I know there are some who don't like the British field dogs and some that do so I'm looking for some opinions. I have a British BLF that has several British FTCHs in her pedigree. I've been training her myself and she is doing really well. Down the road I may want to have a litter of pups from her. I would like to know some opinions of breeding her to an American bred FC?
If you are a casual breeder, breeding to titles not bloodlines , then I think you should pass. Breeding is a science where 1+1 does not always = 2
but then again my .02 is always worth just that....
Breeding is as much Art as it is science. Because 1+1 doesnt always equal 2 I say go ahead as long as you consider all the factors that go into producing a litter. Breeding should not be reserved for only a select few "scientist'.
Thanks for the feedback. This will be a year or two down the road if I breed her at all. I want to finish her out and maybe get some titles on her before breeding. My main focus will be hunting her so that is priority 1.
I hear ya DoubleHaul. Mine did not come from Duckhill or Wildrose and so far has been everything a British lab is not supposed to be. She is super amped up and I couldn't even keep her in the house but she has a super drive to please and has been easy to train. So far I have been pleased with her even though she is not quite the marketing pattern for British field bred. She is really small and fast. Too bad I don't hunt out of a canoe.
My 4 month old British pup sounds a bit like yours. He does do well in the house. But sure does like to chew and dig some holes. I'm up the road in Cabot. Will have to hook up and compare notes.
Thanks again for the comments. Smooth Boar I will pm you my #. I need to get hooked up with some folks to train with. I've taken her past any of the dogs I've had in the past and could use some opinions and ideas on where to go next.
Yes, please do. But trust me you don't want my advice. Duck hunted for a long time and been around other's dogs. But this is my first venture into having my own.
If she doesn't come from PRA tested clear parents, you should get her tested. Many of the UK FT lines here in the US carry PRA. I know of a few UK FT x Amer. HT/FT lines. A working dog is a working dog. Doesn't matter which side of the pond he/she comes from. Will the UK breeders look at your litter to buy? Probably not. But those looking for a good hunting dog probably will.
Because ya bastards keep all the good ones for yer selves! The current imports are usually tested and can be clear, but the early dogs, of which the general population of UK line dogs all have in their pedigree (Craighorn Bracken is one fine example) were carriers and they were used by every Tom, Dick, and Harry breeding "British" dogs. Don't get me wrong, there were really nice dogs, but due to the popular sire syndrome and the lack of other imports, their genes were spread far and wide. I have a Bracken daughter, and yes, she is also a PRA carrier like her father.
I've owned a few, and trained several more. In general, they have been nice working and hunt test dogs. Some are/were obviously better than others. FWIW, we just put an HR title on our UK x American bred female pup this past weekend. Assuming she receives acceptable OFA scores and passes our required health clearances, I won't hesitate to do a breeding with her.
Thanks for the feedback Kirk. My thoughts were that if I had her bred I would rather it be to the best stud that complements her and not just a good British stud. Good to know that others would not object to that line of thinking.
Good points. How about PRA in American? I hardly ever see breeders post PRA clearances in their ads. Is PRA mainly a problem in British bloodlines?
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