“Nothing in the world is as important to the breeding program as the
selection of the breed bitch.”
–
Born to Win, by Patricia V.
Craige
Five points should be considered when selecting a
quality brood or a foundation bitch:
1.1
Breed
type:
Different breeders may interpret breed type
differently. This interpretation is a personal
opinion, not a reflection of who is right or wrong.
Breed type includes “Form and Function”
“In
the Siberian Husky’s breed standard, MODERATE and
MEDIUM are mentioned 18 times”
–
The Siberian husky Breed Focus by
Thomas L. Oelschlager
Basically, MODERATE and MEDIUM represent the
Siberian husky breed type or characteristics. Each
breed has a different breed type (form and
function), which is used to identify the breed.
For
instance, Afghanistan is a mountainous country,
therefore Afghan Hounds have steep pelvis because
they excel in running uphill. However, the Siberian
Husky should have normal pelvis because the Siberian
Husky was imported into Alaska to be a sled dog who
moves at a moderate speed. Due to this fact, their
structure is more towards speed and endurance. Steep
pelvis is a disadvantage to endurance dogs.
Remember, when selecting a bitch for breeding, the
breeder should never select one with no breed
characteristics to fulfill the breeding goal, even if
she is the only bitch in the kennel. A quality brood
bitch must have correct breed type.
1.2
Soundness:
“Soundness
is fitness to function.”
–
K-9 Structure & Terminology by Edward M. Gilbert, Jr. &
Thelma R. Brown
Breed type and soundness can never be separate in
the breed because breed type represents “form and
function” and soundness represents “fitness to
function”. Each breed has its original functions.
Dogs from each breed are required to have soundness
to perform this function. Soundness also includes
health. Likewise, breeders should never pick a
working dog for breeding just because it is healthy
when the bitch cannot perform her original breed
function.
1.3
Anatomy, behavior and movement (phenotype):
“Anatomy
is a branch of biology that is the consideration
of the structure of living things.” –
Wikipedia
Canine anatomy is essential to breeding and is not
only about structure. It includes the
cardiovascular, digestive, endocrine, urinary,
immune, integumentary, lymphatic, muscular, nervous,
reproductive, respiratory and skeletal systems. But
at the dog shows, judges are only be able to judge
on skeleton, muscles, temperament and movement.
A
quality brood bitch must have correct structure. It
is almost impossible to radically correct some
structural faults (such as shoulder placement) in
only one to two generations.
However, an ordinary
bitch without any obvious virtues should not be
picked for breeding just because she does not have
any obvious structural fault. Remember, breeding
quality is hard.
A
bitch should have a stable temperament with
intelligence because she is like a model of behavior
for her puppies. Therefore, any aggressive bitch
should not be selected in the breeding program.
Movement is another very important element to
consider when selecting a quality brood bitch. Up
to the time of weaning, the
dam is the main influence on her offspring. Puppies
always learn from their dam, and this includes
movement. If the bitch does not have correct
movement such as a restricted stride, topline with
up and down motion when moving, incorrect
single-track movement and etc, put her in a loving
pet home and never breed her.
1.4
Pedigree (genotype):
When planning breeding, whether the dogs in the
pedigree are Champions or not does not mean much for
reproduction without analysis. The purpose of the
pedigrees is to allow breeders to analysis the
traits of the dogs in that pedigree and to see how
they can be passed on to the next generation.
Genotype determines the individual’s hereditary
traits. Genotype and phenotype are of equal
importance in breeding. For instance, even though
sire and dam have correct tail set that shows a
correct phenotype to breeders, it tells nothing
about genotype to breeders and some of their puppies
may still have an incorrect tail set. This is why
breeders need to have some basic understanding of
genetics and must be prepared to do a lot of
homework about the traits of each dog in the
pedigree for selecting a quality bitch.
1.5
Reproductive records:
It
is important to record the reproductive history of
the bitch and her family because it will be a very
useful reference tool in the future to evaluate the
producing of the bitch. The following reproductive
records should be considered when selecting a
quality brood bitch. The first two points are
related to show wins.
Despite the fact
that the show ring is not a perfect place to test
animals’ quality, it is all that there is.
1) The percentage of her offspring to become
champions (including conformation title, obedience
title, endurance title, etc). For instance, both
Bitch A and Bitch B are the best to compliment the
stud dogs in regards to phenotype and genotype.
Bitch A has 3 litters, producing 8 puppies. Among
her puppies, 5 of those become Champions. Therefore,
62.5% of her offspring are Champions. Bitch B also
has 3 litters, but producing 21 puppies. Among her
puppies, 8 of those become Champions. Therefore,
38.1% of her offspring are Champions. It is clear to
see which bitch is a better quality brood bitch for
this dog.
2) For conformation shows the percentage of her
offspring to get Best In Show, Group wins, group
placement and specialties wins should be considered.
3)
A study on whether the bitch can produce
better male offspring or female offspring.
4)
A study on the reproductive records of the
bitch of the sire’s dam.
5)
Did the bitch produce any genetic conditions
in her offspring?
