Changing breed standards over time

Krystal,

To answer you question, yes I am against breeding to a dog that is out of standards generally. However, that being said, it truely depends on what standard has been crossed. In you situation where length of leg is in question, my personal thought on this is that through selective breeding it can be skirted so to say. For instance, let's say I own that dog. He is perfect for the breed in every way except he is just a bit to tall. When looking for potential mates for him, I would eliminate any bitches that were on the high end of the spectrum for breed height. It would not matter if they were the breed champion. Tall = don't breed to that male. As long as the potential female met every aspect I looked for in the breed, and she was on the below average side of height for the breed, she would be looked hard at for breeding to this male. From there, the process goes to the next generation and so on and so on.

Now, if it was more of a overbite situation, then yes, I remove that individual from the gene pool. Selective breeding can mask certain negative traits, but mask is all it does. The traits are still there, and need to be thought about when breeding comes to mind for that animal. Hopefully, I have not confused you, as I tend to think clearly, but write clouded.

Regards,
Josh