The best breedings are generally those where the pedigrees have several outstanding ancestors common to both the sire and dam. This is how breed "type" is set. The formula for establishing and maintaining type, for example, would be the sire's sire should be the same dog as the dam's grandsire. This can be reversed to make a line breeding on the dam's sire as well; known as close line breeding. With this formula, one is able to "set type" within a breed. The type you set can be either good or bad. The goal, of course, is to set a type that is "good." One must know the health histories of these family members, as well as all the good you are trying to set type for. Line and inbreeding can increase the possibility of producing even better dogs, but it also must be realized, through augmentation by percentages, line and inbreeding can produce animals with undesirable characteristics.

When few or no ancestors are common to the sire and dam, the breeding is known as an outcross. Some outcrosses are excellent, while others are not. Puppies can resemble the sire, the dam, or a combination of the parents or even a remote ancestor.

Line breeding is generally the safest course to practice when both the sire and the dam of the litter share multiple common ancestors. You work with known qualities. With line breeding you will know in advance to some degree what the puppies will look like and how they most likely will behave.

Inbreeding is the most misunderstood of all the breeding formulas and should be done by only the most experienced breeders, those who have a very strong grasp of genetics and who have known the direct ancestors for at least the first few generations. Type is firmly set by inbreeding. Good or poor qualities are intensified. There is the opportunity to produce superior puppies, but there is also the risk of producing very poor specimens. The best and worst of the ancestors should be carefully evaluated before using the inbreeding formula.

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