effort...I like tails but probably most don't. Haha

[Marc Gray]

I have draft by-laws somewhere too that I will try to dig up. If folks want to move forward with this, we will need volunteers to serve on the first BOD to elect initial officers, etc.

If anyone has heartburn with any portion of the draft above, everything is subject to change & approval by the BOD.

[dawn]

im not only interested in Secretary work with this assoc. but would be interested in holding some sort of seat on the board. Im also interested in being a breed inspector! This all sounds like a really good idea in the sake of bettering and saving the finest attributes of the breed!

[dawn]

please also send to my email a copy of proposed rules so I can reread.

[greg]

I know Marc has been interested in this for sometime now. I think it's a great idea. I'm willing to do what it takes to support his efforts. I would be proud to help further Mountain Feist. I already do, as many of you as well.
Greg Donley

[jbryant]

I agree 100%. if there is anyway I can help and/or support this i will do so. as of the tails being bobbed or long, I like them either way, it shouldnt be a specific on this breed. the way I see it is (the tail doesn't make the dog hunt any better or worse) ha ha

[phil46]

Sounds good to me. I would be interested in participating.

[Marc Gray]

I will take out th docked preferred. Any other changes anyone would like to see in the next DRAFT?

I would like to discuss the sentence about breeding to other MFC registered dogs if possible. Should this be a requirement? Or does that impact individuality too much?

[Deleted]

Keep me informed. I'm interested but I do believe it would be a good idea to hold a meeting of everyone who is to be involved before anything is set in stone as far as breed standard, regulations, fees or how such things are to be handled.