Breeding philosophy - Page 2

I agree working ability starts with good genetics and then enviroment has to finish the job.  The best genetics won't do you any good without the correct environment for them to be expressed. 

For me Health always has to be number one.  What difference does it make what your dog can do if their life is short, wracked with pain or hobbled?  This is one of the deciding factors for me when deciding on a breeder.  And breeder comments on subjects like this are quite often what I look at when making my decisions.  Regardless of what they say on the phone if it appears like it is more about bringing glory to themselves in a ring then it is about the dog, Then I will always pass.

 

Reggie

1 temperment

2 health

3 structure

4every other thing in the dog that i would like , you can train dog to do any thing you want , if you know how to do it

A good temperament did no good for my first GSD, he was a fabulous dog, never met a stranger yet protected me on a camping trip. What good did it do him? He was tormented by scratching 24/7. Had  secondary bacterial infections on his abdomen, ear pinnas, and back that didn't respond to meds. Then he developed a chronic bacterial sinusitis requiring 2 surgeries, multiple cultures and sensitivities and about every antibiotic known to man. He still sneezed blood and mucus every minute of the remaining 3 1/2 years of his short life; we carried a roll of paper towels with us everywhere we went with him. Then he developed lymphosarcoma, a form of canine leukemia. He was clearly an immune cripple with a compromised immune system.  We still opted for chemo hoping for the best outcome, but he was refactory to the chemo and the oncologist had to use a rescue protocol to send him into remission. He got sick from the poison and the cancer returned in a month.  We knew he was dying, we opted to not treat him again.

Then we took him on his final camping trip, he loved camping. His last act was defending me in a dark campground in a national forest by barking and running off an intruder waving a knife. That happened just 10 days after he went out of remission; he was weak and thin, but he got the job done without any protection training. Again, this was a dog who loved every man he ever encountered .....until then. 2 weeks later he died.

He might not have had the temperament to ever earn an IPO degree or be a K-9, but even if he had, what good would it have done him because his health issues would have prevented him for doing it anyway?  Without a healthy dog, you have absolutely nothing no matter how good the dog is on a sleeve, sniffing out drugs, or bringing down the bad guy.

Not a breeder, but this is what I tend to look for in a dog. I also believe that when someone breeds they should have the dogs welfare in mind, first and foremost. As Blitzen basically said, what good is life if they are riddled with health issues? Who cares how well they bite a sleeve if they are living in misery?

 

Health

Temperment

Workability/Trainability & Versatility

Longevity

Structure (the kind I like, that is)

Color

 

Plenty of people will throw a fit about color (and possible structure) being on my list, but if I'm going to spend the kind of money that a lot of these dogs cost, I want the total package... and that includes good looks, even if it is at the bottom of the list! :)

Since I'm not a breeder, I need to acquire my dogs from breeders. These are the things I want from a breeder I'm going to purchase the creatures that become part of me from:

Regardless of the purpose of the breeding, there are three non-negotiable points which are of equal importance: Health [which includes physical and mental soundness].. Temperament. Longevity. There can be no compromising on any of these three facets--all must be present, and all must be more than just scratching the surface of 'adequate', too. Any dog that lacks these is NOT suitable for use as breeding stock, no matter what. There are far, far too many other GSDs that DO possess all of these traits to justify allowing any dogs that don't to reproduce. [Longevity, of course, generally being projected  based on the vitality and lifespan of the dogs behind the breeding prospect, but I have absolutely no qualms about getting a dog that comes from a sire and/or dam that have already entered their early senior years, are still suitably sound and are healthy--those dogs are showing us direct evidence of their longevity and vitality when they're still producing normal, healthy offspring in that phase of their lives].

After the three set-in-stone, must-have qualities come the more negotiable ones: Biddability, work ethic, conformation and aesthetics [coat type/length, color, ear size & set]. Biddability and work ethic can swap back and forth as far as ranking goes, though I'd prefer a dog with a strong work ethic that leaned more toward being independant or hard-headed than I would want a dog that was biddable but lazier than a three-toed sloth. Finally, conformation is less critical IMO, as the chances are good that if the non-negotiable triad is hewed to and the dog is physically sound, the conformation will be sufficienty serviceable. Of least importance are the aesthetic points--though again, with the sheer number of GSDs in existence, there is zero justification in using animals that don't at the very least meet the breed standard with regard to coat, coloration, ears, and expression--but beyond that, these traits are far less important when considering a breeding program.

IMO, ".....being biddable and lazier than a three toed sloth." is a contradiction in terms.

biddable means to be willing to do what ever some one is wanting you to do.  It also means easily taught.  So I'm assuming that hexe was referring to the later part of easily taught.  But then again my thinking would be that easily taught would also not be a lazy dog.  And I totally agree that someone out there is breeding according to what a person would be looking for.  Which in itself is both positive and negative.  Partly it accounts for so many of the problems in the GSD because not everyone shares the same priorities.  But it is also positive in that someone out there will have what you want if you research and there is honest communication realizing that not every breeder is going to satisfy every buyer.  Which is also partly why we have so many beware of breeder posts on here.

 

Reggie

When a person breeds dogs for money, all bets are off as to quality and soundness- both physical and mental.

Joan

that is precisely why I want the breeder to be looking for their next great one for themselves out of that litter and not just litter number 26 for the year.