written by and published with permission of Elaine Greenwood

I’ve been at this for a couple of decades now, and I’ve read an article or two about breeding.  When I read people’s opinions of why breeders breed, I sometimes wonder, “Where did they get that opinion from? Do they even breed dogs?  They are not  describing  anyone I know in dogs.”  

Though breeders may not always hit the mark, the goal of every breeder I know is to produce sound, healthy, high-quality dogs…  the complete package – in a Best In Show wrapper.  I don’t know a single breeder who is breeding for mediocrity, expedience or only breeding for the money... not one!  Even the biggest volume breeders are also trying to produce quality.  The breeders I know study conformation and pedigrees to the point of distraction. They agonize over breeding decisions.  And, from my experience, for the average small breeder, no puppy sale remotely compensates for the work of producing a healthy litter, most especially not a healthy Dobe litter.

For those who complain about breeder's judgment and motivation, and that the breed is going to hell in a hand basket, all I can say is that you might see things differently from inside the whelping box.  If it seems clear to you what is wrong, then roll up your sleeves and breed the better litter. Contribute back to the gene pool in a positive way.   Don’t just sit back and complain, step up to the plate and make a positive difference.  Give back to the breed!

Influential breeders and influential sires in any breed all have one thing in common; they BREED. It can be argued that they breed to much, but at least they are contributing; and - of course - we bitch and moan about that too. We’ve been trained to shun active breeders, in part because we buy into a message that we all send and receive daily.

We are bombarded by messages, some of which are subtle, some of which are more boldly in our face. In some instances we have heard the message so often we stop questioning its merit. One such subtle message is that “good breeders” don’t breed.  For a variety of reasons, we have convinced ourselves that being a “good breeder” essentially means not breeding at all and not allowing animals we breed to be bred. We send and receive this subtle Animal Rights message in a myriad of ways.

This “good breeders don’t breed” philosophy starts from the moment we set out to purchase our first dog. Anyone who has tried to purchase a quality Doberman over the years knows how daunting a challenge it has become. In most instances it is easier to adopt a blonde blue-eyed child than to purchase a quality Doberman puppy. Sellers want more references and data than what is required for a top-level government security clearance. 

Breeders pat themselves on the back for setting very high standards about who can purchase their puppies. We set even higher standards about which (if any) of the puppies we produce can be bred.  We set even higher standards still about whom we will allow to breed to our stud dogs. We exercise extreme control over most every aspect of what we breed, including when and by whom it must be shown, and to whom it will be bred (if at all). We exercise this control for as long as possible.. for as many generations as possible.  And all the while we pat ourselves on the back because we are being “good breeders.” For most of us,  “good breeders” are defined as having  very strict requirements, by doing very few breedings and by controlling what is produced for generations. With all the control, it's a wonder anyone ever purchases or breeds a Dobe.

I am not pointing any fingers here. Arthur and I are “good breeders.”  Recently we were approached about breeding our Kafka son Tungsten to a line-bred Kafka granddaughter.  There were some good things about the bitch (and some concerns not relevant to this point) but the real hang-up was, "Oh HORRORS  … the bitch was 7 years old and this would have been her 4th litter!!! Oh horrors!!!"   So,  we righteously declined the breeding (and got lots of pats on the back from fellow breeders for doing so). We were “good breeders” for not breeding.   (As an aside, the bitch was bred to another nice male and I wish all good things for her owner and the litter).

IF you stop and think about it, if we’re breeding for health and longevity, maybe the 7 year old bitch who can still conceive and carry a litter is exactly the bitch we should be breeding. 

Here is a hard cold consequence of being a “Good Breeder.”  With a few notable exceptions, fewer and fewer breeders are willing to produce large numbers of puppies. The health and vigor of a breed is always a function of the number of animals bred. Over time, we have seen the gene pool focus almost entirely on some variation of Morgan/Kafka/Eddie… and now the Lex Luthor stuff.  The diversity in the gene pool is diminishing.  Some Dobermans of extraordinary quality make no contribution at all to the breed and the few breeders who are willing to do a lot of breeding dominate the breed, both in and out of the show ring. Simply from the standpoint of genetic diversity, that is not the best for our breed. 

Look at breeders who hold the records in any given breed.   The one single thing they have in common is that they BREED.  With any living creature, be it horses, dogs, chickens, goats, goldfish… or  whatever,  producing quality is in large part simply a numbers game. Produce 500 to a 1000 puppies, some will be outstanding...  at both ends of the range.   

I am not encouraging anyone to breed 500 to 1000 puppies, but one inevitable consequence of all the criticism we hurl at each other is that breeders feel they must produce very few litters of absolute perfection in each generation or they have failed. How many breeders do you know who plan even three generations down the road? Very few. Most breeders want it all, in one generation… in the whelping box, right now!! And it has to be perfect from day one. We put huge pressure on ourselves and  there is no room to fail.  I think we all contribute to this cycle.  Think of all the ads proudly proclaiming “My Dobe finished at 10 months.” That should not be an accolade,  that should provoke, “A Dobe is not mature at 10 months, bring the dog back at two and a half or three, when it’s mature, and then I’ll rave about it.”