# Which Contributes Most?



## Dogtrainer4God (Oct 10, 2006)

Breeders: Discussion going here over which contributes most to a breeding: the dam, or the sire..... or 50/50? See the above poll.


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## jeffb (Jan 24, 2008)

WOW!!!! Im not even quallified to even have an opinion.


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## Patrick Johndrow (Jan 19, 2003)

How could it be anymore than 50/50?


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## rainsmom (Jul 28, 2007)

Genetically it's 50/50. What's expressed by those genes depends on how the dominance/recessive balance comes out. If a sire happened to be homozygous for a bunch of dominant traits, and the bitch was recessive, it might appear that the sire contributed more. In the end it's 50/50 genetically.

That said, the bitch has the pups in utero and for the first eight weeks, so there's a lot of influence there. After conception, the genetic impact is pretty much determined. (Sort of -- actual expression of some tendencies and traits may be dependent upon external events.) Everything thereafter is a product of "nurture" rather than "nature."


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## Dogtrainer4God (Oct 10, 2006)

I'm sorry, I didn't make myself very clear on what I meant. lol, I was speaking regarding traits in pups, whether they will have more of the dam's tendencies, sire's tendencies, etc. 

Rainsmom, that makes a whole lot of sense what you just said there.


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## Gawthorpe (Oct 4, 2007)

Interesting Poll. Many of the voters are placing equal or more emphasis on the dam in the breeding.

It is quite the opposite in the puppy classifieds. Much more emphasis is placed on the sire.

Any ideas why?


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## emmerdoug (Feb 1, 2008)

It is quite the opposite in the puppy classifieds. Much more emphasis is placed on the sire.

Any ideas why? 

It may be because the owners of female dogs that have titles are not as willing to risk their investment to the uncertainties that come with welping a litter. Or that it is easier to raise the price/pup from a non-titled dam by breeding t a titled stud, & if he is a well known dog (and/or any of his titles start with NFC or NAFC)then the price goes up even more. 

Also it is more difficult to title a female just because of heat cycles. If she comes in season 2 times/year, & if both are during the trail or hunt test "season" (spring & fall) then you have fewer oppertunities/year to get those titles.JMHO

Doug


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## Bruce MacPherson (Mar 7, 2005)

It's 50/50 but see my sig line, so many get caught up in the sire they tend to forget what the dam should bring to the party.


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## Richard Halstead (Apr 20, 2005)

The dam could potentially contribute more by than 50% of the DNA plus the mitochondria DNA. So they possibly contribute more DNA, but we can't measure the contribution of the mitochondria.

Some males are pre potent reproducing their traits in the offspring. While other studs seem to enhance the type of puppy the dam produces.


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## Sundown49 aka Otey B (Jan 3, 2003)

I will probably get the bus but here is what I think. I believe the sire & dam go 50 percent of genetic makeup of pup. I believe that the dam strongly influences the "personality" of the pup. I am basing this on my own dogs. My Maxx is wired ........most of my females are more "laid back". Generally my pups are a lot calmer than their sire and more "wound up" than their dams making a high drive pup with a calm disposition.......just my own observations. I have kept a pup out of almost every litter for the first few years of doing this and find that the pups are "firebreathers" in the field and a joy to have around the house. They are intelligent and forgiving to train and very stylish in the field.


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## YardleyLabs (Dec 22, 2006)

It seems to me that genetically the dam contributes essentially 50% of the genetic makeup of the pups but also provides the environment in which the fetuses grow. The question is how to measure the quality of the dam. With the sire, there is little cost to waiting to see how the sire runs in competition. With the dam, the cost of putting off breeding until the dam titles in field trials may be a first breeding when she is past her breeding prime. With humans, we know that with first time mothers who are 35, 40, or older, the incidence of problems in pregnancy and of fetal abnormalities grows quickly. 

What research has been done on problems that arise in dogs that are bred for the first time when they are 6-8 as opposed to 2-4? Given that performance in competition is clearly a "polygenic" characteristic, is it better to breed young females that have not titled in FT competition based on their pedigrees, performance in training, and health, or to wait and breed older females that have titled with the risk of age-related problems?


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## Terry Thomas (Jun 27, 2005)

Basic Biology 101 tells us it's 50/50% at birth. From that point on the longer the pup spends with the dam the more influence she will have on it. My girl Cali still disciplines her three year old son, MeToo. And God knows he deserves it.


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## Mark (Jun 13, 2003)

Gawthorpe said:


> Interesting Poll. Many of the voters are placing equal or more emphasis on the dam in the breeding.
> 
> It is quite the opposite in the puppy classifieds. Much more emphasis is placed on the sire.
> 
> Any ideas why?


How many good FC AFC bitches do you see in the classifieds. Most all of the classifieds are bred to FC AFC sires and out of no name or lesser qualified bitches than the stud they are using so the best way to sell the pups is by highlighting the studs accompishments since the bitches dont often stand out on their own.

I personally always primarily look at the bitch side, good studs are a dime a dozen, good bitches are a rarity.

You have one of the rare ones.


Mark


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