Thread: What to breed to

I know know nothing of breeding and which bitch should go to which dog how far back and if grandaddy is ok to breed to grand daughter .How about a discussion on the merits of different lines and what would be your pick in line breeding or even out crossing dogs to make better lines and talents

look at as many dogs as you can, by look i mean watch them work.

line breeding is useful in retaining the good bits, but generations of it will also enhance the bad bits so a good linebreeding programme must be balanced with regular outcrossing to new bloodlines.
any genetic health problems need to identified and delt with in any breed, most of them are passed down, for many breeds this is the deal breaker, bad hips, eye problems and shit like EIC,vwd and epilepsy................. may not be an issue for setters or pointers.

i also pay attention to temp for my dogs, who wants to breed from a meat head for instance.

i wouldn't worry to much about using a grandfather over grand daughter or half siblings, but the dogs would have to be worth it and so long i outcrossed the next generation i don't see a problem.

Its interesting that no one says check the handler out before casting an opinion on a dog -meat heads are often a reflection of the trainer

the issue can run in lines, you always keep both eye's open............. blaming the handler can occur when ya spend too long staring at pedigrees and intend using the dog regardless...........can also apply for faults like hard mouth or jaw issues.

if I remember well my first Setter Berryfied Belle had bad skin allergy's -I gave her away

so looking overseas for a bitch are you just looking for lie winning ftc dogs

I know there's an agenda..... I just haven't worked it all out yet.... still watching....

No Ruff,were building a interesting knowledge based thread on the 'WHY'S' of breeding

Step one.

Start buying plane tickets. Go see dogs.

ideal world that would be nice but not always possible .this is more about what you look for in making a choice in a desirable animal to breed with

That's like asking someone to explain religion in a post.

It's very complicated and half (or more) of what people say is opinion, myth, bullshit or all of the above. Care to narrow it down?

Do some independent research, basic genetics is a good start if you aren't already familiar with it as many genetic problems are inherited by simple mendelian recessives so it's important to know how all that works.

RCGSP that's the point of this thread really,your opinions and thoughts on the subject . Not looking for one opinion but everyone's thoughts that we can all consider

That's a very, very complicated subject to address in a post. A while ago I wrote out my thoughts on another forum but I'm not on there any more so I can't pull it up and I don't really feel like typing it all out again at the moment.

In short linebreeding is important. The best dogs often come from outcrosses but only outcrosses of linebred dogs. Outcrossing is unsustainable in the long term.

When you outcross dogs, outcross to a linebred dog strong in the traits you are trying to add.

Breeding is about more than mating the best dogs. It's about mating dogs with strengths that compliment each other and careful selection of offspring.

As a general rule if you don't want to breed it back to the line, it shouldn't be bred.

Every line has problems. Anybody who says their line doesn't have any problems is either full of shit or is unaware of the problems. Outcrossing hides problems, it doesn't eliminate them.

Being very daring poping in here... My approch to most things KISS
Why not take a look at the local breeders of well knowen lines, grab a pup, help them out with there breeding programs

Edit, unless your looking to start your own stud,my thought is if you are just looking for a good dog or 2 to hunt with

That's a very good approach, moonhunt, as long as you hook up with the right person