Chapter 1 - Primary Consideration

In a small town of Missouri a dispute had arisen over the killing of a dog by a neighbor. After all the witnesses had been heard, a young lawyer by the name of Vest, who later became a United States Senator, got to his feet and addressed the jury on behalf of the owner of the dog.

"The best friend a man has in the world," said Vest, "may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money a man has he may lose. It flies away from him when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw stones of malice when failure settles its clouds upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog.

"A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the sores and wounds that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince. When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

"If misfortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true, even in death."

If you can read that without feeling a catch in your throat, or maybe a little moisture about your eyes, dog breeding is not for you. But to those who respond to that eloquent appeal, this volume is inscribed with the intention of lending a helping hand. It is not designed as a handbook for use in the larger kennels, but is inspired by some vivid memories of my own early days in "the game." Days of trial and error—mostly error.
My intention is to deal with the problems arising from the breeding of dogs, but the novice breeder would do well first to take a little time to study what makes a dog happy and contented—in other words, the main things which influence his life. He asks very little of you, and yet if you will give him these few things, he will repay you a hundredfold. Nor will his repayment be entirely in the form of love and loyalty. If you are breeding dogs, you will soon find that they will give a much more tangible type of gratitude, the type that may be passed through the teller's wicket at the bank.

There will be many who will laugh at the idea that a man can make a living, or even get by, without having a large kennel. To those I say, should the occasion ever arise when you have to do it, there may be a surprise awaiting you. That was my own experience a few years ago. I found myself unable to carry on my regular work, but I had two dogs and a bitch, besides an old building which I remodeled into a kennel where boarders might be comfortably housed. Thus, between the two litters raised that year, the stud service which my dogs supplied other breeders, and the boarders which I took in and cared for, I managed to keep away from the red side of the ledger.

This is merely cited as a bit of encouragement to beginners who are holding off as a result of financial considerations. These must be given plenty of thought, but if one plans ahead and uses a little imagination, many of the difficulties will vanish. For instance, the food problem can be greatly simplified by becoming friendly with a butcher who does his own killing. Heads and lungs, which ordinarily go into fertilizer, can be a big item in the daily diet of your dogs. Cooking them is work, and if undertaken in a small kitchen may give rise to the exchange of pungent remarks between the members of a marital partnership, but your dogs will appreciate it even if the little lady does not. When mixed with damaged loaves of bread, which may be bought very cheaply from any bakery, this meat and broth more than cut my feed bill in half, and the dogs thrived on the diet. However, do not attempt to feed this alone to your dogs. In conjunction with prepared dog foods it is excellent, but when fed alone it does not supply the necessary vitamins, minerals, and roughage which are contained in the commercial foods. The fact that this meat and bread may be obtained is no news to those who have bred dogs before, but to the utter novice it may be a useful tip.

Another thing to keep in mind is that dogs are like human beings in this respect: The better their surroundings and the healthier the dogs, the better their offspring will be. Children born in the slums, or puppies whelped under adverse conditions, seldom reach the top in physical development. Therefore, before the subject of breeding is touched upon, the beginner would do well to study what goes to make a healthy and contented dog.

What is the most important thing in a dog's life? At the risk of being laughed to scorn, I am going to answer that with one word: love. I do not mean maudlin sentimentality, but honest love. As in man, I believe that this is the first requisite to real happiness, and that food comes a poor second. If the prospective breeder does not love dogs, he should keep away from them. The man or woman who breeds purely for monetary reward never yet produced a puppy which went to the top, or even well up, in his breed. Given the opportunity, a dog can supply most of his bodily needs himself, but not love, that mystic relation between dog and master.

That, to my mind, is the first and greatest commandment in the breeding of dogs. Love them and understand them, but do not shower them with maudlin affection. No dog wants to have baby talk burbled at him all day. Remember, the only words he understands are those which have been taught to him by constant drilling. Treat him with dignity, except during his romping periods, and he will respect you for it. It is possible that I attribute more intelligence to my dogs than they actually possess, but I would rather err in that direction than by underestimating them.

People who do not understand dogs would laugh at the idea that there are no two dogs alike and that they have separate personalities, just as is the case with human beings. That is an absolute fact, however, and these personalities begin to be apparent within a few weeks after birth. Just as soon as the puppies begin to waddle around like babies learning to walk, it becomes very evident that each one is quite unlike any of the others. One may be a bully, while another may be a shrinking violet. There is always the show-off, and quite often one with a sneaky streak. The bitch always has her favorite, too, and he is bound to receive small favors in the way of extra rations which hasten his development.

I have one particular litter of cocker spaniels in mind when I speak of the development of personality. These little fellows were line bred to a bitch who had been an outstanding winner a few years previously. She was a golden, combining gaiety, affection, and vanity in her disposition. The sire was a tricolor, the most aggressive spaniel I have ever seen. A queer mating, you might say —a tricolor mated to a golden—but I had studied the pedigrees of both sire and dam, and the results more than justified my choice.

The five puppies were whelped on Christmas Eve, and at birth looked none too promising. Three were black and white, and two solid black! At three weeks they were showing definite characteristics of temperament. One little black bitch was as coy and loving as her mother. A pat on her sleek black head sent her into spasms of delight. The other black, a bitch also, was the show-off in the litter, and her chief delight was in annoying the others when she was not making a play for my attention.

The baby of the lot was a little fellow so small that he had to be helped at feeding time to keep his place in the line-up of voracious youngsters. The consensus of opinion among the breeders who saw him was that I should do away with him and give the others that much more chance to develop, but he was so beautifully marked that I could not bring myself to do it. When he started stumbling around, the others bullied him and made his life miserable, until the day he discovered that he had teeth and that they were of some use to him. Then it was a different story. He was small but he had plenty of courage, and it was not long before they all learned to respect his rights. And he was the first of my dogs to sign on for active service as mascot on a destroyer.

The fourth puppy had little of his sire's aggressiveness. He was a happy little dog who learned his lessons in public sanitation quickly, and generally respected the rights of others.

The fifth, however, was the bully of the litter. He looked about as unpromising as any puppy could, but he was aggressive and he was his mother's favorite. He was always at the front of the line at meal-time. At two weeks he had grown so much bigger that he could push his way in wherever he choose, and he always chose the very best nipple. By the time he was six months old he was a swaggering bully, and I had to prove to him that I was boss. It took the laying on of hands nine times in two days, but at the end of that time he knew. I felt brutal when I whipped him, but in his case it was the only way. From then on I never had to raise my voice to him, much less punish him. And when the fall show came around, he won the trophy for the best puppy, hands down.

That is giving only one litter as an example, but as each new one comes along, the point is proved. No two puppies are ever exactly alike, either in physical qualities or in temperament; yet the laws of heredity are demonstrated in each one.

For instance, the sire of this litter was light boned, but all the puppies were heavy, like their mother. On the other hand, the dam had much less to do with their color.

Although she was golden herself, her sire—the grand-sire of the puppies—was black. They inherited short bodies from the dam, while the predominating features of their dispositions appeared to come from the sire.

However, to draw any important conclusions from this mating would require repeating it many times, and keeping careful-records of the results. Some day it is my ambition to line breed a dog and bitch, and then at every opportunity to breed this same pair, keeping records from start to finish. In this way, I shall have a chance to observe the laws of heredity actually at work. But that is for the future. For the present, like most other breeders, I must rely on the invaluable work which has been done by investigators such as Mendel and Morgan.

It has been said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. That is as true in dog breeding as in anything else. A little knowledge may be dangerous, but if that little is balanced with common sense, a great deal may be accomplished. It will create a desire to know more, and the person who is willing to study this fascinating science will always be rewarded by finding something new.

It is impossible here to discuss the anatomy of dogs. It would be well, however, for the prospective breeder to acquire some knowledge along these lines before he attempts to produce his first litter. He should have a general knowledge of a dog's anatomy, and how the vital organs function. Then he will be able to understand his own limitations, and when they are reached, he will call in a veterinarian before any harm is done.

The breeding of high-class dogs is an education in itself, for it involves a study of the laws of heredity and the breeding out of bad points and the inbreeding of good. An education which will broaden anyone may be derived from watching characteristics carried over from parent to puppy, from studying the various types of feeding, and from learning how to train dogs. In other words, the one who studies his dogs and gives them the best scientific care, will not only get the most from them but will improve his general knowledge to a marked degree. Combining this with the reading of books, particularly those on his own special breed, will complete for him an education which no school can teach. The farther one goes into the complicated laws of nature—the birth of new life—the nearer he comes to a true concept of the laws governing our own existence. A dog will teach the meaning of real faithfulness as no human instructor can do, for devotion to his master is the breath of life to him.

The war has caused a lot of serious thinking among breeders. The labor and food shortage, together with the rising cost of everything required about a kennel, has made expansion impossible in a good many cases. Yet I am sure that out of all this will emerge better breeders, for more thought and more hard work always produce better results. The way I have met the challenge of reduced rations and shortage of materials has been to go through my kennels and cull out all but my best bitches. The others were placed in good homes. Of the studs I kept only two, being careful to retain ones of entirely different blood lines. For a time at least, experimenting in new matings must cease, and for the duration I shall content myself with improving on the knowledge I already have.

Any beginning breeder will do well to remember that it costs just as much to produce puppies of low standard as it does to raise good ones. Therefore, when starting out, do not experiment. Do not take a little advice from this breeder and a little from that, until the whole becomes such an unintelligible hodge-podge of facts and fiction as to be worse than useless. If possible, seek the advice of a breeder with the same breed as your own. Listen to him with an open mind and follow with him the matings which he is carrying on. Later, as your own knowledge increases, you will be able to go over what you have learned from him, selecting what will be useful in your own kennels and discarding the rest.

No matter how many volumes are written on dog breeding, it must be admitted that it is impossible to give more than general guidance to the beginning breeder. As in everything else, he has to learn for himself in the hard school of experience. He has to learn everything he can about his own particular breed, and only trial and error will tell him what he can produce with the particular stock in his possession. His first step should be to subscribe to a national dog magazine. Here is to be found a wealth of information on the most recent scientific advances. All health notes and information concerning his own breed should be clipped and filed away for reference.

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