Chimera Kennels

Hi people,

     Like all other people on this forum i am a working dog enthusiast. I would like to get opinions on why large or government owned kennels seem to always have a higher percentage of their progeny being suitable for personal protection work than hobby kennels. The czech government has about 75% of their progeny, most of the hobby breeders i talk with say aboutv 2 pups per litter at most i have heard 50%. Is there any reason for this? Any input will be appreciated.

Affirmative action. LOL.

No...seriously, it has more to do with time, experience, and resources and also honesty. It depends on the selection criteria. A good breeder with good resources should eventually get to a point that they are producing at least 50% IMO working class offspring. That said, most government breeding programs are not producing as well as they say. I know several dog brokers that are also trainers and they travel overseas to hand pick dogs because when dogs are simply shipped over here they do not get the quality they expect.

I would say 2 working potential pups per litter would be a very small percentage, depending on the size of the litters. It also depends on the individual dogs some are just great producers.

Good day sirs,

 I really appreciate your input.  I have heard that most puppy tests are not conclusive to determine if a dog would be suitable for protection work much less breeding but i am surprised that most breeders rarely make mistakes in selecting puppies that should be kept back and those that fit various functions, is there an element of luck here or do puppy tests give enough information to make these decisions?  Thanks for your time.

Puppy evaluations are only suggestive of potential. Nothing more.

NO BREEDING decisions in any legitimate program would be made from evaluating puppies. The dogs have to grow up and PROVE it.

I wouldn't say that breeders rarely make mistakes in pup selection, it's more that some will rarely admit to making mistakes in selection, or they have "kennel blindness" and can't see the flaws in the dogs the choose to keep. It's natural to be proud of the dogs you produce so it's easy to loose objectivity, and make poor choices. That's why I keep breeding rights on anything I can because I don't want to miss an opportunity to breed to a dog that I selected against just to have them turn out better than my selection.

Puppy testing can be a good indicator, but in PP work it's not especially accurate, because PP work demands so much from the dogs that hasn't developed in the minds of puppies yet. Not to mention mental attributes are only part of it, you still have to see how the dogs build, athleticism, and health turn out.

With something like beagles it's a lot easier you just keep the ones that show the most interest in a hide and when they are old enough, let them run with older dogs and listen for who's doing what.

Thanks  Mr David, i guess that means a sizeable portion of those pups with good drive have to be kept back and monitored closely.  Thanks a lot sir.

Thanks everybody, i really appreciate your answers, i am saving towards getting a female this year, i need all the info i can get. You guys are so helpful, God bless you. Thanks.