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As we have said several times in this site breeding in order to continue the aims of Herr Luis Dobermann must be undertaken so that they fulfil all three needs in a rounded Dobermann:
To achieve this we must look to the parents and their ancestors in each of these areas to ensure that the puppies a mating creates carries forward all of these aspects.
With health breeding is between adults whose own and ancestral health is tested an known to be without genetic disposition for health problems then this is the best a breeder can do in this area. Although it is surprising how many breeders still don’t tick this box.
With temperament the use of dogs that have passed the ZTP will ensure that temperament is correct in the parents and therefore correct in the progeny. For that reason we always ensure that a) One parent has the ZTP and b) the resulting puppies have the correct requirements in terms of paper work to undertake it. We have bred from females that have not past the ZTP as there is sometime a balance to be made between achieving all three criteria above. We would rather use a female without a ZTP that is healthy and of correct form than use one with a ZTP and health problems. Temperament of puppies is often improved through its developmental age and with one strong parent and good education a full temperament can result. This being said there is often no need to make this compromise at all.
With Form it is important to look at the female you wish to breed from and be honest with yourself, look for the faults or weaknesses that need improving on…remember there is no perfect dog. Then you must look for a dog that compliments your female as it is strong in the areas you identified as her weaknesses. The breed standard is an excellent guide to understand form and to assess you female against, however your show critics from judges should also be a good guide.
Below you will find our guidance points in trying to produce better pups and also in making the decision to breed at all.
- Don’t breed unless you are doing so in order to improve the breed.
- Only breed from animals that are worth breeding from, from good examples of the breed.
- Do not use stud dogs for their convenience. Invest into travelling to the best dog you can find. Do your research and find the best male, look at his off spring and see what he is producing to different females.
- Always be honest with your self about your dogs plus points and weaknesses.
- Know your pedigrees, understand the ancestral types, health, temperament and how these will or could carry through to the next generation you create.
- Breed for a total dog, not just one or two characteristics. A dog with a fantastic head and poor angulation is still a dog with poor angulation.
- Quality does not mean quantity.
- Think ahead line a game of Chess, where are you going with the lines you are creating or crossing what the next generations look like?
- If a dog looks great but doesn’t produce the same qualities in its off spring then it is not worth using.
- Traits are inherited equally from both parents so if you are crossing “types” you will have both types and mixes in the litter. If you want one “type” then stick to using dogs of that type.
- Don't allow personal feelings to influence your choice of breeding stock. The right dog for your breeding program is the right dog, whoever owns it.
- Don't be satisfied with anything but the best. The second best is never good enough.
Definitions:
In Breeding
In breeding is the mating of very close relatives, for example father to daughter, half brother to half sister, brother to sister, mother to son etc.
In breeding intensifies the faults as well as the strong points, so considerable discretion must be used in the choice of dogs when carting out such combinations. The faults can be created to such an extent that entire litters are born deformed and may even need to be put to sleep. Sometimes inbreeding is the only option available to maintain a trait, line or endangered species or breed however in breeding is not recommended for the novice breeder.
Line Breeding
Line breeding is the mating of dogs that have many common ancestors or a mating to a slightly removed relative e.g. Uncle to Niece or grand-sire to grand daughter etc.
The benefit of line breeding is the production of more consistent litters and the chance to reinforce desired characteristics and eliminate health problems. However, in order to do this as mentioned above you must know the pedigrees in great depth of the previous 5 generations for both sire and dam. Most breeders use line breeding as a compromise that finds consistency while avoiding the risks of inbreeding and uncertainty of out crossing or out breeding.
Out Crossing
Out crossing is the mating of two dogs that are the product of line breeding but of two distinctly separate lines.
Unless one of the two lines is strongly line breed with a strong possibility towards prepotency (stamping its type), the resulting progeny are unlikely to be uniform in the first generation. Out crossing is generally used to bring new or deficient traits into a line. These traits then need to be intensified through in or line breeding.
Out Breeding
Out breeding is the mating of dogs that are not only from two distinctly separate lines but also are not the result of line breeding. An example of this would be the mating of two out crossed dogs where 4 distinctly separate lines with no common ancestors made up the grandparents of this combination. Out breeding is rare as the existence of dogs with such different pedigrees that would be required to create such a mating rarely if ever exist.
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