Selecting a stud - Page 1

Trying to divide a complex questions into many smaller ones, and one of them is: What are your opinions on close line breeding (2,3) which may produce most pups that may inherit most undesirable traits of their parents and all other disadvantages of close linebreeding (i.e. crapped pups), but may have one excellent pup that inherit all the best qualities of its parents/ancestry; vs outbreeding where there is no linebreeding between the parents and the outcome may be rather uncertain. my past litters have been linebred but never that close.

A close linebreeding is always a risk. As you have stated, you get not just the really good, but also the really bad. You must look at ALL of the dogs that are linebred upon also, and ask yourself why you are wanting to do this breeding. One excellent puppy and 6 terrible ones -- is it really worth it? I personally don't think so. As far as a complete outcross goes, I think that's becoming more and more popular as dogs end up with more and more problems. I personally have opted for this a couple of times, and had results that I was happy with. No, the littermates do not all look the same, with same anatomy and color--BUT they were all healthy, and that's the most important to me. The more issues dogs seem get with allergies, ear problems, testicle problems, genetic disorders, etc, the more likely it is that people will begin doing more outcrossings to get rid of some of those undesirable traits. That's not to say that it's the answer, but it certainly COULD be the road to the solution! :) Just my opion.....

Thanks VomFelsenHof. I remember reading somewhere that some breeders alternate a generation outcross, then the next generation really close linebred (2-3). Wonder if that help to eliminate some of the linebred problem. Some would say one Marko della Valcuvia is far better than many mediocre dogs.