Each point, however important, is not to dominate the whole of which it is a mere part.(Eugene Yerusalimsky – DOG CONFORMATION AND ITS EVALUATION [2008])
The correct Foot Structure makes the dog touch the ground evenly with the claws, and they wear away evenly. The claws do not rest on the ground, but merely touch it. Long claws have to be trimmed so as not to spoil the gait.(Eugene Yerusalimsky – DOG CONFORMATION AND ITS EVALUATION [2008])
We think our rules accounting for our success are fairly straightforward:
1. You must be self-critical to the extreme when evaluating the faults of your own breeding stock.
2. When choosing a sire you must be able to see that his strengths (and if possible of generations behind him) complement your female. This can be difficult when using dogs from abroad but we enjoy the trail and doing our homework. You must not simply say I just like the dog. Distance and stud fee must not come into the equation if he is the right dog.
3. We keep only a limited number of dogs.(Paul And Lorna England – RULES FOR SUCCESS IN ACCREDITED BREEDER SHOWCASE DOG WORLD SUPPLEMENT JUNE 2ND [2006])
Those who are looking for advanced breeding programmes to correct all the genetic problems we see today are looking in all the wrong directions. They should try to understand exactly what has gone wrong and start to learn from Nature how animals can be kept viable over hundreds and thousands of years without any theoretical knowledge at all.
1. The size of the population must be large enough to carry and preserve genetic variation. There is no way to succeed when a breeding population has less than about 100-150 breeding animals and twice the number is preferable.
2. Only viable animals in good physical and mental condition and will all natural functions still present should be allowed to breed.
3. In highly developed creatures the basic rule is that an individual animal should not be allowed to have more than a restricted number of progeny during its life.
4. Avoid mating between closely related animals.
Those are the basic rules of Nature, rules which when properly applied will keep any population of animals healthy over very long periods of time. The one and only reason for the genetic disorders in our breeds of dogs and other pet animals is that we neglect to consider the mechanisms to protect genetic variation created by natural selection during billions of years.
full paper published Working Clumber Spaniel Society Spring/Summer 2010 Newsletter(Per-Erik Sundgren – NATURAL PROTECTION OF GENETIC VARIATION – PAPER PRESENTED JULY 2006 [2006])