I have pretty much stayed out of this topic because there are so many books on breeding dogs out there that are much more qualified then I am but I will give you my opinion on this. So far just about everybody who has posted on this subject has valid points. The problem arises because everybody has a different opinion on what makes a better dog & that is one reason there is such a variation in hogdogs. I run into problems breeding for bear dogs & end up getting to much grit for hogdogs unless I just hunt one out.
I have seen truly great dogs in curs, hounds, & mixed dogs & this is one sport where you can get away with this. I do not know of any other game pursued by dogs where they use so many different breeds or mixed up dogs with such success.
Like most Plott breeders, I want nose & stamina with a good open mouth. Most hog hunters do not want the open dogs. Just a matter of preference. I do believe it is a lot easier to maintain what you like by line breeding & inbreeding to maintain the traits you like until the dogs start reverting back to average. Then I want to outcross to another tight bred family with the traits that compliment my dogs or make sure they are strong in the department that my dog might be weak in. I think it was Taxas A & M that did a study on inbreeding where you could breed like father to daughter for 6 or 7 generations before they started noticing smaller litters & smaller dogs. They did not mention weaker immune systems or genetic deformities. That would come out only if the dogs had it to start with.
Like some body said I believe in keeping top females so I can pick the male I want to breed to. It also has to be a group effort among friends to help spread the dogs out. In this day & age it is expensive to raise, train, & hunt dogs to prove them out. I have seen more prepotent females then I have males & if you get a good producing female, it just seems she throws good pups no matter what she is bred too.
One of the worst breeding practices I have seen is kennel blindness. In other words breeding to your own dog, even tho you know there is a better dog down the road. whether it is line breeding or a outcross, always try to breed to the best dog available. Now on that subject, a truly great dog has a hard time reproducing him or her self. Most of the time the mate is not up to hunting abilities of the great dog & the pups will fall back towards the average.
You cannot even go by proven crosses. I bred a plott coon dog to a Gr. nite ch. dog & most of the pups really made nice coon dogs. Made the same cross again & only one in the litter made it. This was a outcross. Non of this is written in stone & if there was a 100 percent way of breeding better dogs, we would all have them. Well maybe not those yeller dogs.
JK. lol
