Breeding dogs is simple?

Part 1

Breeding dogs is simple. You put a male and female dog together and they do what nature tells them to do if the timing is right. Nature dictates that when the bitch smells right, the dog knows it is time to do the deed, and if all goes as he (and she) hope, the tie happens.

But is it that simple? Beyond the obvious facts that we want the puppies to be purebreds, meaning the parents should be the same breed, and that the pups should have the pedigrees and registration criteria that they are registerable, what more is there?

 To the novice conformation breeder getting into this sport and ready for their first litter, it is pretty black and white. You want both parents to have the basic four clearances and they should physically be good representatives of the breed per the written breed standard. Finishing their championship seems to cover the latter. In the novice’s mind, choosing a big winning stud dog will most likely up the chances that any show puppies in their litter will also have a good chance of being a big winner as well.

  I remember when I first started out in Goldens and conformation. I had a beautiful bitch and she finished rather easily, completely novice owner handled. She passed all of her clearances. I selected a stud dog with all his clearances who was a very sweet dog, had been used by experienced breeders, and had done some impressive winning as well. I don’t remember if I consciously thought this, but it really didn’t occur to me that any of the pups would have any problem with clearances. Afterall, the parents had clear eyes, hearts, and hips (elbows weren’t being done much then) and it seemed all would be fine.

  Without going into detail, there were pups in that litter that didn’t clear eyes. And then, at almost 5 years old and after her third breeding, my bitch failed eyes! After passing every year, this was a huge shock. But these events were part of my indoctrination into the fact that breeding is not simple! It is very complex. It is far more than two physically nice dogs with clearances getting together. It is far, far more than that!

  In retrospect, I think it was good that I had multiple issues in my first litter. It made me more determined to look into backgrounds of dogs being bred. And yes, I am referring to my own lines more so than any potential stud dog. While I would like to be able to say I have never produced any problems in any of my litters, I do feel that it was a good learning experience and helped me realize it is more than just two dogs. It is more than the basic clearances as outlined in our GRCA Code of Ethics. Breeding is a complex, multifaceted series of decisions, always changing and up for review. Breeding is about extensive research. Breeding is about trying to know what breeders you think are open and honest about their dogs and their lines. Breeding is about temperament and health issues we have no clearances for. Breeding is about entire families of dogs, not just mom and dad.

  If you were like me, as a novice breeder I really did think things were black and white. You never, ever bred a dog that didn’t have all of their clearances. The bottom line is that if the dog wasn’t a good representative of the breed and had ‘the big 4’, they should be promptly altered and never reproduce.

  But in reality, there are far more serious problems than ‘the big 4’. There are dogs that have failed each and every one of those issues and lived full lives with no signs of the disease and no quality of life problems. Not all, of course. Some dogs have heart issues that make them drop dead. Some dog have crippling dysplasias. And while the most common eye issue in Goldens (juvenile cataracts) do not cause any long term issues at all, there are other eye problems, like pigmentary uveitis, that cause blindness and loss of the eyes if left untreated. But quite seriously, any of these conditions in their milder form  (as they usually are in well bred dogs) or with proper treatment are probably less of a burden on the owner than issues we don’t have clearances for. There are dogs with chronic allergies, aggression to other dogs, aggression and/or fearfulness towards people, hyperactive temperaments, choking problems, and other issues that make life with them a serious and chronic problem for their owners. Those dogs may fly right through the screening for hips, eyes, heart, and elbows, but they are still not good pets. They may be beautiful. They may finish their championship easily and the owners find them  manageable with medicines or confinement. Worse yet, those lovely-on-the-outside dogs may be bred because they ARE lovely champions with all four clearances.

  I think this is very much an American mentality, as I understand it. I have noted that other countries often assign a sliding scale on the issues we Americans call pass/fail. Hip and elbow scores may be assigned a numerical value of excellence. What we call a failure, although a mild one, is called a ‘near normal’ elsewhere. In America , many people will never breed a Grade 1 elbow, even if there is no visible reason to them or their orthopedic vet there is a problem. In most other countries, Grade 1s are bred but they advise breed only to normals, and they say don’t breed higher grades or do so with extreme caution.

  We all want clear parameters. We want to be able to look at breeding with YES/NO answers. It is clean, easy, and doesn’t leave one open to problems, right? Unfortunately, it is wrong. If breeding only clear dogs produced only clear get, then why do we continue to screen? And why do we continue to have failures? In my opinion, there are far far more important breeding decisions than ‘the big 4’ and a championship. They are a start and certainly unequivocally important considerations, but if that is all your dog has, I’d much rather see a phenomenal dog in every other way with a minimal failure bred than an allergic, aggressive dog with ‘the big 4’.

  For many, this statement may be shocking. Most likely, for those who have never bred a litter or only a few, they will be especially appalled. For those who have been doing this for 10 years or so, you most likely know exactly what I mean even if you aren’t willing to say so publicly. 

  This column is the first in a series I plan to do as I explore and share some of my thoughts on breeding decisions. Your experiences and opinions will obviously vary from mine in many ways, but perhaps there will be things shared that will help some of you make more informed breeding choices. One thing for sure, though… I don’t think breeding is simple at all!

As always, I encourage anyone with ideas on issues I’ve discussed, or issues they would like to see addressed, to please share their thoughts with me. I can be reached at shilogr@yahoo.com  Thanks so much

Return to current conformation article