While you may feel you are not too concerned with the breeding of bird dogs, it should be important to you that the prospect you buy is well-bred.

A breeder is a person who first knows what he is trying to produce as an objective, and second, is capable of producing that objective of employing a well-planned, long range, intelligent breeding program. If he can produce consistently, year after year and generation after generation, the type of dog he has established as his standard, then he is by my definition, a dog breeder.

There are few true dog breeders in the country today. Many so called breeders are not breeders in the above sense. They have no preconceived plan and, in many cases, do not even have a clear cut objective. Their matings are not carefully planned and little consideration is given to the pedigrees or bloodlines. They fly by the seat of their pants into some short range program merely because they may have one good individual - and some friend has another. They conclude that by breeding the two they should get a litter of above average dogs. If an outstanding prospect results from such a mating, it is largely accidental. If the individuals are unrelated, this is what is known as outcrosssing. In a case where an unrelated sire and dam are mated, the offspring has no reason to resemble either one, and seldom does.

All the fine strains of animals that I am familiar with are the result of long range breeding programs and without exception, involve either line breeding or in breeding. Perhaps I should here define these terms- or let Mr. Webster do it.

Strain - in domestic animals, those which have a common lineage, but without distinguishing characteristics sufficient to constitute a breed.

Line breeding - breeding or mating of successive generations among themselves to secure certain desired characters.

Inbreeding - breeding or mating of closely related individuals or stocks, to preserve or fix favorable or eliminate unfavorable characters.

The question is, how do we develop a pure strain that will breed true to type? First, we must establish our standard. If some other breeder has started on a breeding program with a similar standard or objective, by all means take advantage of it. By using breeding stock from his strain you can get the benefit of a head start which may represent several years of breeding effort.

In line breeding or inbreeding, all the qualities are intensified-both the good and the bad. As you breed generation after generation, it will be necessary to cull out the undesirable qualities and use only the very finest individuals. It may sometimes be necessary to discard entire litters or individuals that you had saved because of their outstanding qualities. If they were unable to reproduce or transmit these qualities to their offspring, they will unfortunately be useless for further breeding.

So many times I have heard men say, when a female did not pan out in the field that she would make a good brood bitch. This, of course, could not be more of a misstatement. If a bitch becomes gunshy, she is often foolishly used as a brood bitch. Is it any wonder, then, that there are so many dogs unfit for field work? Only the finest individuals should be used for breeding. That is why it is called selective breeding. Good begets good, maybe not directly, but eventually.

One last thought regarding breeding-there is a phenomenon that is recognized by most successful breeders today that is constantly influencing the results of every breeding program. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as "the drag of the race," is a natural tendency toward mediocrity-a constant leaning toward average.

Assuming this phenomenon of the "drag of the race" is present at every mating, then is not selective line breeding and in breeding the only logical way to counteract this tendency toward the common dog? If this hypothesis is sound, it leaves little room for outcrossing without great knowledge and experience.