Breeding hounds for working. Question.

Well, I dont know much about hunting or herding. Some of these dogs look pretty tore up. They have pretty bad scars. Not saying they should be health tested. Just an observation.

[Maxy24]

I also think they should be health tested. many of the problems don't really start to affect a dog until he's middle aged, maybe 4 or 5. Chances are the dog will be bred around 2, possibly before his problem start to become bad enough to slow him down.

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Maxy24

I also think they should be health tested. many of the problems don't really start to affect a dog until he's middle aged, maybe 4 or 5. Chances are the dog will be bred around 2, possibly before his problem start to become bad enough to slow him down.

Not necessarily. When you have folks who are breeding only for themselves and family/friends, most have no use for a litter of pups when they have a bunch of young holdbacks from the last litter. At two, most are just starting to really work. Why breed another litter for yourself when you're just starting to work the last one?

[Pops2]

outline ACD
while there are some guys that work their dogs like that, most doggers run year round for training (people in states where this isn't legal make summer trips to states where it is). the bear doggers here i ran my hogdog with run their dogs year round. in late spring & summer they only drop on visible tracks so they don't run sows w/cubs. hog doggers run year round because there is no closed seasons in most states. i run my greyX year round as do most wolfers.
dogs running 30+ miles a week year round don't need hip & elbow testing, IF they aren't being bred until at least age 4 (especially for bear & hogdogs). the physical demands will cause weak joints to show MUCH earlier.
working dogs are bred to a standard, the standard is what does the job the bestest for the longest. you'd be amazed at how many health problems you eliminate w/ such a standard.
alot do test for things the job won't weed out, especially STDs.

[Laurelin]

Where'd you move in OK? I know a lot of working gundog people here but no hound people. Just curious, you're probably in a completely different area.