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Line Crossing -- Phenotype and Genotype

Genotype refers to the many dogs in a single dog's pedigree.

Phenotype is what you see in the actual dog, pedigree or not.

A big problem in American animal breeding, is relying on genotype (shows, champion achievements, reputation, buzz, marketing, etc) so heavily you almost forget phenotype.

An example of this is:

"I have a pinto mare out of the famous champion pinto stallion 'So And So', and I am going to breed her!", versus saying something like this: "I spent several years looking at daughters of the champion stallion 'So and So', and I found one with all of his traits except his long back, which I don't prefer, and I am now looking for a great stallion that compliments my mare".

It is not that genotype means nothing... but it is a balance. Hard percentages in an animal pedigree alone don't determine the quality of the phenotype.

When making pairings for the purpose of improving a breed, or your personal program, choose a mate that best compliments your dogs strengths and weaknesses. Double up on great traits. Don't double up bad ones.

Got a short one? Breed to a tall one. Got a thick one, breed to a slender one. Got one with flubbery lips? Breed to a refined muzzle. Got one that barks all day? Fix it. 📷;-)

Don't leap to buy because of a high percentage of Caspian, or any other dog. Look at the dam too. And look at the actual pup. I turned many of his offspring down, and tried to stick with offspring that had the specific traits, the phenotype, I wanted.

Plus, what a dog throws is another matter than what it looks like. We spend a lot of hot air but we're not as able to control nature as we think we are, lol. It takes several years to see what a dog throws and how those offspring will mature.

If you are doing a litter for the purpose of retaining dogs to go forward with, don't assign pups until as late as possible! I never understand people assigning out pups from week one. Even if I am not retaining, I like to see the personalities before assigning dogs to different kinds of lifestyles. But especially if you are retaining a breeding dog from your litter, you need to hang on as long as possible to you can do trait selection. To understand gentotype versus phenotype, is to assign your pups out as late as possible ensuring that anyone who wants to breed including you, will get the best potentials from the litter.