Page 56 - Chow LIfe - Winter 2018

the facts are gathered and studied the original list of been considered and taken together as a composite,
stud dogs will be shortened. a reasonable projection can be made about the
Seeing each of the final candidates first hand has potential value of each stud dog. For example, if
no substitute. Visit their kennels and watch them at there are no ancestors or littermates with the desired
shows. Remember that the skillful handling of dogs traits, and if nothing is known about their health
by paid professionals and the limited amount of time history or temperament there is little reason to
allowed a judge makes the show ring the second believe they will produce these traits. They should be
best place to see and evaluate them. Even the best of removed from the list or placed near the bottom.
breeders can miss an important fault that is carefully If Mendel were asked to suggest an approach he
hidden. It is always best to see them in a more would have begun by asking if the parents had
relaxed setting. Successful breeding programs always produced offspring consistent in size, shape and
analyze the information that has been collected. color because he knew from his experiments that
Four steps are generally used to check the desirability if the parents came from pedigrees that produced
of sires and dams: indifferent sizes, shapes and undesirable colors they
should not be expected to produce individuals that
1. Frequency of desired traits occurring among their would be similar each other or to their parents. He
ancestors (three-generation pedigree) discovered this simple truth in the 1860’s and it
2. Frequency of the desired traits found in their should not be ignored today. Illustrated in Figure 1,
littermates are 10 hypothetical candidates that were considered
3. Number of carriers or affected littermates or in a search for the best stud dog for a hypothetical
ancestors identified in a three generation pedigree bitch. At home breeders should develop a list the
4. Number of pups produced with desired traits defects and traits considered important to their
breed.
When all of the information from the checklist has

Figure 1. Check List and Candidates

Analysis of the Candidates characteristics. (6 out of 9 etc.). Sires # 2, 4, 8, 9 and
Dogs number 1, 5, 6 and 7 have the best health 10 should not be considered further unless more
histories and scored well on five of the six important information can be found. To use these 5 sires is
breed traits. They also ranked highest for having equivalent to breeding blind. At first glance, sire #
the best ratios of offspring that meet desired breed 3 looked like a promising candidate based on his
This page sponsored by
Phil & Vicki DeGruy, Thunderhill Chow Chows

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