Reflections

Every good breeder finds it difficult to make the best possible combinations. You are looking for specific things because you have various demands. Both parents should contribute their part after all and the puppies should improve on the faults of their parents.
The faults of the mother are usually quite well known to the breeder but now it is their job to search for a male that suits that purpose. Also the male will have it’s own faults and that is no bad thing. After all no dog is perfect.

With that said, it is also important to know the heritage of both dogs. You don’t want them related too close. The less related the parents are the more varied the puppies will be genetically. This means less chances of diseases and a stronger immune system. That is why it is nice to know what dogs are present in the past generations of the pedigree. This makes a pedigree highly valuable.

Problems will arise when concessions are made with either one of those things.

I am very lucky to have two amazing sporty girls, Yara and Lucy. They have ancestors that are known to me. In Lucy her case she will be thoroughly tested by our protocol. Yara already is completely tested and she matches our criteria. Now comes the hard part, finding a male. Males enough, you would say. Oh, absolutely. But if it was not clear up till now we don’t just select any partner but we want to achieve the best healthiest results that are possible.

First of all the male must be thoroughly tested as well. This is where the first problems occur. If there are any real health tests done they are very basic. The results are also hard to come by because they are almost never made public. If you are lucky enough the male is tested extensively the results must also be adequate. Luckily there are a number of males that are tested very thorough and have amazing results. But we are not there yet.
Our puppies receive a FCI pedigree, this means that both parents have a FCI pedigree as well. In The Netherlands it is mandatory to perform DNA parentage tests on every puppy with an FCI pedigree. So this means you are one hundred percent certain that the puppies parents are really the parents. The FCI does not accept dogs from different registries. Yara and Lucy both have a FCI pedigree so this is also asked for their partner.

And here lies a problem.

There are many pedigree registries that are not acknowledged by the FCI. This does not automatically mean they are less reliable, that differs between registries. There are organizations where you can fill in and print your own pedigree but there are also registries were parentage DNA is mandatory. These registries are as reliable as the FCI. As a huge bonus they accept dogs from other registries, too.
By splitting up the registries and by not allowing to cross between them the population is split in little groups. This does not serve the genetic diversity well.

Often the males I am interested in do not have a pedigree from the FCI but a pedigree from an alternative organization. There are only a few males within the FCI to meet our standards. Many of these males are genetically close to Yara or Lucy and/or they don’t meet our health standards.

I refuse to make any concessions regarding health for a FCI pedigree. If Lucy will pass her health test exams we already have an amazing male picked out for her. He has a FCI pedigree so this means their puppies will get one, too.

And after that? After that all FCI males I know of are too related or we already have used them. Who knows what the future will hold.

I am seriously wondering if the future of Hawbucks, or even that of the French Bulldog, lies within the FCI..