INBREEDING IN DOGS 



Statistical Study of the Pedigrees of Two Typical Breeds — Inbreeding Not so 



Commonly Practiced by Dog Fanciers as Popularly Supposed and 



Not so Productive of Results as Line-Breeding. 



Williams Haynes, New York, N. Y. 



THAT the thoroughbred dog is 

 very closely inbred is the belief 

 shared alike by the general 

 public and breeders of other 

 kinds of stock. Upon this belief are 

 based most of the objections raised 

 against the thoroughbred either as a 

 companion or a hunting dog. Among 

 dog fanciers, one hears -both extravagant 

 praise and bitter denunciation of in- 

 breeding. 



In certain studies I have recently 

 carried on in terrier breeding I was 

 collecting some data from the stud book 

 records, and I determined at the same 

 time to discover, if possible, w^hat pro- 

 portion of registered dogs are inbred 

 and whether or not these inbred dogs 

 had been markedly successful in bench 

 show comijetitions. The results are 

 surprising and furnish some interesting 

 conclusions on the comparative value 

 of in- and line-breeding. 



For this analysis I selected two breeds, 

 the Airedale and Scottish terriers. 

 Both belong to the same general family : 

 both are poj)ular: both have known 

 histories and carefully compiled records. 

 But each has a very distinct origin, and 

 neither is in any way related in blood. 

 The Scottish terrier* came from the 

 Highlands where they have been known 

 as a distinct breed since the Sixteenth 

 Century. They are the oldest breed 

 of terriers that have been preserved in 

 anything like their original form. The 

 Airedale terrier,* on the other hand, is 

 a manuf actured breed which originated 



'Davics, C. J., The Scottish Terrier, London, 1907. 

 McCandlish, W. L., The Scottish Terrier, Manchester, Eng., 1909 

 Haynes, WiUiams, Scottish and Irish Terriers, Xew York, 1912. 

 ^Buckley, Holland; The Airedale Terrier, Manchester, Eng., 1907. 

 Haynes, Williams, The Airedale, New York, 1911. 

 Jowctt, F. M., The Airedale Terrier, London, 1912. 

 Palmer, R. M., All About Airedales, Seattle, 1912. 

 368 



in Yorkshire something over fifty years 

 ago. 



Selecting at random, but picking half 

 from each sex and 10 from each volume 

 of the stud book for the past 10 years, 

 in 100 Scottish terriers we find three 

 inbred dogs, one from a sire bred to his 

 own daughter, one from a dam bred to 

 her son, and one from full brother and 

 sister. Selecting 100 Airedale terrier 

 pedigrees in the same manner, we find 

 seven examples of inbreeding, six from a 

 sire bred to his daughter and one from a 

 full brother and sister. In other words 

 in the pedigrees examined, 3% of the 

 Scottish terriers and 7% of the Aire- 

 dales are inbred. 



BREEDING CHAMPIONS. 



The avowed object of breeders of 

 these dogs is to produce a dog that shall 

 win at the bench shows. The highest 

 honor a dog can receive is the right to 

 the title of Champion, which means 

 that it has won a certain number of 

 first prizes under at least three different 

 judges. The rules differ somewhat in 

 detail in England and this country, but 

 the underh'ing principle is the same. 

 While there are undoubtedly dogs that 

 in fancier's phraseology are known as 

 "lucky champions," still it is safe to 

 say that dogs winning the title are 

 above the average quality of their breed, 

 closer to the ideal as expressed in the 

 standard. Moreover since to breed 

 champions is the object of the fancier's 

 breeding operations, the per centum of 



