Breeding reference

[Uncle Dave]

Anyone have recommendations for reference materials on breeding/genetics? I'm looking to gain some insight on proper selection of breeding pairs, how traits may/may not be passed on via breeding, things to know for first time breeding, etc.

I'm not planning on breeding anything anytime soon, as I currently have all males, but would like to have a background in the subject so I can make better decisions for selecting pups/breeders in the future and maybe one day have a litter here that isn't willy-nilly / cross-your-fingers-and-pray-it-works type of deal.

My understanding thus far is that some of this information is seen as super classified trade secret type of stuff by some folks, but any help would be great, even if it's just the basics.

Thanks!

[david]

A book I read over thirty years ago that gave me a very solid starting point was
By Dr. Leon Whitney. I think the title was
“Breeding Better Dogs”. There is a ton of good knowledge in there and he was a hound man, so a lot of his examples are from hounds he raised.

But even a similar book on cattle breeding, pigeon breeding or even human genetics will explain the same workings of genetics. There are tons of books on the subject.

But you are right, there are guys who know stuff I have never heard of. One of them told me recently “ it’s like cheating when you know this stuff.”

I have noticed some of the most succesful hound breeders learned breeding by raising chickens or pigeons or both. Maturity and generations are reached so quickly. And the desired traits are easy to quickly see. Also it is easy to keep a lot of them to select from/keep and study all the offspring, etc.

[Twopipe]

Here's an article that I found interesting.

[Uncle Dave]

I will have to look for that book.

Interesting article. Thanks for sharing

[david]

Just in case you see one of these, The book that first introduced me to basic genetics back about 1979 was “the locating tree dog” by Obe Corey.

I have heard criticism of Obe, but I thought his explanation of basic genetics was crystal clear and concise. And it led me to some great dogs very early on because of learning what needed to be researched in a line of dogs. The research was difficult back then, and expensive because it included travel. But it really paid off, and I knew what to look for thanks to this book.

[driftwood blue]

New Guide to Breeding Old fashion Working dogs by Guy G Ormiston is also a pretty good reference book.

Guy now lives at Wynnewood Oklahoma. can get you his address if you wish.

[JTG]

Call of The Hounds: Del Cameron. Direct and to the point.
Malcom B Willis: Genetics of the Dog. The reference section is very useful for additional related information.
The New Knowledge of Dog Behavior: Clarence Pfaffenberger. For breeding, training and the understanding of how to make forward progress.

Start with a related breed of family hounds, that is outstanding in every way. Don't start until you have a related pair.
Breed relatives and no outcrosses.
Keep whole litters.
Keep only the best by looking for any reason at all not to keep them.
Provide the environment for them to succeed.
Keep a training journal. https://www.mentalmanagementstore.com/0 ... e-journal/
Start again.