Is it possible to breed to the same good producing stud dog too many times?
By Ralph Gillum, BraceBeagling Columnist
June 27, 2005

To answer this question, you have to first of all know the purpose of the breeder. If it is to produce as many good dogs as possible in the next few years, I would say the answer is no, you cannot. If you have found a good producing stud dog that crosses well with your bitches, you can take a lot of the uncertainty out of your breedings by simply going back to the same dog time after time. Of course, there will be variances between the litters; however, the quality of the litters will, on the average, beat the odds of you getting as good or better litters with unproven crosses.

On the other hand, if the breeder’s purpose is to establish and maintain a long-
term breeding program, I would say yes, it is possible to breed to the same dog too many times. The reason for this is that you are limiting your genetic makeup to that one specific cross. The offspring of good crosses are not necessarily good producers themselves. In such a case, you have only that one chance to have brood stock that can carry on for you.

I recall one such situation. A local beagler, Kenny Grice, found an excellent cross with his Fd. Ch. Grice’s Sassy and Fd. Ch. Omena Black Friday. I believe there were six Field Champions produced out of this cross as each breeding produced one or two champions. Unfortunately for Mr. Grice, none of these bitches were able to in turn reproduce quality offspring. He did sell one bitch, Fd. Ch. Grice’s Penny, to Glen Burket that did produce for Glen. However, that was pretty much the end of the line for Mr. Grice’s breeding success.

Again, to answer this question, first determine your purpose for breeding and then proceed. If you do wish to continue a long range breeding program, resist the temptation to put all your eggs in one basket. Rather, make some breedings to a good close relative of that good stud or another good male in the same family. In any case, keep some genetic diversity and keep your breeding options open so you can avoid that dreaded genetic dead end.