D o g B r e e d i n g
There
are essentially three kinds of crosses in dog breeding; they are inbreeding,
outcrossing, and linebreeding. Let me say a few words about each.
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Inbreeding
is the breeding of two closely related dogs. An example would be a father-daughter
or brother-sister mating. Inbred puppies are more likely to have genetic
diseases than are any other kind of puppies. Inbreeding is generally practiced
by inexperienced breeders, or by people who happened to buy two puppies
from the same litter and later want more dogs. Although it is possible
that some good characteristics of both parents will show up in their puppies,
it is also possible that some minor flaws of both parents will become worse
in the puppies. In some cases, the parents may have mild versions of diseases
and the puppies are severely affected.
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Outcrossing
is the breeding of two nonrelated dogs, or in a rarer breed like mine,
it is the breeding of two distantly related dogs. Outcrossing is the safest
type of cross, but it can be problematic because it is difficult to predict
characteristics of the puppies of such a cross. In a breeding, traits that
don't seem to be linked to each other can actually interact and produce
an entirely new (and sometimes undesirable) type. A very extreme example
of outcrossing occurs when dogs of different breeds mix, such as a puppy
with a poodle dad and a schnauzer mom. This particular outcross produces
a dog of known type with the super-cool name "schnoodle," but the puppies
are definitely neither schnauzers nor poodles. A schnoodle, however, is
less likely to have genetic diseases that are common in either poodles
or schnauzers, so this "mutt" is often healthier than a purebred dog. This
is one reason that a lot of people prefer mutts over purebreds!
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Linebreeding
is somewhere between inbreeding and outcrossing. An example of a linebred
dog would be me! Remember that my dad is Raisin Pie? Well, look at my mom's
half of my pedigree and you will see that Pie is also Ada's great-grandfather.
This is because my breeders think my dad is an excellent example of a toy
Manchester and that he has lots of positive characteristics that they would
like to enhance in their lines. Since my dad shows up twice in my pedigree,
it is expected that I will be a lot like him. Also in my pedigree, notice
that my maternal grandmother, Just Amber, and my paternal grandfather,
Action Jackson, are brother and sister. These dogs are superior Manchesters,
so the Walkers had to plan several breedings ahead to get their exceptional
line represented twice in me. If you study my pedigree carefully, you will
be able to see many more examples of linebreeding, like aunt-nephew crosses.
This is why linebreeding is difficult and not for everyone! To further
confuse things, the difference between linebreeding and inbreeding is very
subtle, so it is hard for a novice breeder to know how closely related
the parents can be before the puppies stop showing the enhanced good characteristics
and start showing enhanced bad ones.
A lot of
people have asked Lora and Andi if they are planning to breed me sometime
in the future. You can see that responsible dog breeding is more than mating
a male with just any female! They think they have a lot to learn before
they start adding to the toy Manchester pool. And don't forget, there is
only one coat color and type for toy Manchesters. In some breeds, coat
color and coat length must be considered in a breeding. Doberman pinschers,
for example, have four correct coat colors, and collies have two coat lengths.
German shepherd, dachshund, and fox terrier breeders, among others, have
to consider coat color, length, and texture. It is definitely due to the
careful attention of dog fanciers that breeds like mine have survived true
to type for hundreds of years!
Click
here to go back to my pedigree.
Click
here to go back to my mom and dad.
Click
here to go back to my home.