Registered: Dec 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 2027

So I hear a lot of talk about line breeding and out crossing, and which is best. Breeding to a new dog or line breeding off an old dog, that has long since passed.

To me line breeding is a mind set that is some what narrow minded, because your basically line breeding off a particular hound that was an above exceptional hound, but in reality there will never be another like him no matter how many crosses you make. Its just impossible... there are way to many genetic possibilities. Not only that but you almost set yourself up for failure because you are capping your level success.

However by breeding for traits and always looking out there and searching for new dogs to breed to, attempting to find a unique blend of traits you may very well may quickly exceed your previous standards of success.

I guess I am probably oversimplifying it by saying its as simple as looking forward or backwards, but if I understand the human mind and how it tends to work. I would lean towards always looking forward.

What do you guys think?

__________________
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
Mark Twain

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Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Michigan
Posts: 272

I know we each have our opinions on what a coonhound should do. I personally am 61 years of age, I have seen some good and bad hounds along the way. The hounds that most are putting forth today are junk. When I started hunting at 10 years old most people just had a backyard hound and hide hunted. NO SLICK TREEING. You never heard of a dog that needed gut hunted to tree coons instead of sapplings. Dogs had brains, did'nt bark at the end of the chain for day's on end. I know most want to get there faster and prove a point, but I still like to see a coon. I can look out my windows at trees day and night. Yes I will agree with you that improvements are a good thing, I just think the hounds of old were common, but hides on the barn better.

Shaun Paton
Chase Creek Kennels

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Registered: Jul 2007
Location:
Posts: 3085

When your line breeding the traits you are looking for are even more important than ever!!!!! So there's a lot more involved when looking for the correct line breeding stud than just an outcross for the simple reason is you will be doubling up on not only good traits but also what me be an undesirable trait Aswell !!! And although there are no guarantees when you cross any males and females you can better your chances with the more homework you do !!! Be it line breed or an outcross!!!i will say it until I'm blue in the face again take a female that you like everything about her as far as say hunt heart nose mouth etc... Find a male that duplicates her traits atleast as good and preferably a little better in the areas she might be a little weak in and breed them and don't worry about what the papers say!!!! if you do this you will increase your odds of getting an above average litter with the traits you desire and or breeding for!!!! I'm not a believer of taking hot and breeding it to cold and getting warm it doesn't work !! IMO !!!!! Second of all getting every single pup in a coon hunters hands that will get the most out of the pup even if you have to give them away especially on her first cross!!! Then you should have a good idea within 18 months of pew hat kind of litter you will have and second of all if your female is a reproducer !!!! And to me 3 out of 10 isn't a reproducer !! This is just mu opinion on the subject and this method has worked pretty good for me !! Good luck

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Registered: Feb 2012
Location: airville,pa
Posts: 2078

doesn't matter to me. make a good cross best u can get your hands on,with traits that compliment each other. do your homework. i feel is the best you can do.

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Registered: Dec 2012
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 2027

quote:

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Originally posted by POTOMAC
When your line breeding the traits you are looking for are even more important than ever!!!!! So there's a lot more involved when looking for the correct line breeding stud than just an outcross for the simple reason is you will be doubling up on not only good traits but also what me be an undesirable trait Aswell !!! And although there are no guarantees when you cross any males and females you can better your chances with the more homework you do !!! Be it line breed or an outcross!!!i will say it until I'm blue in the face again take a female that you like everything about her as far as say hunt heart nose mouth etc... Find a male that duplicates her traits atleast as good and preferably a little better in the areas she might be a little weak in and breed them and don't worry about what the papers say!!!! if you do this you will increase your odds of getting an above average litter with the traits you desire and or breeding for!!!! I'm not a believer of taking hot and breeding it to cold and getting warm it doesn't work !! IMO !!!!! Second of all getting every single pup in a coon hunters hands that will get the most out of the pup even if you have to give them away especially on her first cross!!! Then you should have a good idea within 18 months of pew hat kind of litter you will have and second of all if your female is a reproducer !!!! And to me 3 out of 10 isn't a reproducer !! This is just mu opinion on the subject and this method has worked pretty good for me !! Good luck

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__________________
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man."
Mark Twain

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Registered: Feb 2010
Location: off the res.
Posts: 3422

I've been around these hounds a long time and one thing I do know is that dogs seem to get better and better the longer they are dead. I personally know a couple of people that bred 2 , at that time GOOD females to a TOP stud and out of 15 pups not a one made a coon dog all were culled. Now that was live breeding drove couple of thousand miles round trip. That same stud is being bred to now (semen) are the pups better now ? I don't know, but they sell for lots of money at 8 weeks. Maybe better females today. Maybe better training methods, etc. or maybe people aren't as demanding as some of the old mostly hide hunters.

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Stupidity: lacking normal intelligence.
Intelligence: the ability to learn or understand.
You can't fix STUPID!

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