# Picking a Litter/The *****'s Contribution



## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

I've read that the ***** contributes far more to a litter of pups than the sire. That has also been my experience. I've bred my *****es to some of the finest stud dogs around, but time and time again when people call or write who I've placed pups with when they start describing their pup, more often than not their describing the ***** to a "T" as opposed to the stud dog. I've found the same thing to be true when I have purchased pups from other breeders. I'll call them up and say the pup is doing this or doing that and they'll say, "Yup....he gets that from his mother". I have no idea why this is. My guess is that it's because the pup spends it's first several weeks in this world with it's mother, but who knows?

What this means to me is that when I look at a litter of pups, I'm certainly interested in who the sire is.....it takes two to create a great dog, but I'm more concerned with what the ***** is like. I want to know all of her strengths and weakness. We're talking about the mental end of things here moreso than conformation. Of course you want both the sire and dam to have good conformation...that's a given, but when it comes to trainability, temperament, and all of that I really look at the ***** first. Titles are a plus, but not necessary. If the ***** is from solid lines, is proven in the field, etc. that's indication enough that she has the instincts to get the job done.

Keep this in mind when shopping for a litter!!!


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Good advice but for the love of God, it's *****.

Grow a pair. :lol:

Brian


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## irish (Jan 18, 2004)

If all that is the case then the pups my Chessie had will be great dogs, and fantastic cooks because my wife has been doing the mom work ! The female will feed only when one of us are in the room then leaves right when there done . She is a master hunter and proven in the field when hunting, so is the stud . They are both my dogs .

Irish :lol:


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

irish said:


> If all that is the case then the pups my Chessie had will be great dogs, and fantastic cooks because my wife has been doing the mom work ! The female will feed only when one of us are in the room then leaves right when there done . She is a master hunter and proven in the field when hunting, so is the stud . They are both my dogs .
> 
> Irish :lol:


Some females are better Moms than others...no doubt about that!


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## irish (Jan 18, 2004)

> Some females are better Moms than others...no doubt about that!
> 
> You are right about that some day ill tell ya about my wifes sister !
> 
> Irish


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## wirehairman (Oct 31, 2005)

I would agree with this sentiment and place 60 to 70 percent of my selection on the b!tch versus the stud.


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## verg (Aug 21, 2006)

Ok dumb question but an honest one. How or why do you guys think the dam is more important than the sire? I have heard the many think the sire is more important. How can it be proved?
I guess i'm just thinking it takes two right?


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## brianb (Dec 27, 2005)

Sorry about the above statement. I didn't realize the computer edited for you.

Mmmm, my foot tastes good this morning.

b i t c h - ha ha outsmarted the machine.


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## stonebroke (Dec 16, 2004)

verg said:


> Ok dumb question but an honest one. How or why do you guys think the dam is more important than the sire? I have heard the many think the sire is more important. How can it be proved?
> I guess i'm just thinking it takes two right?


From what I've read over the years, many long time breeders, trainers, etc. feel that the ***** contributes more to the pups than the sire based on what they've seen. My experience has been similar. There is no way, of course to prove this theory......it's just an observation a lot of people have made over the years.

In horse racing a mare that always produces quality colts is referred to as a "Blue Hen", which means no matter what stud she's bred to, she always produces great offspring. I think that probably applies to dogs as well, but that's just a guess.

Why is the female more important? Again, we can only guess but most people believe that it's because the pups spend the first several weeks of their life with their mother.....they pick up on her temperament, personality, etc. Dogs are very, very intuitive. If you've ever had a dog that you bonded very closely with I think you would agree that they have an uncanny way of sensing your mood. Many times it's almost like they mirror the "Pack Leaders" personality.

Having said all of that, there is no doubt that the stud dog used is important. You can't breed a quality female to poor stud dog and realisticly expect quality pups. The point I'm trying to make here is that when a quality female is bred to a quality stud dog, the pups will tend to be more like the female than the male. Obviously this is a very general statement and will not apply to every dog.


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## wirehairman (Oct 31, 2005)

verg said:


> Ok dumb question but an honest one. How or why do you guys think the dam is more important than the sire? I have heard the many think the sire is more important. How can it be proved?
> I guess i'm just thinking it takes two right?


I can't prove it but have seen numerous examples of an exceptional stud dogs producing below average puppies. Conversely, I have seen very few examples of a really nice b!tch producing "below her level".


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