Curious about breeding practices

[crystalncody]

Is it a normal practice to breed basenjis, or any other dog breeds, that are (somewhat) closely related. If so, what's the "rule"? Like how close is too close, are there pairings that are considered beneficial, etc?

I know with humans it's a cultural taboo, and that ancient royalty "kept it in the family," but I was wondering how that translates to the dog world.

I'm really just curious. I have no intentions to breed, that's a lot of responsibility that I'm not sure I would want on my shoulders. I was just looking at Sally's site and saw something that sparked my curiosity.

[tanza]

Yes, it is pretty common to "line breed"… a bit different then "in breeding", if you totally inbreed a line after a couple of generations you will certainly find the most potent traits, this has been done in horses for years.... how close is too close depends on what you are looking for from that breeding... you can be looking to carry forward certain traits... however, you need to know that you will also get a combo of traits you might not want... that is why study of the pedigree is important before you breed, regardless of if it is a line breeding or a total outcross.

[YodelDogs]

I agree with everything Pat said.

Intelligent breeders can use linebreeding, or even inbreeding, to set certain traits in their line, including the improvement of overall health. The key to a positive result is intense research for several generations. Linebreeding is not an exact science though and sometimes surprises pop up.

[crystalncody]

Thanks. That makes sense. I was thinking along those lines but wasn't quite sure. We recently had a similar discussion in one of my classes relating contemporary human cultural taboos vs ancient and indigenous kinship, which is why that caught my attention. I know that's a strange leap, but I thought it was interesting because of the kinds of traits that can be passed on.

[Patty]

Unless one knows intimately the dogs in the pedigrees I consider it unwise to in-breed. I say this but must admit that I have in-bred to fix original characteristics because I couldn't find a dog in the UK worthy enough to complement my bitch. I would never have done so without extremely careful research enabled by a long knowledge of the dog and bitch's ancestry.

Obviously the difficulty comes in such cases in where to go with subsequent breeding. However this is made much easier now in the days of frozen sperm and pet passports and with the choice of studs from unrelated imports into the UK.

In the wild animals will in-breed so there are obviously not the same taboos as with humans!!

[Basenjimamma]

Great question Crystal, I have often wondered this myself..now I have the answers..

[crystalncody]

Well, one of the reasons that I brought up taboos is that I was wondering if people projected their taboos onto their animals. And I guess that the answer to that is no, as long as they have researched the pedigree, which is something that should be done regardless of whether or not they choose to inbreed or linebreed.

[khanis]

I think a lot of this depends on the locale of the breeder.
This year I am doing two line-breedings.
My black litter is a Rocket Man grand-daughter bred to a Rocket Man grandson.
This is a pedigree repeat of a litter I did a few years ago [the dam's sister].
I expect I will get theW same kind of litter… and am hoping that to be true... only in all black... and as before, from two p. fanconi clear parents.

My seconde line-breeding is a Benny daughter bred to a Benny grandson. I hope that I get what I am expecting... and I am fairly certain that I will get lots of good stuff. I picked the male based on the characteristics she needs help with, and vice versa.

Now, I know that these breedings couldn't be done in many countries because of the COI. I don't have to worry about that in the US, so am taking this opportunity to do such breedings.

While I like the strict rules [though some I think are quite lame] imposed by other countries, I don't like the COI rules, as most pedigrees from those countries are full of outcross after outcross. That just lends to further inconsistencies in breedings, where line breeding can set a type for the future of a breeding program.

[Patty]

Khanis, I totally agree with you about the restrictions imposed which now in the UK prevent some breedings. As you say outcrosses are no way of setting type and it is usually very visible in many litters produced where there are no consistencies in the litter. I have seen some such litters where every pup is different.