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Traits We Strive For
Future Litters
Puppy Documents
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Genetic Selection
Making each Generation Better
Our goal is to improve the breed with every
mating that we make. The Labrador Retrievers did not earn the
"Most Popular Breed" title we gave it to them. There
are entirely too many backyard matings, unproven dogs, and puppy
factories in many breeds that hurt the reputation of all breeds.
Today it is hard to pick a breed that best suits our personality
when there is as much variation within each breed as there is
variation between all breeds of hunting dogs. Our focus is to
concentrate and develop the individual traits that have been the
strength of the German Shorthair breed. When saying this, it is
important that we are not "kennel blind" ourselves.
When asked, "What traits we are looking for when we choose
a female or perspective male?" I try to answer by explaining
our personal beliefs. First of all, as I mentioned earlier we
do not breed extremes to extremes or strengths to weaknesses hoping
for the middle of the road. We believe the people using this method
are looking for a short cut.
North America Versatile Hunting Dog Association
(NAVHDA) does an excellent job on recording test results of all
pointing breeds. You can purchase a seven-year history on every
dog tested in each breed. You can determine the strengths and
weakness of individual matings, heritable traits that a certain
sire is producing, and what type of offspring you can expect from
a certain kennel. I feel that the reason this information is so
important is that it is no longer in the hands of the breeder.
It is all in black and white! Here is a list of "traits"
you can look at from the information provided by NAVHDA in a Natural
Ability Test: use of nose, search, water, pointing, tracking,
hair coat, bite, temperament, conformation, desire and cooperation.
These are all natural traits that we feel are highly heritable.
In this event there is no score for the handler, it is entirely
the young dog that is judged by three judges that must agree on
a final score.
Utility Test is where you can determine other
traits such as trainability, stamina, tracking, bird sense, retrieving
and desire to please. The Utility Test puts the dog and handler
through a series of situations that take all day to determine
a prize level that each dog receives. You can go one step further
to the Versatile Champion level; which involves a brace mate.
This event and other events such as National Shoot-to-Retrieve,
AKC walking stakes and Hunt test will give you other important
traits to look for such as, maturity, honoring and competitiveness.
I would encourage each of you to make a point to attend an event
in your local area next year.
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