The Breeders’ Bible ACCORDING TO THE LATE, GREAT CAROL GARRISON
JOSEPHNEILM C GINNIS III
In 1985 it was my pleasure to interview one of the Dog World’s greats, a woman who almost singlehandedly crested a dynasty, the quality and effects of which resonate to this day. Carol Garrison’s CARLEE MIN PINS still stands as a blue- print for what we’d all like to do. I now share with you the “rules’ she shared with us many years ago, If we heeded her words, I’ll bet it worked, and if we did not, perhaps now’s the time. I called it The Breeders’ Bible According to Carol Garrison . Here are the highlights: NEVER COMPROMISE. The quickest way to get burnt is to break you own rules. You must stick to your own code of ethics, in your breeding program, in dealing with the public…in all things.
LEARN WHAT IS EASY TO CORRECT, AND WHAT IS HARD TO CORRECT. For example, in Min Pins, eye color is easy to correct. The hardest things to correct in that breed are bad rears and bad feet. Once you get certain faults in your own line, they will keep cropping up forever. NEVER BREED TO A DOG YOU HAVEN’T SEEN. Don’t breed to the top-wining dog just because he is the top winning dog. If it doesn’t click with your line, you will be doing more harm than good. NEVER RULE OUT A BREEDING THAT MAY IMPROVE YOUR LINE. Appreciate the gene pool of a good dog – any good dog. No matter where it comes from, a compatible gene pool is what you want. Some of the top-pro- ducing dogs are not Champions: you want then to produce better than they are. Wouldn’t you think, if there was a non famous dog with the traits you desired, that it would be worth it to try? What’s one breeding? LISTEN TO BREEDERS. It is very important for new people to talk to breed- ers, but everything they say is not gospel. Listen to everything, then decide for yourself. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ‘A GOOD BROOD BITCH’. Never breed a bitch that doesn’t possess as many posi- tive traits as possible. You have to be very critical.
KNOW YOUR PEDIGREES. It is important to know what the dogs were, where the present ones came from, but remember: the genes only hold for 3 or 4 generations – then, the influence dies out. Watch for the Top Producers. Top Producers produce. PUT EVERYTHING IN PERSPEC- TIVE. Decide what comes first in your breeding program, and stick with it. NEVER OUTCROSS. To start your own line, find 2 lines that are compati- ble, that have no anomalies. This is where you derive dominance. If you don’t have a dominant dog bred to a dominant bitch, in lines what will ‘click’, you have nothing. KEEP YOUR NUMBERS MANAGE- ABLE. You can not keep every dog. Don’t keep anything that is not helping your breeding program. Having too many will put you out of dogs faster than any- thing else. The number of brood bitches you have means nothing. It is the quality that counts. LOCK IN YOUR GOOD TRAITS. Concentrate on keeping the positive characteristics in your bloodline, keeping in mind your priorities. EDUCATE YOURSELF. You can acquire an ‘eye’ even if you’re not an artist. Take pictures, draw, learn. And study.
186 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , O CTOBER 2017
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