Corey Gruver
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2014
Location: PA
Posts: 1735 |
Herschel
I think the reason you might not see it in there is just because it deals specifically with registration. I'm not sure on that one, I'll have to crack open the new rule book and take a look for myself.
I think the topic of conversation is diverging into two separate issues on this thread. Inadvertently they are related, but I think everyone has done a good job of specifying specific information that we all need to heed to help our breed along in the future.
I was speaking more to the "off-color" topic more so then I was the diverging of hunting stock and show stock within the breed. Yes, there has been a split, and anyone that has been around longer then I, like Shane or Richard, probably witnessed it happening first hand.
Like Shane said, the problem has been competition. In order to succeed at national level events on a consistent basis, you almost need to specialize in the event you want to win in the most. It makes a lot of sense. That's why people choose to breed either consistent winning show dogs or consistent winning hunting dogs. True dual purpose redbones are in the minority, in my opinion, but they dog exist. Just look at Reverend Red or Comstock's Red Lightning.
I think I agree with what Shane said the most, in that between high caliber hunting stock, high caliber show stock and dual purpose dogs, live the mediocre dogs. These dogs might not fit the standard to a T and they may not be dogs that display highly valued, strong hunting traits we all desire to see out of our own dogs.
The fact of th matter is, with this issue on its own, it would probably be worth our time to develop some sort of standard that encompasses both aspects of our breed. The physical make up that will help the dogs do their job most efficiently, and the non-physical side of hunting traits and abilities, instinct and whatever else you would like to lump in there. The true dual purpose dogs are the 'Golden Mean', to quote Aristotle 
Now on to the separate issue of "off-color". I agree with the fact that if you breed off color hounds, you will increase the odds of producing off colored puppies. Do I think that is something the breed should strive for? No by at all. But at the same time, it would and will be hard to eliminate the recessive genes that cause these color combinations to happen.
For example, the red and white male pictured above. That dog has five littermates that are all solid red, and three other littermates that are "off-colored". They all have one thing in common, they all carry the same genes. Four of them just display the recessive. So, should the solid red pups not be bred, for the simple fact that hey carry these recessive genes? It depends. If they display what I think are traits worthy of being bred, and make great coondogs, why shouldn't they? The fact is, a lot of people aren't going to pay attention or recognize if their dog does carry these pesky recessive genes, and like Shane said, every ancestor counts, so there is probably a lot of that sort of stuff in them already.
All I was trying to say was that I don't think it's a huge deal that our redbones today throw these kinds of pups. I don't think it should inhibit anyone from doing what they are doing in the breeding pen. However, I might be the minority in thinking that if I can get better traits from an off colored dog from a particular Redbone cross, now that UKC has the X-Bred program, I dont think I would be afraid to breed to that dog if I really needed what he had or she had to offer.
And don't be offended if your off-color puppy can't be registered as a redbone. That's the number one complaint I hear from guys with these kinds of pups. That's what I meant by the butt-hurt comment I made in my original post. If they don't meet the standard, they are going to be registered X-Bred. Period.
Just my two cents... might be three cents with how long my post is...
I still have a lot to learn from you old fellas that have been with the breed for eons. I'm eager and willing to learn 
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Corey Gruver
Greenville, PA
(724) 456-6813
Last edited by Corey Gruver on 02-08-2017 at 08:38 PM
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02-08-2017 04:12 PM
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