by Rick Beauchamp
I’ve been
wondering a lot lately if the old practice of making a breeding to create "the next
step" is a relic of the past? It appears litters are now bred primarily to get
"something to show." Correctness does not seem to be as much an issue as is the
current winning "look.." There was a day when breeders were so dedicated to
their breed that they were fully prepared to take several temporary steps back in order to
give their line a permanent step forward. This may be another case of "that was then
and this is now," but I hope not.
A number of years back
"chocolate" Cocker Spaniels (actually they are liver colored) were enough to
send chills through the veteran Cocker breeder-narrow muzzles, flat skulls, high-set and
thick ears, yellow eyes. All those faults, along with short necks and buffalo style
shoulders made us wonder just why anyone would want to keep them. One could get correct
type blacks in a litter while the litter mate chocolates were of disastrously poor type.
Still their fanciers persevered and then occasionally a chocolate would come along that
looked somewhat like a Cocker should. Again those that fancied the color kept on.
Eventually there was a crossover-black type, brown color.
It did not happen overnight,
and the percentage of showable specimens resulting from the interim breedings was always
small. But it did happen after sacrificing many generations of "show dogs." Now
the good chocolates can stand along side good ones of any of the varieties. In fact, in my
somewhat experienced opinion, one of the best American Cockers being shown today is, in
fact, a chocolate.
The Long Road Back
There have also been cases in
which a breed, a color or a characteristic has slipped so far away from correct type there
has been nothing available domestically to take it back to the source. The last resort was
to turn to a foreign import to help the breed back to where it should be. "Of
course," you might say, "definitely the smart thing to do." But let us stop
and take a good look at the picture. When a whole breed has gone far afield from its
origins, bringing in something that harks back to where the breed should be takes more
courage than you might imagine. Don’t forget, these imports, in some cases
representing what in fact is an entirely different look, will stand out like a sore thumb.
How many of today’s exhibitors would be willing to say, "We are all wrong, you
are the only right one"? How many judges are going to take the one dog that is
different from all the rest and acknowledge its correctness? I am afraid anyone who thinks
this courageous step is going to be met by cheering thousands is rather naive. No, the
purist will have to spend several generations working the lost qualities into his line so
that the changes are not too abrupt. He must juggle the good with the bad, the negative
with the positive, what is right with what is wrong. Imagine taking the average good (Is
that an oxymoron? Oh well, you get what I mean!) Boxer from Germany and plunking it down
among the glamorized version of a good many of the Boxers holding forth in America today!
Getting what you want and what is really correct may take far more time, effort (and often
criticism) than that which the modern exhibitor is willing to contend with. Getting where
you want to go is seldom a matter of a single breeding. Let me give you an example.
Dedication
Those who know the English
Springer Spaniel breed well, know the breed has a myriad of extremely serious genetic
problems, some of which provide a serious threat not only to the breed but to the people
who own the breed. A small group of those devoted to the Springer have turned to English
imports to help them out of the bind they are in. Now, the "English" English
Springer Spaniel has a significantly different "look" than its American cousin.
A major difference is the British concept of rear quarter angulation. Generally speaking,
the British tend to see ideal angulation both in the Springer and most other "well
angulated" breeds corresponding to the line from hock to foot falling just barely
behind a line drawn down from the buttocks. Americans are inclined to see this
hock-to-foot line extending significantly beyond that point. So? A big deal? Actually it
is. This gives the British English Springer an inclination toward a slightly rounded look
to the croup and it at least appears to the American viewer that the rear quarter is
turned under the dog somewhat. Who is right and who is wrong in this case is immaterial.
It looks strange and different and the American breeders who have gone to the English dogs
for the many qualities they can provide must deal with this problem. Out of dedication to
their breed they are doing so. They are willing to take those few steps back to eventually
rid their breed of problems they consider devastating. Not everyone agrees with what they
are doing. Only time itself will prove how successful they have been intheir ultimate
goal.
Finding the Formula
The dogs we bred in one of the
breeds I was deeply involved in were very successful for what they were-good silhouette,
great angles fore and aft, beautiful ground-covering profile movement. We bred for that
style and we got it generation after generation. When breeders needed correct balance and
proportions and good movement, they came to us. We had it all, except for one thing-we
didn’t have as much of the "pretty" we wanted to go along with it.
Don’t think for a moment the dogs weren’t capable of winning. On the contrary,
they won a lot. But they didn’t have quite enough of those "extras" that
separate the well made dog from the typey dog. We were bound and determined we would have
both. We tried several different experimental breedings: a bitch from our line (lets call
it "Line A") to a dog from another line that had the type characteristics we
lacked but wasn’t anywhere near our line when it came to style and movement. Lets
call that "Line B." The formula was "Line A bitch X Line B dog" and
for the sake of this article we will call it "Combination 1." Results were less
than good. A few of the offspring that had the type we were after, lacked our movement.
Those that maintained our basic style and movement didn’t measure up type wise. The
real result read: no forward progress in the first cross. Next (twice in fact) we tried
breeding the other way around. The two breedings were made with sister bitches we had
purchased from Line B to one of our own dogs (Line A). The formula here was "Line B
bitch X Line A male. " Lets call those two breedings Combination 2a and 2b." The
resulting offspring, while better representing the blend we were after, still did not
succeed to any great degree. We were not ready to give up. We were really convinced the
cross-over could be accomplished. Our next attempt was to breed a bitch from
"Combination 1" to a dog from "Combination 2." No significant results.
We again reversed the procedure and bred a bitch from "Combination 2" to a dog
from "Combination 1." Results, while a shade better than the previous attempt,
certainly didn’t take us where we wanted to go. Doubt began to set in. Perhaps what
we were so positive we could do just couldn’t be done. When asked about our
experimental breeding program at a party one night I said jokingly, "Oh, its going
full speed ahead-all down hill!" While it was funny, the lack of success was
beginning to weigh heavily. The only thing we hadn’t tried was mating individuals
from Combination 2a and 2b together. These would be our final attempt we decided. If this
wasn’t the answer, there was no answer.
Success At Last
One bitch missed (she proved
to be barren), the other conceived-three puppies. Three of the best puppies we had ever
bred! Magnificent type, lovely balance and the movement which distinguished our line. Of
course mother nature did not give it all to us. The two males turned out to be the largest
(a bit too large) and the smallest (a bit too small) respectively we had ever bred. The
perfect size and exquisite type bitch which we kept for ourselves hated the show ring and
never completed her championship. The dogs did. The large male went to a country where the
bigger dogs are quite popular and he has done exceedingly well there even under judges who
were not particularly fond of his size. Further, he has produced himself over and over.
The small dog went to yet a different country and was not only successful in the ring, he
was an excellent sire as well. We haven’t bred the bitch from the litter yet but will
shortly. All told from the seven breedings there were twenty five puppies produced over
the several year period. Twenty- two lived to maturity. Of the twenty-two, only five
(including the final three) were shown and four finished. Certainly not a very high
percentage of show dogs but what we wound up with in the end far surpasses anything we had
ever bred previously. Most important, they are producing their own outstanding type and
soundness.
Breeders who set out to
correct a fault or make improvements in their line, rather than simply accepting it as
"part of the territory," may spend generations doing so. In the end however, the
persevering breeder usually accomplishes his goal. Good breeders not only know which sires
are producing quality, they know which sires are producing quality in one sex or the
other. They are the breeders who make breedings to a get a good bitch or a good dog,
depending upon what they need to go on with. Getting an animal good enough to show is one
thing. Getting one good enough to carry your breeding program, or the breed, one step
further takes time, perseverance and often, brings great disappointment. However, those
dogs who have carried our breeds to greater heights are usually the result of
someone’s being willing to deal with all these setbacks. |
