Here is a GOOD blog post on why its important never to buy from a back yard breeder, broker or mill. I was going to make a post like this.. but this one is more articulate than I would likely be.
How to kill a shelter dog
I think breeders need to have a better understanding of genetics than most due. Oh sure most have at least a passing acquaintance with Mendel and punnett squares, but while that will get you out of high school biology successfully its not enough, in my opinion, to breed dogs. Many 'good' breeder I know could be doing it better. They breed nice dogs together in hopes of getting more nice dogs. They do, but they also produce a lot of 'pet' quality puppies. Now there is nothing wrong with 'pet quality' puppies.. but shouldn't your goal to produce great puppies every time? Many of the breeders I am thinking of breed a few litters a year to get the one they want to keep.
My breeding goals, in no particular order:
-I want to produce JRTs that are correct in type (this does not mean they have to win conformation classes.. it does mean they need to fit the standard)
-I want to produce JRTs that are 12 inches or under (12.5 being an 'under' jrt.. but in the agility world its 12 and under for the smallest height catagory)
-I want to produce JRTs with sound structure and great health.
-I want to produce JRTs that will work like they are meant too and excel at 'play hunting' or earth dog trials.
I want to produce JRTs that are drivey but also have fantastic off switches.
I want to produce JRTs that have what it take to be top end agility, rally, obed etc dogs.
I want to produce JRTs that are hard, or tend to be more hard than soft temperament wise.
In short I want to produce JRTs that I would want to own.
Taking stock so far...
I started with Jocko Hunt Twist. She was a proven mom from another breeder who got out of breeding. I had always LOVED this dog's temperament. Happiest dog alive. She loved EVERYONE. You could have beat this dog with a stick and she would still love you and be happy. Nothign got her down and she was as hard as nails. She did ok in conformation back in the day (even with those straight straight legs!!)
So what did I need to improve? Yes the legs, needs more angulation for sure! Shorter back would be good too. She has a fantastic coat! Nice face, great feet. She could also use a rounder chest and less height.
Twist was bred to my boy.. Kaiden HIT CD RNMCL ADC SGDC (and a whole pile of more titles waiting for single legs)
This is NOT a good pic of him. But he finds stacking to be the most horrible thing ever. He has much better angulation (really if he wasn't standing on his back toes you could see the back end angulation) He has a great off switch, great temperament and is very trainable. Bad things are fluffy coat, keel chest, soft temperament and larger than I wanted.
they produced:
GreyRun Trix (not sure what alphabet soup needs to go here these days)
GreyRun Short Cut (Also known as Snip.. and all his accomplishments don't give you letters. The JRTCC doesn't give titles for racing, GTG, etc. He is a very successful dog in both GTG and racing with many championships and reserves)
GreyRun Dekka RNMCL ADC SGDC
All three of these pups have great coats, and better angulation than mom. They are a better size, both Dekka and Trix are under 12 and Snip is just 12 1/4. Trix is a bit soft, Dekka is hard. Over all pretty happy with them. Dekka is very close to the ideal JRT for me temperament wise. She is a bit more dog reactive than I would like. But she is incredibly devoted, drivey, and has an amazing off switch. She is also extremely tolerant of kids.
When Dekka was 4 I bred her to Natural Instinct R
R is an astounding dog. He has his bronze medallion and is a multi champion conformation dog (in the JRT world champion means you were a champion.. its not based on points) His movement is amazing, conformation excellent. His coat is not the best but thats about the only 'bad' thing. He is heavily line bred (more about that on another blog) Crossing to Dekka was a complete outcross.
They produced:
GreyRun Katarra (this pic at 6 months)
Kat is better than I could have hoped. Her conformation and movement is lovely. Her chest is a bit keel shaped. She is smart as a whip, hard as nails, and very focused. I am very very excited about this little monster.GreyRun Wash
Wash is a tiny little boy. He has very nice angulation, great chest. The best head ever. Not a great coat though. He is also a bit soft, but not extremely so.
GreyRun Solo
Solo has a wonky ear due to a crazy infection and needing to have his ear surgically reconstructed. He is a nice boy. But not fantastic. He will not be bred, but we will likely keep him as a pet.
Part two coming later!
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