Line breeding?

Very little about domestic dogs is "natural" -- so the idea that line breeding is "not natural" is just silly. Yes, I linebreed. And I outcross. I do what I need to do to get the traits that I am looking for in my dogs -- whether that is a correct front assembly, a certain temperament, a rock solid work ethic, or all three. When you outcross in every generation, you end up with a grab bag in each litter of puppies -- you have no idea what you're going to get -- you pull in ancestors with nothing in common, and the puppies produced could resemble any one of them. If they all have the traits you're trying to gain or fix in your lines, then fine -- but that is VERY, VERY rarely the case. The fact is, most pedigrees that contain generation after generation of unrelated dogs are the result of backyard/puppymill breeding -- because in their ignorance, these people believe that as long as they don't "inbreed", they won't produce any negative traits. This is the limit of their knowledge about genetics. And it is a fallacy. Personally, I wouldn't breed any closer than uncle-niece or grandsire to grandaughter, but I will linebreed, as will most ethical breeders I know.

I'm a buyer, potentially a breeder (Very, very far in the future, with much more money and experience)... -I'm not a big fan of it, even though I can *potentially* see why somebody would do. -Would I do it? No. I think there are better ways to fix traits. -Would I buy a linebred dog? Nope. I feel that very few breeders have the detailed knowledge of their dogs that it takes to linebreed responsibly. ETA: Very interesting insights, Loki, Majestik, and Jennifer. Admittedly, I'm no expert on the ins and outs of breeding. Most breeders that I have seen advertise "linebreeding", however, have been breeding very close relatives. That is the linebreeding that I'm referring to.

I insist upon line bred dogs in my breeding program. It is the best way to assure certain traits will be kept while bringing in improvements. In dogs, line breeding isn't the same as it is in humans. For one, dogs have waaay more chromosomes, giving a higher degree of variability in expression. This reduces the chances of doubling up on genetic faults when the pedigree and inheritance are studied and considered carefully in the breeding. I also see the need for outcrossing on occasion, but this also must be carefully studied and considered. Line breeding is NOT the same as intense inbreeding, which I do not favor.

I look for really well linebred dogs for my breeding program. I also look to find the perfect out-crosses to complement. One must devote a LOT to studying lineages and pedigrees, to learn which desired traits will pass on. It is not just a.".well, this is a nice dog, and this one has the same great grandsire, so we should have good offspring." It is its own science. The following is quoted from a webpage: Linebreeding is a method that breeders will use to improve upon and try to eliminate structural and health problems from their dogs. It is the breeding together of dogs that have a well bred superior common ancestor who has attributes that the breeder is attempting to reproduce and improve upon in their own dogs. Things such as health, longevity of life, structure, movement and temperament of a dog that one is planning to linebreed on must be taken into account. Linebreeding is an attempt to concentrate the genetic contribution of an outstanding ancestor in the resulting offspring. More on the differences in Linebreeding, Inbreeding and Out-crossing here: http://www.rhiannon-cavaliers.com/linebreeding.htm I hope that helps..for me, it has produced outstanding results. I know, before a litter is whelped, to expect robust health, good form and function, good temperament, and longevity. I wanna just give a small example. In 1983, there was a Westminster winner, "Pepsi"..If you mention him to anyone, they will say.." I saw him and he was awesome! It looked for the world that he was walking on the clouds" Now, if there had been no linebreeding in his offspring, that trait would be long gone...just diluted out...But, one can look at a dog in this lineage, and tell that it is his.. .His g-g-g- grandchildren are still moving as if they were walking on a cloud. ..

Line breedings are absolutely a must. It is the only to really insure the traits you want are there. really solid kennels are line bred. They still do outcrossing, but if line breeding makes the best pair, they will do that.

Line-breeding or, considered by some, inbreeding is a way that the breeders use genetics to their advantage. Genetics is tricky business and many breeders do not have adequate knowledge of it and bad dogs are bred. Line breeding is the breeders’ way of trying to control genetics. It is a way of controlling the type of chromosome passed on to the puppy. Every dog has two sets of chromosomes and each pair is made up of dominant and recessive genes. Only one of this pair will determine the attributes of the dog. Dominant genes always become the trait of the dog; recessive traits are only present when two recessive genes are paired. Therefore, if a dominant gene is represented by X and a recessive gene is represented by Y then pairs would look like this. XX (two dominant genes), XY (one dominant, one recessive gene), and YY (two recessive genes). Only in the YY scenario is the recessive trait apparent in the dog. Now for linebreeding. When a dog is linebred it increases the likelihood that the dog will inherit the positive traits of its parents. For instance a daughter to father breeding would result in the puppies being a larger percentage of the father's genes and, therefore, be very similar in looks and personality to him. Over time, a breeding program can become highly successful in reproducing the same traits over and over again because of linebreeding. The bad about linebreeding is that you can get negative traits. Linebreed long enough and the bad recessive traits that you never saw before will start to come out. In addition, the good traits that you saw but weren't present in the genetics of the dogs that you linebred will be lost. This currently can only be seen in trial and error breeding. There is no prevention. The most likely form of linebreeding that causes degeneration in the positive characteristics of the dog is full brother to full sister. The good about linebreeding is consistency. If you don't do it, you have no idea what the next batch of puppies will look like! Consistency helps eliminate many genetic problems in a breed. It is a must for reputable breeding. Outcrossing. Outcrossing is used to prevent the bad about linebreeding. A carefully selected similar dog from a different line will be bred into the program. This prevents the linebreeding to lose good traits not in the line and to find bad recessive traits. Final words. Linebreeding is highly successful and necessary way of creating better dogs and better breeding. It is a must for any serious breeder and the most reputable kennels in any breed use it to some degree. It also will become more successful as time goes on. With genetic testing in the making, breeders will be able to see the genetics before they breed, eliminating the trial and error breeding that eventually occurs with intense line breeding. Bad recessive traits will be eliminated, and good outside traits can be slowly and consistently bred in. An elimination of many genetic diseases will then occur. All in all, a great day for all dog owners! Also, I wanted to mention that inbreeding is standard operation in many domestic animals such as cattle, and chickens.

Its INTERBREEDING and it is wrong. It is not natural and I for one would never purchase a dog that is the result of interbreeding. It leads to health problems and I think that anyone who interbreeds there dogs should be ashamed!

Without linebreeding most breeds would degenerate into a hodge-podgey mess with no real uniformity. Great kennels that produce fantastic dogs linebreed. Linebreeding concentrates genetics-- this is both good and bad. Its great if the genetics you're concentrating are for CERF clear eyes and OFA hips that run good or better. I know of exactly ONE line in Samoyeds that can say that (of course I've only owned them for 36 years, been breeding for almost 20 so what do I know?) Things that line gives up- a bit of typy-ness..lack of an overly fluffy show coat.. but it is a line that when outcrossed to other lines gives better hip ratings, adds the coat AND produces dogs who win on a national level because they can move and be pretty. Sad to say.. its very very difficult to produce Sams who can both look good and move efficiently- there is no use for a sledge/herding dog without clean efficient movement- and lack of breed type makes the breed standard itself, pointless. The only way to do it is to line breed. Do you honestly believe an arctic dog living and working in primitive conditions and with a limited supply of dogs wasn't linebred?

Bad. Not just in dogs in anything. I mean sure the good characteristics are more likely to show up, but so are the bad. That is why so many pure breed dogs have health problems. People want to breed the dog for a certain look or because it won a competition and pay no attention to health issues. I would much rather have a healthy, non winning, slightly imperfect dog than a dog that has constant vet visits, shorter life span, and looks great while its dying. I think pure breeds are overrated.