Originally Posted by
CA Jack
I understand what Limey is saying about color, and I agree with him that many breeders follow "the tightness of the pedigree" rather than the qualities of the dogs, which is a mistake.
However, where I think Limey fails is in his own assumption that the performance traits always follow the looks/color in the pups. Sometimes they do; sometimes they don't. Case in point: two of Poncho's best sons were drastically-different in color: Gr Ch Zukill was a clone of Poncho, while Ch Stormbringer was not.
The most important thing you can follow IMO is performance ability, not color, and let that (and only that) be your guide. Following "only color" is as much of a potential mistake as is following "only the papers" ... BOTH ARE WRONG it's the physical & mental abilities that should be followed.
Therefore, while it is true that these physical/mental abilities oftentimes follow with the color patterns, because this isn't always true, it leaves you open for mistakes in judgment if color is all a person follows. If you are going to be selecting from amongst pups, and not waiting until it actually performs, then you really have to know the "signs" of the great dogs you've bred that were displayed by them as pups. Therefore, when I select a pup, I do pay attention to color, but I pay even more attention to how the pup moves, and whether it contains "the essence" of my best dogs in it. (I don't know how to explain it any better than that.) But, as an example, I can "just tell" that Amazon is a true Poncho bitch (human-smart/indomitable spirit) ... just by watching her ... and I can "just tell" that Beowulf carries the intense Silverback/CocoCola traits (lightning-fast/super-intense/bad intentions) just by watching him.
In other words, when you work with your own line long enough, you just know when the specific genes you're looking for have passed into your pups ... and when they have not.
Jack
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