OF PEAS AND PUPS
PART VIII
"Part VIII
Excellent, I have no suggestions on this part, as I could not improve it."
Dr. Bumsteed
DOG BREEDING
PLANS
SELECTION
INTRODUCTION:
In part VIII, we ran
through a hypothetical breeding problem. Its purpose was ti
demonstrate that there are a variety of breeding tools, each of which has a
place in an overall breeding plan. The combined and
thoughtful use of the various tools available to influence the flow of genes
down through the generations, constitute a breeding plan. We can
outline, in a very general way, a long range program and to do so is wise, but
the plan cannot be inflexible or it is doomed. The correct second step can only
be decided from the results of the first. Our pace may quicken slightly, as,
and if, our consistency improves. It is far easier to have a basic plan and
alter it to compensate for any changes which may develop than to have no plan
whatsoever. By a "plan" I do not mean, for example, that we inbreed
for three generations, then out-cross or that we make
the "sire of the sire the grandsire of the dam" as a fixed matter of
policy. Maybe we should not inbreed once, let alone three times in a particular
instance. Maybe the sire of the sire has none but "scroungy"
dams and is, himself, worthless. Breeding is not
rote...it is mechanical. Knowledge gives us the tools...art
tells us when and where.
We shall discuss each
of the tools individually and in some detail. The objective to the game is to
choose those which have the best chance of success, in a given
situation...those which give us the most favorable
odds. None supply absolute certainty. No one tool can do a complete job no
matter how carefully it is used. A scew-driver will
only tighten a screw-headed bolt and nut so far, before it starts to slip.
Placing pliers on the nut we can make it tighter. Using a box wrench to apply
the pressure and holding with the screw-driver, will increase our efficiency
further. Yet, the box wrench should not be used to start the nut tightening, its far too slow, the screw-driver is faster and better. We
all know there are specific tools to do particular jobs and although we can
substitute here and there, the finished product will show it. The breeding tools function in much the same manner and we must think of
them in this way, even though their use is not so obvious nor their results so
certain.
Selection:
Selection is the oldest
of the breeding tools, as well as the "handle" for each of the
others. It is also the most used. It is a vital part of breeding, in fact the
most important part, yet, as an
only plan it has but limited and temporary genetic value. Selection, in essence, is,
deciding which animals should breed...which are to have many offspring, which
are to have few or none. Its success, depends, as in
all breeding...man or beast, on the genes...these submicroscopic
chemical entities. It depends upon the genes of the selector (breeder) as well
as the genes of the selected (dogs). Selection may be based on the individual
animal...phenotypic.
It may be based on the ancestors of the animal...pedigree. It may be based upon the descendants...progeny. It is most successful,
when, it can be based on all three.
The prime genetic
effect of selection is to change gene
frequency. (p.11, 9/64 News) If all Shorthair breeders were seeking
the same goals...selecting for the same genes or gene combinations...the
changes in frequency would be of permanent nature. This is not often the case,
since artistic ideals are rarely universal and are subject to change through
the years. For this reason, human selection alone will bring little lasting
change to the Shorthair...Although great changes can be wrought, a return to
the original will soon follow any softening or change in selecting forces.
Selection can only bring permanent change when coupled with some other breeding
tool. If the ideal is an intermediate, heterozygotic,
we can never fix it but must always outcross to secure it. It the inbreeding is
the only way to stabilize it.
The effectiveness of
selection, whether it be phenotypic, pedigree or
progeny, will depend upon how much we know about the animals involved. To
increase our knowledge toward that end will require some degree of testing and
a written record is a must, if progress is to be rapid. The
more thorough the testing, the more reliable the results. Yet, if the
results are kept a secret, how is the breed to gain? It goes without saying
that testing for one or two attributes out of many and breeding from the
results of such tests, will, in time, decrease the proficiency of the untested
traits. To date, this has become not serious problem for the GSP in the
It is unfortunate that
here in the U.S., one national dog club permits testing of field and water
trials but has no conformation standards, while the other national
organizations encourages field and show but does not permit our web-footed
friends to enter water trials. Neither group is providing the complete service
for breed betterment to which the Shorthair is entitled...There is no question
in my mind but that the Kurzhaar could compete with
any retrieving breed in any "gun dog" water stake with the same
success he enjoys in competition with all pointing breeds in Gun Dog or
Shooting Dog Stakes. It is a shame that the truth of this statement cannot be
tested. Maybe some day it will be. Efforts are being made in
Phenotypic Selection:
Variation created life.
Selection has maintained and improved it. God was the first "show"
judge. Nature arranged and rearranged the genes...added to, subtracted
from...picked up a favorable mutation here, dropped
an unfavorable mutation there...she permitted only
the fittest to survive and prosper. Down through a trillion uncountable
successful variations, through a billion years, there arose
man and his dog. Variations and selections are basic to progress, yet, man has
neither the time nor the inclination to permit this natural process to proceed
at such a snails pace...and he need not. The Shorthair never would have been
had not man, assisting these natural laws, hastened the process, and he can
continue this progress, only, by working within natures laws.
Phenotypic
selection...that based upon what we can see in the
individual dog (appearance and/or performance)...was man's only
tool for 500-10,000 years. It is still the only tool used by some even today.
That it brought improvement cannot be denied. Occasionally it succeeded, more
than often it failed. Why it succeeded or failed no one knew then. Today, we
know. Phenotype and Genotype
often differ, and it is upon the latter that the new generation depends. The
phenotype tells but part of the story, the rest lays hidden below the surface.
When the sire and dam are chosen solely on their individual merit...both being
outstanding...the pups will ordinarily tend toward the mean of the breed. They
will be poorer that either parent...Phenotypical
likes do not necessarily beget likes...Genotypical
likes do necessarily beget likes. Success in phenotypic selection will depend
upon how closely the genotype is revealed by the phenotype. Consistency is
lacking...success is fortuitous.
"In phenotypic
selection it is a matter of hitting a lucky combination. Most of us having hit
a lucky combination, go back and try to explain how to
do it. This is the general picture of phenotypic selection and will continue to
be true, until we are bold enough to make more uniform lines by
inbreeding."*
* R.C. Busteed, Ph. D. '
PEDIGREE
SELECTION:
We all take pride in
famous ancestors...whether they be our own or those of our dogs. Pride is not
diminished by remoteness although genetic effect is. Rare is the Shorthair
pedigree which shows no imported blood and many are liberally sprinkled with K.S.'s. Another quote from Dr. Busteeds
"Brittany Genetics" the American
The purpose of the use
of the pedigree is to estimate the genetic value of sire or dam from the
quality of his or her ancestors. The pedigree alone, like the individual alone,
does not always give us the right answer. It can usually help in our
decisions...it can improve the odds...it should not be neglected. If we knew
the genes carried by sire and dam, those would be the only names required to
provide genetic accuracy to the pedigree.
(a) Factors limiting the Value of Pedigree
Selection:
It may be merely a list
of names, few, if any, of which we know personally, or with whose performance
or appearance we have any knowledge. This is particularly true of most
Most dogs are heterozygoteous, and as such, we cannot predict with any
certainty the outcome of a particular mating. This is due to the sample halving
nature of heredity and to the ability of the phenotype to hide the genotype.
If a given dog already
has favorable descendants (progeny) the pedigree is
of no value in predicting or estimating that which we already know. Use of the
dogs family tree is based upon the idea that each parent supplies half to the
pups, but, we know not which half each will get, and ,
because of crossing over (6/64 News) we know not what arrangement. The pedigree
for predicting the outcome of random mates is about equal in value to
'two-big-holes-in-the-head'.
(b) Factors Contributing to the Value of
Pedigree Selection:
In spite of its
shortcomings, the pedigree is an important tool in the breeders
arsenal; one wich cannot be overlooked. As mentioned
above, although of no value in predicting that which has already been proven by
progeny tests, it is for the utmost importance, when compiled with phenotypic
selection, in determining what the next step should be, what mating the pups
whelped by the progeny tested sire or dam.
The more complete the
pedigree is, with regard to each individual, the greater its value. The
following, taken from a German pedigree, admittedly more detailed then most,
lets us know something about the dog. Certainly it would be better if we could
see the dog in action but this is the next best thing.
"K.S. ZEUS V
BLITZDORF, 322/E 55, D la, S I, Vbr., m.S., Kl.-Ausl.
Preg."
Lets unravel all of this.....
K.S., Klub Sieger or Kurzhaar Sieger, Regional Champion.
322/E
551, Registration number, month and year of birth.
D Ia, "
S I, Solms,
grade of 1. See Figure 36 for Solms "win sheet".
Vbr., Velorenbringenprugung;
literally;
lost, bringing, test. Trailing, finding, retrieving lost wounded hare which the
dog has not seen...over 500 yard trail.
m.S., mit
Scharfe, with keenness; the killing of
fox or cat.
Outlawed, but still bing
used.
Kl.-Ausl. Prfg., Kleeman
Selection Test.
The highest possible award, granted to only one dog each year.
The superiority of such
a dog does not cause him to automatically be a great sire but it presents a
wonderful phenotype. The only thing that is going to make that dog or any dog a
great sire is homozygous dominance, a great genotype. If the pedigree indicates
ancestors and descendants are likewise better than average, for this wide
variety of factors, it certainly is favorable, to say
the least. That name and information is important to the pedigree in which it
is found and the closer the better.
The accuracy of the
German pedigree may be further enhanced if we can secure the "win
sheet" of the close up ancestors. This Solms win
sheet of Asta
vom Weidental,
indicates pretty complete testing for the characteristic for which she is bred.
The picture shows Asta completing the retrieve of the lost wild
fox. Her grade is listed under
The Zensurenformblatt (scoresheet) is signed by
three judges and certified.
I wish to emphasize
that it is not the several outstanding names on a pedigree which are important.
It is the consistency of genetic flow down through various lines which hold the
greatest chances of continuing.
The pedigree also
serves as a progeny test, of sorts, for some of the ancestors and if the same
information were available on some of the collateral relatives, a very strong
case in support of the pedigree could be made.
The more homozygous the
mates, the more reliable the pedigree estimate. This is also true with
phenotypic selection, since in such instances the phenotype and genotype are
more apt to be similar. The pedigree of good inbred dogs will usually be of
greater value than of outbred or random-mated dogs
because it is the usual heterozygosity in the latter
cases which hide the genotypic facts with a phenotypic coat of paint...The
pedigree has its greatest value as an aid in the selection of a young sire or
dam before their potentials as producers have been tested. From the pedigree,
we can actually estimate the percentage of increased homozygosity
(above the breed average) which results from any inbreeding which appears on
it. This is accomplished by the application of the co-efficient of inbreeding (Fx), similar to Rx already
discussed, which we shall explain under "Inbreeding". Further, the
pedigree will show to some extent, the plan of the breeder (if he had one) and
by its success or failure will guide us along the path. Refer again to Figure
33 in Part VII, the pedigree using Ch.Bob Koege.
Summary:
The pedigree as a sole
guide will often lead us astray. It has a definite place in the overall picture
which cannot be neglected. The pedigree does not wag the dog. We do not choose
a dog from the pedigree and hope he is good...that's bassackwards!
There are of course,
pedigrees and pedigrees. Some worth less than the paper they're printed on,
others which lend a helping hand to the pup-owner with a problem. If you owned
a Quitt-pup, this pedigree, which no further
information, because of the nature of Sudwest
breeding would be of far more practical use as a breeding tool than the most
detailed pedigree of your pup resulting from a random mating and presenting a
"wide open" pedigree with nothing to hang your hat on.
Progeny Selection:
It is not the picking
of a puppy from a litter, although it sounds a bit like it. Progeny Selection is the
choosing of a sire or dam, based on the offspring they have produced...their
descendants or progeny...in other words, if all the other pups have been great,
yours should be too. It's like betting on a sure thing...shooting craps with
loaded dice. The results with livestock have been fabulous...have brought
unimagined progress. The Shorthair must share in the progress, and he can.
Cows, pigs, dogs, chickens can all profit from the use by man of this genetic
knowledge. It is sad that the dog profits so little from genetic advances as
compared to commercial animals. The cause is financial, but it should not be
so.
Progeny selection is
well served by the detailed, accurate and up-to-date records of Shorthairs,
maintained by Myron and Lorraine Albrecht of Wichita, Kansas, and by such
records and pictures as published by the News under "Top Sires and Dams of
1963" 4/64. These records and the accompanying publicity, available to all
the fancy, are necessary to breed progress from progeny selection.
The miraculous results
lead some to believe we have found a panacea...some universal antibiotic for
all the breeders ills. Such is not the case. The great
gift of this wonderful breeding tool lies in the certainty of its results. The
difficulty lies in not often being able to use it. It's all very well to say,
"Check the production record!" but this also is more easily said than done. It would be impossible without a breed
magazine...Often overlooked is one of the most important uses of progeny
selection; the strengthening of pedigree selection by indicating the sires and
dams whose pups are most likely to have breeding value.
One big advantage
progeny selection has over either of the other selection tools is that we are
not deceived by genotypic wolves in phenotypic lambs clothing. There may be,
however, a genotypic wolf in liver and white clothes among the pups. Since the
progeny test is understood and its advantage are
obvious, we may gain further insight by discussing some of its limitations.
(a)
Factors Which Reduce the
Efficiency of Progeny Selection:
If progeny selection is
fool-proof, why doesn't everyone use it? The answer is clear...there simply are
not enough proven dogs. Even if there were, by using none but these, we would
leave unproven many fine dogs...some of which might well be superior to those
already proven.
Progeny selection is a
measure of the prepotency of the animal. It must be
treated as such...it is subject to the same limitations. It is no only tool, it needs help too.
The great pups produced will bring but momentary breed improvement without
further effort and the application of additional tools. This tool does its
specialized job well, but, there are too few jobs for it to do. It is not a
very versatile instrument...it has but limited application.
Often the results of
the progeny test become known too late in the dogs
life to be helpful as we would like. The story of FC Greif v Hundsheimerkogel,
one of the breeds greatest, (Austrian import) as related by C. Bede Maxwell in "The New German Shorthair
Pointer" will bring a lump to your throat. Grief was eight, before he started his field training.
It makes one wonder how many more greats have gone to rest, unnoticed and
unproven. Under the circumstances, although the advantages were not as great as
they could have been, had Grief
been discovered earlier and lived longer, the breed is much in his debt. It is
fortunate that most of his few progeny got into the hands of appreciative and
informed Shorthair fans.
The certainty of
progeny selection is somewhat reduced by the sample halving process which
permits a sire or dam to occasionally produce better than their average. And by
the fact that the pup receives half his inheritance from the other parent and
that "other parent" may be far above average. To overcome these
defects of progeny selection, the sire must be bred to many bitches and sire
many pups before his prepotency is proved. Yet by
requiring too many pups to prove a sire (or even more particularly, a dam) we
actually slow down our progress by limiting the number of proven sires (or
dams) available. You see, there is no simple, one-shot, secret
to the success we all seek.
The training by an
outstanding professional of all, or many, of the pups of a particular sire, may
make them appear better then their genetically superior contemporaries. The
pups of some sires get no training...or worse still, get poor professional
training. Some knowledge of the environment of the pups is important to any
progeny evaluation...this is difficult to get. One sire may sire 100 pups, of
which 40 are campaigned and 4 finish. Another may sire
20 pups of which 3 are campaigned and two finish. Assume the environment equal.
Looking at the record, we would imagine the sire of the four duals had the
better progeny test, yet it was but 10% of his get. We should expect to do as
well by using phenotypic and pedigree selection. The sire of the three tested
pups, two of which made dual, had a 67% success average. The successful use of
progeny selection (as with all breeding tools) depends upon a great deal more
than that which can be obtained by a hasty glance. We may easily be mislead when someone tells us such and such a dog placed in
ten field trials last year. I immediately want to know how many trials he
entered and what his competition was...A dog which placed first in three trials
(he only entered three) where the field was always tough, tells me mush
more...Success must be based upon the number of tests as related to the number
of wins. Not just the number of wins. Batting averages are based upon the
number of times at bat as related to the number of hits...not the number of
hits alone. 200 hits sounds pretty good until we find out that the guy was up
to the plate 2000 times for a batting average of .100. You can bet his contract
won't be renewed next year. So don't use a figure in making your progeny
selection unless you know upon what it was based.
The progeny test is
only superior to phenotypic and pedigree selection, when the number of tested
offspring become high enough to make it so. As the number of proven descendants
becomes greater, the accuracy and importance of progeny selection increases
too...The only objective in outlining the limitations of progeny selection is
to point out that there is not single genetic tool which cannot do better with
help...Progeny selection, when we can use it, it the best of the three for
producing good pups. It is the best first step we can take but breed
improvement is no one step affair, it is a long uphill climb of one generation
after the other and only by using all the breeding "crutches" can we
hope to reach the top.
SUMMARY:
(Phenotypic,
Pedigree & Progeny Selection)
If you have a Shorthair
who is himself outstanding (phenotypic), whose ancestors (pedigree) carry the
mark of greatness and whose offspring (progeny) are all sharp...you have made
it! You are the owner of one of the greatest assets any breed can posses. USE
IT WISELY!
If your
outstanding sire comes from a long line of excellence but hasn't been bred,
breed him. There's a 50-50 chance you'll get a great pup...if you stay with the same line.
If your Shorthair is
outstanding but has come from a mixed-array of ancestors and has not been bred,
breed him. There's a 50-1 chance you'll get a good pup.
Each of the selection
tools has a job it can do best. If we can correlate the first two, we can get
by with a two or three pup progeny test. If the sire has no offspring, we can
only judge by his pedigree and his own appearance and ability...and this is
most often the case. If the dog has sired 25 great pups, we do not need the
other two tools to select him as prepotent. But, we
do very definitely need them to measure the merits of the pups he produces and
to tell us what our next step should be. Let us use individual merit, pedigree
evaluation and progeny test wherever possible, to select the parents of our
next Shorthair generation.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Corrections to Part 12 & 13
Copyright 2001. Dr. James G. McCue, Jr. All rights
reserved. Postscript: And his legacy lives on in the German
Shorthaired Pointers of today. May they
always be healthy and bred with forethought and planning.
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