SpyroAndes

I guess this is a question for the breeding & field trial guys...

The way I understand it, a sire will generally have greater success in passing his traits to his offspring when he is younger.

While I understand that many dogs might sire more champions as they age, due to breeding more because of popularity, I guess the percentages of getting that "mirror image" dog are greater when the sire is young.

This brings me to my final question, I am seriously looking at purchasing a pup from a Pointer litter that has been Sired by a deceased Hall of Fame Champion (Addition's Go Boy) via frozen semen.

The pedigree is rather impressive... Of the 7 Sires in the pedigree, all 7 are champions and 4 are Hall of Fame dogs. Also, 1 Dams is a Hall Of Fame dog.

I mean this pedigree is loaded...

However, my concern revolves around the frozen semen breeding and the percentages...

HAS ANYONE HERE HAD EXPERIENCE WITH A DOG THAT WAS BRED LIKE THIS?

Thanks,

SpyroA

seattlesetters

Old School: Frozen semen may not produce as good of offspring as a natural breeding.

New School: The breeder's of dairy and beef cattle have been using frozen semen for years, and their prize bulls command the best prices for frozen semen. Now the same holds true with dogs, with pups out of champions conceived through AI commanding sometimes twice as much as natural-bred pups from lesser breedings.

Neither theory has been proven correct, however, nor will they ever.

The bottom line is the odds of getting a "mirror image" dog are quite low, either way. You just get a few more good dogs out of the great champions because they are simply bred much more than other dogs. The buyers of their offspring, too, are much more likely to campaign these dogs and train them well, therefore giving them the greatest chance of success.

I personally have seen several "meat dogs" that are every bit as talented or more so than some pretty darn good trial dogs. They are just not campaigned, and usually not trained very well, either. Bottom line: A good pup can come from any good breeding. So can a lousy one. Your odds of getting a lousy one go up exponentially if the breeding is not well thought-out or the parents are lousy birddogs.

Sounds like you are a horseback field trialer, from the breeding you're considering. I run in foot-hunting trials only but I've been to a couple of Shooting Dog and All-Age stakes. Fun game, but I couldn't stand to lose my dogs like that. It would drive me crazy! <img src=icon_smile_shock.gif border=0 align=middle>

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting

Edited by - seattlesetters on 01/22/2003 00:38:28

Dan O.

I thought that the AKC and CKC would not recognize a dog as purebred or register it unless the mating was between live animals? I don't know if that has changed recently but if it hasn't it would make an AI dog unbreedable.

Dan O.

seattlesetters

Dan O. - Most birddogs are not registered through the AKC. For hunters and trialers, a registry with the American Field FDSB is desirable.

Good Dogwork and Good Hunting