Good afternoon everyone,
I have a couple of questions in relation to breed standards. When you decide to breed a dog is it because he/she is a good example and they resemble (if thats the word to use) the standard? If you have a litter from two fantastic dogs are the pups guaranteed to be excellent aswell? Do you even consider your dogs conformation and if they have satisfactory health checks is this enough to go ahead with the breeding? Do you all feel that you should show your dogs and if they are successful then breed and if not don't. I know its all about the dogs chosen complimenting each other so if this is the case do you use a dog that may have faults, but is excellent in other ways? If so is it bad to breed a dog with faults and has not been successful in the show ring? Sorry about all the questions but I would like to know how you all decide whether or not to breed based on the standard.

Hi guest - you've raised some interesting questions! The first thing to bear in mind is that all dogs have faults - there is not one single 'perfect example' of any breed anywhere in the world. But that is what responsible breeders are striving to attain. Genetics, however, is a very complex subject, and just because both parents are fantastic there is no guarantee that there offspring will take after them in all respects.

Showing the dogs is about the best way to get an objective view of how good quality a dog is. If it is consistently placed by different judges, then it may well be worth breeding from. If it is almost never placed, then really it's an 'also-ran'. What an animal like this may still have to offer the future of the breed, though, is excellent health. If it passes its relevant breed health tests supremely well it may still be worth breeding from, but you would have to be even more selective in the choice of mate.

The sort of animal that should never be considered for breeding is one who has been unsuccessfully shown and whose health checks have been unsatisfactory.

Hope this helps a bit.
:)

There is only one comment I'll make.

Breeders, ALL BREEDERS, are the custodians of the breed. Into their hands is entrusted the future of the breed. They can only breed with what the breeders of the last generation left for them and the breeders of the next generation can only breed with what we leave. If all we leave are sickly cripples, a pale shadow of the former specimen, what a terrible legacy.

Regards, John

I agree John. Which is why we should only be breeding from the best, not just dogs that have been bought as pets. Then to mate them with no knowledge of pedigrees or history of the breed,to the nearest (own) dog is a recipe for disaster. Another generation sold to unsuspecting homes, who "only want a pet"!
I also agree with Jeangenie, but I expect to produce health and quality when I breed a litter!
I despair at times, and try hard not to post about breeding, as it is something that I feel passionately about.

The difficulty with any breeding 'to type' or to a written standard is that it is much too easy to get away from the purpose of the breed. The KC breed standard's are produced by the individual breed councils who are primarily show folk.
Our breed, the Whippet, currently has 3 main functions in this country.
There are show dogs which tend to be relatively strongly built and many will say overweight. Some of the show stock exceed the breed standard height - the argument then becomes as to which should be changed ie the breed or the standard.

There are dogs used for organised coursing which are often show stock or show bred.

Then there are racing whippets which in itself can be split to pedigree and non-ped. The pedigree racing dogs however are not the same as the show stock (that is NOT meant as an inflamatory statement for racing readers) the qualities needed for racing dogs is different to that for show stock. I could not envisage a show dog doing any winning on the race track or vice versa, but show dogs may do well on the coursing field.
Then there are non-peds which are primarily racing machines bred solely for function and not for looks. The breeders of these dogs will use crosses to other breeds eg greyhounds or bedlingtons to get speed and keep the dogs below the required weight.

Finally (I know I said 3 but there are really 4 functions) there are the dogs bred solely for rabbiting ratting etc. which could be described as 'whippet like' rather than whippets although I am sure their owners would say they are whippets.

I have tried not to be inflamatory and apologise if anyone finds the comments such.

Dawn