by Rossignol » February 10th, 2011, 11:02 am
I may be the last person who should say anything, except that I'm going to speak from my own experiences and "learning curve" if you will. Not that there is really any room for a learning curve. Please allow my thorough lack of understanding and naivete early on be an example.
I grew up with AKC and law enforcement K9 trained Dobes. A breeding here and there wasnt too big a deal with my family, it wasnt very often. Sometimes pups went back into the law enforcement training.
Jenny (my wife) and I have had American Bulldogs for years now. Early on, we figured some conformation titles were enough to vouch for a quality breeding. Temperaments are excellent! Nice conformation too, good breathers, great dentition, good angulation and generally very good overall proportion to the standard.
However, conformation cant tell you about genetic issues. Only genetic testing can do that. Good muscle and athleticism can hide bad hips. And is the case with the standard for working dogs, can they work? Another issue is breeding away from the standard. I dont know enough about American Bullies, but are they judged by a different standard than pit bulls? They are vastly different in appearance which is why I ask. The same issues have come up with American Bulldogs too, with bigger heads and bodies, more wrinkles and the haws of the eyes visible and generally more mastiff in appearance. They were changed enough they no longer looked like the smaller more nimble working dog and another standard was established. Not a huge deal in its self accept that the changes have affected the overall health too. Breeding for color is another thing that leads to serious recessive health issues.
So we produced two litters. We produced one cow hocked dog, and a couple with bad eyes, one of which was put down. I replaced the dog, but not by doing another breeding. I allowed the owner to choose a pup from another breeder, and I paid for it. I realized, I'm not able to do the genetic testing and trialing my dogs in any work, though I have begun with some protection and weight pull, it isnt enough, not by the standards I have now set for myself. We have a 3 year old male which championed UKC at 10 mos old. He's not been bred nor will he be. I refuse to breed at this point. Our dogs are great, and perfect for us and our family, but we're content with taking them camping hiking and hunting.
I dont want to be preachy about breeding. There are however very right and wrong ways to do it, and I flatly refuse to do it the wrong way ever again. Far too much heartache, and I'm not the kind to cull hard.
Anyhow, my 2 cents, my experiences... and things I learned along the way after making mistakes. Lord knows I'm just sharing what I've been through and I'm in no position to tell someone else how to do it.
Thanks for taking the time to hear me out,
Brad.
http://www.stleathercraft.combrad@stleathercraft.com"I've seen a few men go The Road of the Righteous
And just a few have traveled This Old Lonely Path"
Dropkick Murphys
Of course there are loaded guns in the house. I have a loaded fire extinguisher too I hope I never have to use.