29/09/2022
Ceaser x Cuba litter loading.
History. Past. Present. Future.
My new mission: BREEDING BACKWARDS within ADRK lines.
For the longest time I have been obsessing over certain ADRK lines that have disappeared, at a great cost to the Rottweiler breed.
We all know as fact, that many males in Germany over the decades, were used up to 80% more as sires than other males – (other males who were seriously under used and underrated – yet who possessed exceptional traits, and more importantly possessed diverse and solid bloodlines)
The ADRK has always attempted to encourage diversity in breeding and bloodlines – but real life is a little different.
ADRK breeders are trying really hard to save lines, but those of us outside Germany must do the same. *for the breed.
The cost of ignoring, under using and limiting certain lines/stud males for decades has been huge. (It IS huge)
With the limited use of some exceptional males – outstanding traits were lost, supreme genetics removed from the genepool and our breed started suffering: in health, in type and in temperament.
Breeders (ADRK and FCI) have attempted to save certain lines, genetics and traits over the years – and so many ADRK breeders specifically have managed to perform “miracles” in preserving what is left of the “less popular” ADRK bloodlines.
I obsess over health and genetics (it is what I do and who I am – and many buyers/people new to the breed don’t understand that breeding is NOT an exact science, and that yes, some combinations just don’t work and there may be a hidden health issue or genetic illness for which there is no screening available – but it’s what we do: we are breeders not gods or magicians)
My health obsession is well documented, my obsession with “breeding backwards” in an attempt to resurrect lines that are almost “GONE” is less documented.
I am committed to tracking down old lines, disappearing lines and focusing on preserving them in my kennel, where I can.
It is not always possible – but I will bloody well try my best. I can spend hours looking at pedigrees on working dog – listing dogs, finding siblings and hoping there is a “living” specimen carrying the genes from 30 years ago.
When I look at the pedigree of a puppy/dog I have bred (seen in the video), it is enough to bring one to tears, knowing some of the lines in the pedigree are SO rare, there is little one can do – EXCEPT SEARCH FOR THE LIVING CARRIERS OF THE LINES.
This is my new Mission Impossible (actually Mission POSSIBLE): Breeding backwards to recover the lines we have almost lost.
BECAUSE: Past = present = future and there is no future without the past.