breeding - Page 1

How much input does female have on pup.as far as passing on traits

Trevor, it's 50/50, just like in any other mating involving a male and a female.

If you have to ask this question, I really hope you are not planning to start breeding dogs anytime soon. You have a LOT of learning to do!


If you study old pedigrees, you may wind up thinking the male was far more important. The distaff side of the pedigree is often missing or very sparsely filled out, and very, very few of the females are titled.

Sunsliver is totally correct and i want to add that since the female carries and birth's the litter plus does all the work to raise them, she probably has much more influence on them than their sire ever will. He's just donation half the genetic material to make the puppies.
And your not "just" breeding the animal in front of you, you have to consider the dogs behind then because those genes may or maynot still be present and available to influence the pup.
Fry

This is a great topic and one I'd love to check in on...I am lucky in that I get to travel to Europe to test and select dogs...I usually go looking for dogs for Police Work or Sport and for most people I am looking for Males...because this is what they want...However...As I'm looking for dogs for others I am always looking for GOOD FEMALES...I don't mean mediocre females...I mean TOP females in Working Ability and Structure...Most breeders won't sell their GOOD females...They will always offer you something else...Over the years I have been lucky enough to get excellent females...with everything I want for the breed...Most important is great character...working ability and structure...
My feelings on the question about how much a female offers to a breeding is that of course they offer 50% of the genes but they do offer much much more...they whelp the litter...they nurse them...and they teach them so much more...they teach them many things that will be needed throughout their life...
But as long as I have a GOOD female I can find a good male anywhere...I mean there are many more GOOD males that can offer good genes then there are GOOD females that will bring a good litter into life and give them a great start to life...
I also think that there is way too much Line-Breeding...I think we need to diversify and keep the gene pool open...

~Bob~
 

It is not 50/50 .. more like 60% mother .. as pointed out by others the mother carries the puppies in her uterus and her hormones and body chemistry affects the pups in the womb.  The mother also contributes mitochondrial DNA which can and does pass on epigenetic traits.  The mothers milk also has hormones and growth factors/antibodies (colostrum for example) that influence growth and development after birth.  There have been some studies suggesting that the hormones in the mothers milk can influence skeletal development (hips).  The sire or father may contribute 50% of the DNA but the mother or dam contributes much more to the end product of a mating than does the sire.  The switching on and off of genes that determine many traits is done both in utero and after birth and the mother has the greatest role in this as a parent.  The environment quickly takes center stage in development after birth but to say that both sire and dam contribute equally to the genetic potential of a puppy is not correct.  Good females are much more important than good males to a breeder.  Great females are the foundation for any breeding program.