How important are the littermates of the sire & dam when considering a breeding?
Very important. Breadth of pedigree is as important as depth of pedigree, if not moreso. Gathering data on siblings will help us to form the “bigger picture” when it comes to making our final breeding choices. Ideally, we will choose a dog that comes from a family of above average individuals. We have found this far more successful than breeding to one outstanding dog that was produced by average ancestors. It is equally important to know the health clearance results for littermates. For instance, we would consider an OFA Fair dog that has 8 siblings, all of whom are Good or Excellent, before an OFA Excellent dog who has 3 dysplastic littermates.
