A paper just out about horses has the dog people all atwitter. Provocatively titled "Potential role of maternal lineage in the thoroughbred breeding strategy", it examines the relative genetic influence of the sire and dam in racing performance as documented in terms of lifetime earnings.
The researchers found that "elite" (top-winning) sires bred to elite dams were more likely to produce elite offspring, and likewise poor sires bred to poor dams produced poor offspring. But the kicker was that poor dams bred to elite sires tended to produce poor offspring, while elite dams breed to poor sires could produce excellent offspring. So a great sire can't compensate for a poor dam, but a great dam can produce a great performer with a poor quality sire.
Aha! Just as that long-time dog breeder has always said, the dam is more important than the sire in your breeding program, and here finally are the data to prove it. ....................................
The researchers found that "elite" (top-winning) sires bred to elite dams were more likely to produce elite offspring, and likewise poor sires bred to poor dams produced poor offspring. But the kicker was that poor dams bred to elite sires tended to produce poor offspring, while elite dams breed to poor sires could produce excellent offspring. So a great sire can't compensate for a poor dam, but a great dam can produce a great performer with a poor quality sire.
Aha! Just as that long-time dog breeder has always said, the dam is more important than the sire in your breeding program, and here finally are the data to prove it. ....................................
By: Carol Beuchat PhD
Posted on: 9 Aug 2015.
Editors note: Any dog breeder worth his salt has been saying just this for ages.
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