Selecting a Sire

  The more time you spend in selecting a sire for the proposed litter, the less likelihood there is that you will have regrets after the pups arrive. If proper plans are formulated and a course of action planned before the bitch is in heat, there is a much better chance of securing good results than if a ll these details are left to the last minute. In this case you might find that the stud you desired was not available, and you might be forced to accept one not so well suited. Every now and then a "flyer" is produced in this manner, but the instances are few and far between.

  Now let us take a little time to become better acquainted with pedigrees and blood lines. A blood line is the term used to express the relationship within one certain family as distinguished from other members of the same breed. All cockers are of the same breed, but within that breed there are many families, such as the Brucie, Trader, etc. The strength of a blood line can be greatly weakened by mating to an unrelated dog or bitch, which is the opposite of inbreeding or line breeding and is termed '' outbreeding." However, while the blood line may be weakened, the quality of the pups might still be good if the combination were a lucky one.

  Scientific breeding presents many problems. You must study the pedigrees or family trees, which give all the ancestors on both sides for several generations as well as the immediate parents. When I say study, I do not mean simply look over the papers for imposing names. You should know the characteristics of each dog or bitch contained therein, and if possible, whether these characteristics are dominant or recessive. After yon have completed the study of your bitch's pedigree and have formed your conclusions concerning her dominant characteristics, you should make a similar study of the pedigrees of the studs you propose using. Search for the dominant ancestors in their pedigrees. Such a study will soon reveal that the title "champion" before a dog's name does not of itself guarantee that he will pass on to his offspring the qualities which gave him that title. It also demonstrates that a good bitch is just as necessary as a good stud, or more so.

  Someone once suggested that the ideal way to study a pedigree would be to have all the individual dogs which form it in front of us at one time, in the order of their ancestry. I agree. It would be wonderful. If such a thing could happen, you would see at once that on the paternal side, and again on the maternal, a good many of the dogs were very much alike, while others did not show any of the family resemblances. You would also see that a dog well back in the pedigree had passed on his qualities to quite a number of his offspring.

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