Carefully selecting a breeding partner

People see the puppies.
People see the updates on Instagram.
But what they don’t see is how bloody long it actually takes for me to decide on a breeding.

It doesn’t start with a male dog and a good photo. It starts with Breedmate, hours of pedigree analysis, looking through generations been and gone, looking at what dogs along the way have produce, and trying to figure out what will genuinely move my program forward.

When I say I think about this stuff for months, I mean it. I sit there with several pedigrees open, print them out, spread them out everywhere, cross referencing structure, temperament, health, and the things you can’t always measure on paper.

It’s not just:
“Does this dog look good?”
It’s:
“Does this dog FIX something?
Does he complement Maya?
Does he make sense for what I’m building long term?”

Because that’s what this is a long term plan, not a one off litter.

When I started planning Maya’s current litter, I wasn’t guessing in the dark. I know what she contributes, and I knew what I wanted to refine.

So back to Breedmate I went.

I ran every potential sire:

• Trait patterns

• Structural compatibility

• Temperament history

• The dogs behind the names

Then, I stalked videos, photos and spoke to mentors. Because it’s one thing to look good on paper, but I need a dog who moves well, who thinks well, and who can pass that on.

And with this sire, everything lined up:

• His structure complements Maya’s weaknesses

• His temperament matches what I want to keep producing

• His pedigree blends beautifully with hers

• His workability is exactly the type I love, not frantic, not flat, just correct

When I pictured the two of them together, it didn’t feel forced.
It just made sense. This is also how I felt when I bred Maya to Odin (Vonpeta he’s hung lyka) to produce our shadows of the gods litter.