Question about line breeding...

[Grasshopper]

Hi all.

My brother in law and I have been discussing a breeding strategy and I would like a little advice. Let me first give you a little background. My bro-in-law has been hunting the same line of grade dogs since he was 12. The line began with a female they called "little babe" which was purchased when my brother in law (Rob) was 12. She was bred to a good local male and the results were some early starting, trash free, rabbit hunting little fools. A pair of pups( 1 m, 1f) were kept from the original litter and they turned out to be really nice little dogs. When they grew older, the little female was bred to a registered dog about 60 miles away. This litter turned out exactly like the original litter. Trash free, early starting, hard hitting fast little dogs. Again a pair of pups were kept. 1 male 1 female.
I happened along about the time that these dogs were about 10 years old. At 10 years old these dogs could hunt for 6-8 hours a day on back to back days and they were straight, hard hitting, rabbit jumping fools. I had a female at the time off of Post Oak little nip otis ( i think was the name) that we decided to breed the male to. Again we kept a pair of pups.....the litter was wiped out by parvo so we didn't sell any to anyone else. These pups, both females, were running wild rabbits on their own at 4 months of age. At 10 months old they consistently ran the front and jumped probably 1/2 of the rabbits we ran. Again both were trash free. One female ended up getting killed on the road when she was 2. We are now down to one female, the anchor of our pack. She's 7 years old. We have a litter of pups on the ground right now, from her and a youg male that's showing lots of promise. If we can raise this litter, we plan on keeping at least 4 pups and selling the rest. If they turn out, and I'm confident they will, would you be satisfied with this last cross, or would you try to breed back to the old female to get another shot of the original blood?
I'm convinced that this line of dogs is for real, but I worry about how close is too close. Would you breed a son back to the mother, or wait and try to breed a grandson back to her?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long post.


GH

[GR]

Grasshopper, I used to worry about breeding dogs who were too closely related. There is a book I would suggest reading that really sheds a lot of light on line breeding and inbreeding. I highly reccomend it. I got mine used off of Amazon.com for $5 so price is right.

Title: The New Art of Breeding Better Dogs

by Kyle Onstott

I think that if one of the females sons turn out to be what you are after you could breed her back to her son. I would not be afraid in the least. Keep as many as you can and eliminate the ones who don't make the grade.

Greg

[S.R.Patch]

With all outcrossing, who is to know what you might get when the blood is turned back in. At this stage of the game, it seems you've kept the bitch line, while outcrossing to the male. I would breed her to another good male, then work on bring the best of the volume of pups from her back together to build on. This way, you have bought yourself a volume to work from and time to do it...Patch

[Grasshopper]

Thanks for the advice...I will check that book out. Here's another question....

If I outcross the female again, won't that further pollute the original blood? I am assuming that the original blood (female) is the constant, but I think you're saying you think the constant is always going out for the male half, and the outcrossing is what's strengthening the traits we like?
I'm just trying to understand. Thanks again for your advice!


GH

[S.R.Patch]

What I'm saying is get a volume to work from.
Don't breed a son back to her until you've see what he becomes, you may not want a double shot of it. Watch the speedometer, gather her best offspring and breed them together. See, you've got different males so your not doubling up on the male side, only your female. The most direct line will have the most infulence over the pups, that would be your bitch. Keep your "ideal" or your type of hound, in mind as you select and breed.
Best of luck...Patch