The year is 2004, at present time there is a great controversy,
surrounding the Siberian Husky breed... It started in 1926, when two different
strains of Siberian evolved from the original import dogs…..
On one side of the coin, we have the Seppala enthusiasts. These people have the
distinction of saying that their dogs, are descendants of the original
forty-some Seppala imports. These are our renegade purists,.. these people
believe that Seppala-stock should consume the majority of a good race dog’s
pedigree…. They are very anti-show and breed solely for working purpose…
On the other side of the coin is everyone else……
You see the problem with Seppalas is this… Right from the start the
original dogs began being bred to the Siberian Sled Dogs of others who could
afford to import them. Even the cornerstone of the Seppala breedings Elizabeth
Ricker, bred out to an Olaf Swenson dog. I do not believe that the intent was
ever, or should ever have been to keep the line “pure”….. It is indeed noted
that Leonhard Seppala had truly outstanding and exceptional dogs, this is
neither argued nor disputed.
So then, what of the dogs of John Johnson, Olaf Swenson, and other importers of
the time…. Undoubtedly they too had exceptional dogs, and to deny or contest
this would be of unsound judgment.
The segregation began when people who did not run Siberians
competitively, began acquiring dogs that they bred for show. They bred their
dogs for the symmetrical appearance of Irish markings. Some of these dogs never
saw a sled, and lived a rather relaxed content life. Instead they were pranced
around the show rings, and then something very different started to happen….
A hand-full of people began showing their dogs in obedience…. Here and
there over the years,.. not many but some Siberians obtained levels of obedience
titles….. maybe to the Seppala people this wouldn’t mean much,… but never the
less, this as an evolutionary step for Siberians.
Then there is this grey area that everybody fears…. The “back-yard
breeder”, a term commonly referring to puppy mills. A back-yard breeder is not
necessarily this,… a back-yard breeder can also be that couple, who owns one
pair of well-bred dogs, produces a couple of litters, and never breeds again.
Some of the off-spring ultimately ends up in a neighbor’s house…. Over time this
blood-line was lost,… through back-yard breeding!
How-ever this is hardly anything to look down on. What you have now, is the
chance for hybrid vigor and access to line that is barely in use. You must of
course take the same precautions as with any line. No litters till three years,
all the recommended health clearances, and of course you have to pick the
hardest working pup, with the best attitude…….
My objective here, is to take females of very pronounced lines, and
breed them to males of a scattered line. The theory here, is that is that a male
can only code for what the female already has. If you are using a male of a
scattered lineage, the outcome will no doubt be puppies of a scattered gene
pool.
This experiment works in the reverse aspect of course, meaning that
the scattered lineage female will throw a fairly uniform litter, when bred to a
pronounced lineage male. In this instance where type is bred to type, the
progeny should bare identical similarity to the parents.
To obtain the maximum level of Heterogeneous traits, I will be
starting with breeding combinations that are not related in 8 generations. Later
depending on the success of the experiment I may move to 10 even 12.
To anyone
entering the world of purebred dogs it is apparent that there are practically
royal
families within breeds.... and in the eyes of some ignorant breeders... your dog
is either
royalty... or just another dog... this constricting line of thought, leads
the average
no-vice to believe that they too should breed in some of this "valuable
blood"... or worse yet
totally abandon their beginning lines and run, head down charging into the world
of incest
breeding..... AND MANY DO!!!
I do have a lot of respect for many of the top performing dogs of many kennels.
However I do not subject myself to idle worship, or inner-breed racism. I base
my breeding decisions on individual dogs and their attributes, and pay careful
attention not to paint myself into a genetic corner.
My hopes for my
personal breeding program, is to embrace the thoughts and intentions of
the Seppala Siberian Sled dog, and to breed in various strains of
Seppala stock , to my
Generic Siberians. I would however like to also
use Artificial Insemination from other countries to encourage hybrid vigor.
In 2005 I will
be adding 6-10 new members to my pack. Keep an eye on the
Meet Our Pack
page, to watch our family grow.
Breeding
Philosophy
The
Importance of Full Pigment
Breed
Evolution AKC
vs CoKC
Generic Siberians
Huskies
You Should Own a Siberian
Breeder Review
OnQ
Siberians
OnQ
& Able Assistance Dogs