Is there an easy way to get a good idea how different sires and dams match up genetically?
By Ralph Gillum, BraceBeagling Columnist
March 28, 2004

Over the years I have developed a method for looking at possible sire and dam combinations that gives me a good look at their genetic relationships. I run off a number of copies of a modified five generation pedigree form. At the top of the blank pedigree form, I have a small circle within a larger circle. The smaller circle is for recording the number of crosses to my family of dogs and the larger circle is for the total number of different dogs in the five generations.

I start by filling in the pedigree, using the call names for the dogs and writing in the number of champions each of the bitches has produced after their names. After the pedigree has been filled in, I look to see if any of the dogs that appear in the first three generations also appear on the other side of the pedigree. If so, I circle them each time they appear. I also look for and circle any full brothers or sisters that appear. After a dog is once circled, I don’t also circle its sire or dam unless they appear in a different sire or bitchline.I then draw a straight line to connect the same dog each time it appears but draw a dotted line to connect it to its siblings. Finally, I take a yellow magic marker and highlight all the lines.

Next, I take the magic marker and highlight any dogs in the fifth generation that are directly related to my family of dogs. I then count these highlighted family dogs, thus getting the number of crosses to my family that occur in this five generation pedigree. This number I write in the small circle at the top of the page and highlight.

Starting with the first generation, I write down the name of the sire and dam at the top of the left side of the pedigree. I then go on to each succeeding generation, working from top to bottom, listing each new dog as it appears in the pedigree and indicating this with a pencil mark to the right of its name. I record additional appearances of the same dog in the pedigree with additional pencil marks. When all of the dogs are listed, I tally the total number of appearances for each dog, erase the pencil marks and record the totals in ink. I then count the total number of dogs that are listed in the column and record this number in the larger circle at the top of the page. The number of dogs in a five generation pedigree is a good indicator of the overall degree of inbreeding in that mating.

Looking at this completed pedigree gives me an excellent picture of the relationships between the individual dogs. The total number of crosses to each dog, along with how early they appear in the pedigree, gives an indication of the probable amount of influence each dog should have on pups from this mating. In evaluating the influence of inbreeding, I give extra consideration to any full brother/sister, father/daughter or mother/son matings. It has been my experience that these types of crosses often exert an exaggerated influence on their offspring for several generations. With this type pedigree, it becomes obvious just how much inbreeding you are doing and upon which dog or dogs. By identifying the individuals or lines from where the genetic pulls should come, you may find that you are concentrating the “blood” of an individual much more or less than you thought.

Unless I am making an outcross, my personal preference at this point in my breeding program is to have a pedigree that contains somewhere between twenty-eight and thirty-eight different dogs. I also like to have one or more dogs that appear multiple times in the first three generations. And, needless to say, the more crosses to the family the better.

The putting together and evaluation of this type of modified pedigree can be invaluable if you have a good knowledge of most of the individual dogs in the pedigree and are familiar with some of their littermates. This allows you the opportunity to give serious consideration to matching up both physical and running traits in a way that compliment each other. It is especially important that you do this for the dogs in the first three generations. I will usually evaluate a number of possible sire/dam combinations before a final breeding decision is made. Then, at the top of the selected pedigree, I record the date the bitch came in season and the date or dates bred. After whelping, I record the date of whelping, the number of male and female pups as well as any dead or defective pups. Thus, this pedigree becomes a permanent record for that mating.

It is much easier to see how I do these pedigrees if you have an example to refere to. Unfortunately, I am unable to attach one on this site. If you would like to have a copy of one of my typical matings and a sample blank modified pedigree form, I would be happy to mail you copies. Just e-mail me at beagle@mcihispeed.net .