Applying Theory
In as simple a manner as possible let us try to apply this breeding theory.
All animal breeding operations must of necessity start with the female and, as it is a truism that "No stable is better than its mares." so is no kennel any stronger than its bitches. Too much stress cannot be placed upon the importance of the careful selection of a prospective matron or matrons, and an entire chapter could be devoted to this subject. It is highly important to ascertain that the brood bitch is as free as possible from inherited, or inborn, faults.
Perhaps the easiest fault for a beginner to recognize. as well as the most important ]n many breeds. is that of temperament (again not the result of a single genetic factor), so I shall use that as an example here.
The brood bitch, then, should be free of inherited shyness or savageness, one fault about as bad as the other, the latter often a result of the first, and both probably as difficult to eradicate as any other fault in some breeds.
Careful selection of mates who are pure dominants in the matter of proper temperaments through several generations, is the only way to eliminate this, as with any other fault. Close breeding to pure dominants on the other side of the pedigree from the one showing the fault is the best and surest way to get rid of it.
Again, given a bitch whose pedigree is "hit-or-miss " with no definite breeding plan indicated in the combining of the blood of her ancestry뾞 bitch whose pedigree뭩 so open that there is nothing to "catch hold of" the best results from any standpoint should be obtained by mating her to an inbred or linebred stud who is a pure dominant in as many desired requisites as possible. His influence should, and usually will, predominate over the traits of an outcross and a hit-or-miss bred bitch. In practically all breeds there is a big majority of such bitches, the result of generations of careless outcrossings.
We will next consider a mythical bitch and try to plan a mating for her, with the object in mind of improving the mean or average quality of the breed.
Part IX
One too often hears from exhibitors and breeders such remarks as, " I breed for the type that is winning, regardless of the Standard" This means to me that the speaker뭩 future as a consistent producer of high quality dogs is most doubtful and that his real interest in the "game" is the superficial one of winning rather than of breed improvement.
It becomes, therefore, more important for the beginner breeder to obtain some knowledge of genetics, together with a complete misunderstanding of his breed뭩 Standard, than for him to visit dog shows to see what type is winning!
It goes without saving that in the long pull, the time it takes to breed consistently good specimens, let alone establish a strain, a breeder must hitch to something뾞nd that should be the Standard of his breed rather than what is currently the "style" as established by the interpretations or perhaps vagaries of the judges.
In other words, if there is to be any continuity of effort toward the production of a standard type within, a breed, it must be predicated upon an all but unchanging written Standard of perfection, rather than upon an often-changing of the Standard (either written or implied) through interpreting it to fit the present show dog. Any current fad incorporating qualities not called for by a breed뭩 Standard can, and often does, change periodically, leaving breeders who have based their efforts on producing stock to conform to "today뭩 winners" out of the running.
With the establishment in the minds of beginner breeders of what has already been written, we can now turn to some applications of these precepts and theories which have been propounded in this series of articles on planned breeding.
Much easier would it be, and more quickly could salubrious results probably be obtained, were the beginner breeder for whom I am writing the owner of two or three very good bitches. Such is not the customary case, however, judging from the situation of many who have contacted me since the inception of these articles. Few indeed are those who have more than one bitch and, more often than not, that one not such a specimen as a knowledgeable fancier of the breed would select as a foundation brood matron.
Questioning brings forth this usual information뾲hey are stuck with what they have, and feel they must use it. Affection for the animal, lack of funds with which to purchase a better one, or inability to find and select a more suitable bitch for their start, are the more common reasons given for not beginning with something better than the one perhaps mediocre specimen they already own.
In addition to the physical shortcomings of the average beginner뭩 bitch, she is apt to have a hit-or-miss pedigree. There may be numerous "Champions" in it, more likely than not all picked for use because they WERE such title holders, but without any selection having been made, in the matings producing her and her immediate ancestors, for physical compensation of faults.
To Achieve Better Results Faster
Our editor has asked that, taking such a bitch as an example, I try to point, out a procedure by which a beginner breeder might, most quickly and surely, improve the "mean or average quality of his production뾞nd indeed might within a few years bring forth, and quite consistently, some "toppers."
Granted that the possessor of such a foundation bitch as outlined above must expect to spend much more money and time than if he could start with either or both: the bitch herself a good show specimen, and/or the possessor of a line-bred pedigree. In the absence of these qualifications, however, he must take the longest and most difficult road the one being traveled by the greatest number of beginners, and whom we most want to help.
Instead of names for the animals in the pedigree, I shall take alphabetical letters. In the interest of keeping the use of space to a minimum, as well as for elimination of confusion, I shall, at least for the present, project only a 3-generation pedigree. It will be observed that no dog appears more than once in the above pedigree, so it is what is known as "wide open". Also that none has been designated as a Champion, although several or all of them might have had that title.
We must now carefully analyze the structural attributes of the above bitch and to do so. I shall presume her to be a German Shepherd Dog. As explained in previous installments, although I have made some study of almost all of the A.K.C.-recognized varieties, with particular emphasis on Working and Non-Sporting, the most of my breeding work has been done with Shepherds.
Furthermore, the Standard requirements of quite a number of breeds, especially those of the larger varieties, demand somewhat similar specifications They all stress the importance of type, balance, toplines, ribbing, fore and rear angulation, bone and substance, feet, correct "bite," gait, color, of eyes, color and texture of coats, etc. Surely there are enough characteristics in that list for us to use here in an evaluation of the hypothetical bitch being considered.
Studying her, we will probably find that she has many shortcomings and faults, that she is more or less, "just another dog" of her breed. To the non-critical and uneducated eye she might be called "pretty," and is easily recognizable as a specimen of her particular breed. She might have done, or be capable of doing, some winning, even placing above superior specimens at times for one reason or another. Yes, she may even be a Champion for, as we all know, "holes" can be found in even the best of such title holders, and no absolutely perfect specimen of any breed has ever been produced, or is likely to be!
Know Faults to Breed for Correction!
For the purpose of our present study, we must center our attention on several faults in type or structure possessed by this bitch, so we can go about breeding her for correction and over-all improvement. I shall select topline, fore-assembly (the entire shoulder structure composed of shoulder blade and upper arm, the length of those bones, as well as their placement one with the other ?the angle made where they join) and, as the third structural characteristic to be considered, rear angulation.
I have selected these three for several reasons but mainly because the proper formation of these is the most important in the make-up of the greatest percentage of dog varieties, as well as the ones most often found to be faulty.
No more than a cursory glance at our bitch indicates to the knowledgeable fancier of her breed that she is "soft in back"뾲hat is, she has a dip in her topline, the back between her shoulder blades and hips being lower than either. When trotted, her back "bounces" instead of holding steady and firm as it should in order to insure no loss of power as it is transmitted from the rear to the front.
So, since we find this bitch to be somewhat soft in back, we will want to mate her to correct this fault in her progeny, or at least in most of her grandchildren. Closer inspection, necessitating perhaps the use of our hands, divulges a too short and "steep" shoulder blade. Instead of being long and well laid back, or put on "obliquely", as many Standards state, this one, we find, is too perpendicular.
Likewise, as in the matter of topline, the third fault in our bitch is quite easily observable뾱he hasn뭪 sufficient rear angulation, is "too straight in the rear." A full explanation of this as well as the two above-mentioned faults would necessitate the use of all the space allotted to this article.
Besides, I have explained earlier that until a breeder is fully conversant with what constitutes idealized perfection, as well as faults and shortcomings in his breed, he should not attempt, or at least expect, to consistently produce outstandingly good specimens. I must therefore presuppose a complete knowledge on the part of my readers of ALL facets pertaining to the three structural faults listed above, and possessed by our mythical bitch.
Because, amongst the 14 animals in her immediate pedigree, there does not appear the same dog뭩 name more than once, it would not be likely that we could determine from which, or any several of them, came one or more of her faults.
If we DO know that either the sire or dam, or any others amongst her ancestors, did have one or more of the faults mentioned, then we most certainly do not want that dog or dogs in the pedigree of the mate we select for her if we can possibly avoid it. Should such be unavoidable, then that animal should be so far back in the pedigree as to make its influence negligible.
Having a hit-or-miss bred bitch with which to start and one with such a complexity of faults, we must consider her as only a seed bed the "ground" in which to plant the improved seed (sperm) of a male who, in particular, is correct in the places where she is faulty and without other and perhaps as bad shortcomings. We must also try to find one who not only possesses these correct attributes himself, but comes from dogs who had them.
We should also select a stud who is preferably inbred, or at least quite strongly line-bred, so that the strength such breeding gives to his prepotency will most likely insure his dominance in the mating pair.
Favorite Breeding Practice for Superior Stock
There is a favorite breeding theory, or system, used by successful breeders of many varieties of animals. It usually eventuates in superior stock IF the male selected is himself an outstanding specimen, nearly faultless, and has such progenitors. It goes as follows: "Let the sire of the sire be the grandsire of the dam, on the dam뭩 side."
Does that seem complicated? A look at the above pedigree will clarify it. The dog we are using (BB) has as his sire 0, while his dam P also has as her "grandsire on the dam뭩 side" the same dog 0.
Because the majority of dog breeders formulate no breeding plan and seldom if ever, when making a mating, consider how or what they will mate any of the resultant progeny, a stud bred such as the above dog is not common. As you will recognize, it takes some years of planned breeding to produce such a dog.
In the absence of a stud with such bloodlines, those with modifications of it can be used. As one example amongst many, the sire of the sire might be the grandsire of the dam on the SIRE뭆 side, instead of on the dam뭩. Another: the sire selected might be the result of either a full or a half brother and sister mating, and thus inbred. And so we might go on listing differing formulas indicating inbreeding and line breeding.
The point I want to make, however, is that in selecting a mate for a faulty bitch whose wide-open pedigree offers no individual in it free of her faults, and dominant in correcting them, one must select as her mate a dog not only himself CORRECT where she is failing, but through some intensity of corrective blood is dominant.
Foundation on Which Worth Is Built
I feel it well to interject here that "paper breeding" is not alone the answer, any may be dangerous뾦n case I haven뭪 made it sufficiently clear heretofore that:
"Physical compensation is the foundation rock upon which all enduring worth must be built."
It therefore goes without saying that we have selected stud BB not only because of his line-breeding on 0, but also because both he AND 0 are correct where the bitch AA is faulty.
It has not seemed practical for the purpose of this article to become involved with listing dogs further back in the pedigrees than are given. However it is worthy of note that in the ancestry of our stud RB there are lines running in the fourth and later generations to top quality as well as top-winning males and bitches.
Two studs and one bitch, for instance, appear three or more times back of the 3rd generation, and all three were eminently strong in the sections where our bitch is weak. The male 0, as an example, goes back with three lines to the great dog we will designate as UU and four times to one of the best bitches ever produced in the breed, ZZ.
The latter, incidentally, not only possessed a practically perfect fore-assembly, ideal rear angulation, and an un-criticizable topline, but, in turn, was a descendant of another "great" in the breed, one dubbed as "the dog with an iron back."
It would be unreasonable to expect that in this first generation produced from an entirely outcross-bred bitch with several faults, although sired by a line-bred male without them, we would get any, let alone all, of the resultant litter entirely "trouble-free." It is, however, reasonable to assume that one or more of the pups showed some, or a complete correction of one or all of the dam뭩 faults. Why?
Because, as we have pointed out, the sire through his line breeding should be somewhat dominant over the "seed bed" in which his sperm was placed. As all experienced dog breeders know, such a mating as outlined above does sometimes produce considerable improvement over the dam, with some or most of the puppies resembling the sire a great deal more than their dam.
So that we can proceed with this projected breeding plan, in which we found it necessary to start with such a foundation head as described above, and attempt to "breed up" from her, we must go on, using the best of what we have obtained for this first mating.