"... If you are not raising and breeding great gyps, you are out of dogs and don't even know it"
Lots of truth to that statement.
From my personal experience, for every good female I raise that ends up meeting my expectations I can raise 5 males. Perhaps because I hold the females to a little higher standard. It's my personal opinion that the female has a greater influence on progeny...and therefore why I'll tend to pick one apart more than I would a male.
As far as breeding only proven dogs (specifically females)...yes, in theory that makes perfect sense. However, (and speaking solely about a linebred family of dogs) just because a certain female outwardly displays the best qualities doesn't really make a hill of beans when it comes to whether or not she is preponent to pass those qualities to offspring. I've bred a lesser female at times (although I really wouldn't make a habit of it), and had much better results than some of the crosses I've made using the proven bitches. It takes knowing the family your working with. If I bred for the purpose of selling pups, then I might feel differently....however I breed only for my own use so as long as I'm satisfied who's to say if I'm going about it right or wrong.
