Selective Breeding?

The single most important factor in successful breeding of hounds is without a doubt, selective breeding.  Selective breeding is a term that is used by many, but I fear understood by very few.

Today, most hounds are bred by hobbyists, and culling (by culling I mean NOT using that animal as a breeder) to get a better breeding specimen is very unpopular, not to mention a very costly effort.  The direct result is that many marginal, or sub-marginal dogs are bred, and the indirect result is that marginal and sub-marginal genetics are passed on into subsequent generations.

Producing exceptional dogs is by definition a process that weeds through many individuals to find "exceptional"ones.  This type of meticulous selection where the good dogs, even very good dogs are cut from the breeding program is a rarity among breeders of any breed for a variety of reasons.  The primary reason is the effort and cost associatied with the evaluation of numerous females to identify the truly superior animals.  Even if you aspire to have only the to 20% of dogs in your breeding program, you would need to evaluate 20 females to get 4 of the best to breed.

The best of breeders will only breed the top 10%, which means that they must now evaluate 40 females, to get 4 breeders.   Of course, this assumes you started with the top 10% of the breeding animals and have an effective selection process.  One thing remains constant....YOU CAN NOT TRICK THE GENE POOL.

Careful evaluation of breeding stock is paramount to the success of any breeding program.  I have managed to convince myself of this, along with the fact that such an evaluation program is both costly and very time consuming.  This type of breeding program assures small production volume, and substantial expense for facilites, vets, feed, etc.  This is NOT a profitable business model and presents a great challenge for those that make a profit at breeding.

In order to ensure that there will be a high quality dog to breed in the future, I believe we must redouble our efforts at evaluation of breeding stock, and make very careful breeding selections.  This starts with the evaluation of potential breeding stock.

The Evaluation:

The performance evaluation consists of several different elements.  We do not emply them in a segmented fashion, but instead utilize all of the elements as a dog advances through our selection process.  The elements and approximate chonology are as follows.

Understand that if I start with 10 pups at the beginning of the evaluation phase, I am only looking for the top 10% or the top pup out of each "crop" to use in a future breeding program.

Phase 1:

Starts at 12 to 16 weeks old.  Pups are allowed to "free range" and are evaluated on "interaction" with other dogs.  No formal training is done at this stage, but instead we are observing innate abilities and traits.  This stage lasts until pups are approximatly 26 weeks of age.  I am evaluationg pups for intelligence very heavily at this stage.  Independance from the rest of the pack is also evaluated, along with vocal quality.

This is also the stage where they are introduced to the truck, the dog box, and are taken on short rides while doing errands.  Pups at this stage learn that there is FUN at the end of the ride in the box.

Phase 2:

Starts off with some light yard training.  Basic obedience training including leash training .  This is the period that we introduce them to the ecollar, and start to "insist" that they come when called.   At this point we are looking for "biddability", or the willingness to carry out our commands.  We are not expecting perfection, but rather are looking for that "willingness to please".  Disposition has a marginal effect on their eventual performance in the field, but they are pets 365 days a year and we want dogs that are a pleasure to be around.

We are also evaluating the pups readiness to go "beyond" the yard.  Those that have mastered the "come" command are started on leisurly walks in the woods.  During these walks, we are looking for signs of "game drive".

During this stage we will allow the pups to introduce themselves to a caged coon.  This cage is planted in the woods and the pups are allowed to discover it.  NEVER do we simply place a cage in the yard and lead the pups to it.  I'm looking for natural interest, in a natural environment.

Pups that are interested in the caged coon that they "found" during the walk in the woods are exposed two to three more times in the same manner.  The caged coon is placed successivley further from the tailgate not more than three times.  During this stage we determine those that have natural game drive.  The pups with a high game drive will exit the dog box, and will actually HUNT for the caged coon.  I'm evaluationg these pups not on trailing, scenting, treeing desire or ability, but soley on their desire to HUNT FOR GAME.  I am also evaluation for those pups that "figure things out" quicker than the others, intelligence, manners, and all of the other evaluations that are ongoing.

Phase 3:

Phase 3 begins once the pup has demonstrated that it is willing to get down off the tailgate of the truck, and bust into the wide open woods hunting for that caged coon.  Once it has demonstrated that willingness, then and only then do I realease a coon for them to follow.   I don't actually care if they are successful at treeing that released coon.  I'm evaluating them for GAME DRIVE.  Are they willing to hunt for the coon after it is out of their sight?  Do I have to "drag" them out of the woods at the end of the session becasue they want MORE?

This begins the next training step, introducing the pup to a wild racoon hunt.  I normally do this with an experienced hound that will be completely oblivious to the pups presence.   I try to set this hunt up so that the old dog will be able to strike, trail, and tree a coon without running off from the pup.  Highly game driven pups will offer to participate in the hunt with the older dog much sooner than other pups.

I continue the night hunting, and the evaluation of each young hound.  At this stage, again, I'm not looking for perfection, I'm looking for game drive, and for PROGRESS.  Once the pup is able to tree coon on it's own, or split trees from the older dog, the pup is ready to be "singled out".

Phase 4:

During Phase 4, the pup is hunted exclusively alone.  We try to do this phase during a period of the year when coon are abundant, and give the pup as much opportunity to succeed as possible.  It is at this stage where the evaluation becomes more advanced, and our selection criteria becomes more strict.  At this stage we are demanding superiour ability in the following areas:

1. Intelligence
2. Game Drive
3. Ability to find, trail, and tree a coon despite prevailing conditions
4. Trailing ability (ability to not only tree coon early in the evening, but at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 in the morning)
5. Pattern:  I define this as the ability to adapt.  If the pup is hunted mostly around corn fields, and is successful there, will it be successful in the "big timber" without crops?  How does it handle swamps, running water, ponds, etc.
6. Stamina
7. Handling
8. Style....this is important.  Does the dog get the job done in a pleasing manner.  Vocal quality and tone, opening on track, tree style, will it tree coon and stay.

If a pup makes it with him marks on traits 1 through 8 out of Phase 4 of the evaluation, then it's likely that it will make it into the breeding program.  However, I may have more than one that makes it, I still have to further evaluate it to ensure that it's in the top 10%.

I may or may not use competition hunts to evaluate the dog.  I enjoy competition hunting, so many times a young dog in the evaluation period 4 gets to go to a hunt with me.  While I do indeed use the time hunting in the competition hunts to evaluate the dogs performance, winning or losing is NOT a consideration for breeding potential.

Competition hunts are a very good place to evaluate a dogs stamina, drive, intelligence, handling, style and manners around other dogs.  Wins or losses are a poor indication of breeding worthyness, but a young dog that is out performing it's peers may be well on the road to "graduation".

I truly believe that one third of the pups that graduate out of my evaluation program posess the abilities that are required to excell in the competition arena, the other two thirds that "graduate" the program will have less drive, or less ability but will still enjoy moderate success in competition.

At the end of this evaluation period, I must choose the top 10% for breeding.  I may or may not have a graduate of the evaluation that meets breeding criteria.  I may have 0 gratuates from one crop, then 2 from the next.

The toughest aspect of this evaluation is objectivity.  I must not allow preconcieved notions about the merit of a pup cloud my judgement.  If I am to succeed in my breeding efforts, I must be selective about my breeding decisions.  It's working for me thus far, and I have no reason to believe that it will not continue to work for me in the future.

Read More about Gave Drive Vs. the Chase Drive by clicking on the link below.

Game Drive Vs. Chase Drive