Question about dog breeding

[REEFRAKER]

I have a male lab with real good blood lines. A friend of mine wants to use him to breed his female with a blood line thats not very good. Would this hurt his possible future breeding value?

[jbdragon17]

Just my opinion, but you might not want to breed a dog just because it has real good blood lines. Especially not to one with "not very good" lines. If you question it...maybe it is not so good of an idea.

[WaveWacker]

Are the females eyes and hips certified (I would recommend that you get your males done as well)? If so then I would probably make the call on how "good" is the female in the field. If she is "good" then I'd have no problem breeding to her.

[rundrave]

Ive done alot of studying and reading lately on breeding dogs. It played a big role in how I determined who I would buy my recent puppy from.

It is my opinion that those who advocate breeding birddogs without regard for lines are effectively proposing that bird hunters entrust the development of their performance dogs to the whims of random chance. Successful breeding is a long and difficult task. It requires several years commitment to a particular line of dogs.

[LABS4ME]

The purpose of any breeding is to advance the breed. Not just to make puppies. If the breeding you are considering does not make the breed stronger, there is no purpose in doing the breeding. There are PLENTY of puppies out there. Too many... everybody "has the best dog" and wants to breed them, but we need to look past our egos and ask if it's best for the breed to complete the breeding. Open the paper and count the number of lab litters in their on any given day. It's one of the reasons I've scaled way back on my breedings from one every other year to one every 3rd or 4th year. I can't compete with all the $250-$300 dogs out there. I even see quality breedings discounting good pups at 10 weeks old to $300 just to move them. That is sad!

I agree that at a minimum, every dog should have their hips, elbows and eyes cleared before they are even considered potential candidates to be bred. Why breed and create puppies that become a problem for their new owner when they come up lame or blind by the age of 6? I've seen it happen all to often, even to this day! If a breeder can't even make that as a minimum investment in the future of the pups, they shouldn't be making puppies.

Any breeding completed by the male will not hurt his "breeding value". There is no relevance from one breeding to the next. What you will find is there will probably not be a lot of breeding value with a dog that does not hold titles. That is not to say you will not find people who would want to breed their dog to yours, it's just that titled dogs demand a high price to be bred and are sought out to be stud dogs. Typically stud fees are $700-$2000 depending on the dogs accomplishments. Dogs who have nice pedigrees but remain untitled hold little value as they cannot prove their ability unless they are personally known. Stud fees are generally $100-$400 depending on the lineage and if the dog is 'known' to be a good field dog and if it has been cleared for inherited disorders.

Good Luck!

Ken

[311Hemi]

To add to Kens post (good post BTW).....I would also include that the labs should be tested for CNM and EIC. The test for EIC should be available in the next few months and I don't think I will buy another pup with it being tested for this.

[GSPMark]

I have a pair of dogs with a line of 50 champions breed together to get to them not a un-titled dog in there. Would I breed the female to a lesser dog? No way. Would I breed the male? Yes, if the female dog is registered and health certified. If the people that have worked hard to build a solid line of dogs and improve the breed are un-willing to breed their male dogs to lesser lines how could any breeder start the process to improve the dogs that they have.

[GSPMark]

I have a pair of dogs with a line of 50 champions breed together to get to them not a un-titled dog in there. Would I breed the female to a lesser dog? No way. Would I breed the male? Yes, if the female dog is registered and health certified. If the people that have worked hard to build a solid line of dogs and improve the breed are un-willing to breed their male dogs to lesser lines how could any breeder start the process to improve the dogs that they have.

[LABS4ME]

Breeding a lesser male to a greater female is no different than breeding a lesser female to a greater male (except in sales). Lines are lines be it from the Stud or the Dam. 50% of the genes come from the male and 50% come from the female. The "studs" genes aren't dominant. They have no more or no less bearing on the outcome of the pups than the "Dams".

Good Luck!

Ken

[REEFRAKER]

Thanks for your input. You guys brought up some things I didn't think of.