CAN BREEDING ANY KIND OF GUN DOG FOR JUST ONE TRAIT BE A BAD IDEA?
“Breeding any kind of dog for just one trait often can be a mistake because other important breed characteristics might be diminished or possibly lost in order to develop that one feature,” warns John Luttrell, a Labrador breeder, trainer and AKC Hunt Test Judge from Clark, South Dakota. “This is one reason I won’t breed Labradors for specific color. Instead, I will bring two lines together in order to get a broad spectrum of qualities such as desire to retrieve, great cooperation, good temperament, and strong stamina. If a chocolate or yellow puppy comes out of the litter, so be it, if someone wants one,” Luttrell says. “This same ‘broad spectrum’ breeding principle should apply to the ‘pointing trait’ in Labradors. Breed for a wide range of generally desired and accepted Labrador characteristics and, if a few pups from the litter want to point, that’s okay. But breeding only for pointing potential is possibly going to produce otherwise inferior offspring. This would certainly go agai
