[Dailydrool] Line Breeding vs. In Breeding

[Sandi Wittenberg]

Breeding a mother to son, father to daughter, brother to sister is called
in-breeding.  Most reputable breeders will not breed that closely.  While it
*can* accentuate desirable traits, it is more likely to breed problems.  It
is not something we would do intentionally.  Sometimes an "oops" breeding
occurs, especially when a female has what is called a *silent* season, one
without any external signs, although we have not had one (thank goodness!).

Line breeding is different from inbreeding.  Line breeding involves breeding
relatives but they are more distantly related.  Perhaps the best example of
line breeding is what is called a "King's Ranch" breeding, based on a
breeding program perfected in thoroughbred horses on King's Ranch.  The
premise of this breeding is to breed a male whose sire is the grandsire of
the female on her mother's side.  In breeders terms: the sire of the sire is
the grandsire of the dam on the dam's side.  We recently did a breeding of
this type (too early to tell if there are puppies!)  -- Johnny was bred to
Chrissie.  Johnny's father was Morey.  Chrissie's grandfather, on her
mother's side, was Morey.  In human terms, it is a maternal uncle to a
niece.  This degree of distance is *safe* in terms of genetics and still
preserves the desirable traits.  Of course, you have to look at the dogs
themselves also - temperament, health, structure, etc.  before you do any
breeding.  It is not a clear cut issue - there are many variables that have
to be carefully considered.  Also, to maintain a broad enough gene pool,
most breeders *go out* and breed to a line outside of their own lines from
time to time, simply to prevent the breeding from being *too tight* and to
provide more stability to the breeding program.  That is why it is so
important to know history, pedigrees, health of ancestors, temperament of
ancestors - not just who is the *prettiest* or who is the top winner this
year.  

I am sure there are other breeders who can add more clarity to this.

 

Sandi Wittenberg - Red Bay Bassets

sandi at redbaybassets.com

 

 

 

 

 

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