PEKINGESE COLUMN IN AKC GAZETTE WHAT’S IN A NAME? |
We know individuals by their names…some we know better than others. Some names are just that – a title for recognition, with no attached significance. Some names we recognize because they relate to business, social or emotional connections. In our world of purebred dogs, a “kennel name”, i.e. usually an affix identifying breeders, is often a part of the AKC-registered name of individual dogs. These identifying prefixes/suffixes enable us to look at pedigrees and see who bred the dogs carrying such name(s). Seems simple, right? Not necessarily! This can be fraught with danger for a newcomer trying to learn the lineage of a dog. Intelligent selection of dogs for breeding requires a great deal more than simply seeing a particular name repeated in a pedigree. At one time, mostly many years ago, there were very large kennels which were able to maintain large numbers of dogs of their own breeding, thus creating true linebreeding carrying their own names. In today’s world, this is often not possible. Before proceeding further, I wish to state this is NOT an argument for or against linebreeding or outcrossing. Both such approaches to breeding can be valid and useful in breeding better dogs, when applied intelligently. The use of pedigrees as a GUIDE to selective breeding is wise and important, but the pedigree cannot tell the full story. Sometimes we will see a kennel name repeated in a pedigree, but in looking further behind that name, it is apparent that neither sire nor dam bears that name. Most of us breed to an outside stud occasionally or purchase a bitch or dog of someone else’s breeding. Such selections, WHEN MADE WISELY, can be vital to the strength of the pedigree, creating that so-important hybrid vigor necessary to maintain breeding stock which is healthy in mind and body. However, it may also be seen that dogs and bitches were bred to one another, willy-nilly, sometimes only because of proximity or friendships, with little or no thought given to the wisdom of such alliances. We need to ask ourselves why we are selecting a particular dog/bitch for breeding? Have we become blinded by big names? Here’s the red flag: When making such choices, are we selecting JUST a name? Is that name simply attached to a current big winner in the show ring? Are we thinking that name – and perhaps all the “red” behind it in the pedigree – will make our pedigree look more important? Have we looked to see what the “name” dog has produced? What is the breeding/show record of the “name” kennel? Conversely, a pedigree bearing a lesser-known kennel name sometimes is ignored or demeaned simply because it is not one of the big names. Look more closely into such pedigrees; that lesser light may shine with important dogs wisely bred by others. It is important for those who are not thoroughly familiar with either kennel names or individual dogs in pedigrees to research both. Glean as much knowledge as possible, then proceed knowing you are fully informed as to WHAT’S IN A NAME.
Jacqueline Ragland
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