If you plan to breed Pit Bulls, it is important to begin with a mental grasp of what it is you are trying to accomplish. The object of any breeding program is to preserve the essential qualities and physical attributes of the Pit Bull breed. A thorough understanding of the A.A.P.B.A. Breed Standard and follow a strict Breeders Code of Ethics is a basic requirement. Beyond the standard and code of ethics, however, there is an elusive something extra; a certain perception that gives success to those who have it, which others never seem quite able to grasp, no matter what their standing is in their registry or area their breeding in. A successful Pit Bull breeder is one who knows desirable traits and is willing to breed for them and try to eliminate undesirable ones. Knowledge of this sort does not come spontaneously. You may be lucky enough to have been born with an eye for a good Pit Bull like many Pit Bull owners claim. Still, you need to learn everything you can about the Pit Bull breed especially the Pit Bulls, which you plan to use in your breeding program. Attend shows, talk to successful breeder and look at the number of competitors and quality of Pit Bulls they are winning over, the results might just surprise you. You will notice that a successful breeder is the one who sees faults in their Pit Bulls as well as their rival’s and does not focus on trying to down grade rivals but focuses on helping breeders. Perhaps that little “something extra” is the good sense to breed with the whole Pit Bull in mind and not to put emphasis on any one single attribute at the expense of the overall Pit Bull. Championships do indicate merit and do give some indication of quality. However, some championships are won through the accident of less then quality in the competition “small shows”. The opposite is also true some Pit Bulls do not win their titles simply because of lack of exposure.
Breeding is subject to the chance combination of countless genes. The smallest combination of genes that can determine a hereditary trait is a pair. One gene is inherited from each parent. When two genes combine, the dominant gene is the one that determines the trait. A recessive gene does not determine a trait unless it is combined with another recessive gene. Other combinations may be additive which is, both genes contribute in part to the expression of the trait. Unfortunately, most traits that we as breeders are interested in are determined by a great many genetic pairs which is why “Pit Bull breeding is a art and not an exact science”. Since a Pit Bull has thirty-nine pairs of chromosomes and each chromosome contains more that 25,000 genes, the genetic possibilities are almost infinite. About one out of every hundred Pit Bull puppies born will express a demonstrable congenital defect, many undesirable hereditary traits are expressed by recessive genes. Such a gene can be carried down through many generations of offspring, causing no problem until it is combined with a like recessive gene. This is why recessive traits cannot be eliminated in one or two generations of careful breeding, and why sporadic hereditary defects are more frequently caused by recessive genes. In contrast, dominant traits are seen in the first generation of Pit Bull puppies. Breeders easily recognize problems caused by dominant genes. By choosing not to breed such individuals and their offspring, they eliminate those traits from their breeding program.
Undesirable hereditary traits commonly seen by Pit Bull owners include: un-descended testicles; inguinal and navel hernias; abnormally short or absent tails; hip and elbow dysplasia; wobbler’s syndrome; malocclusion and incorrect bite; cleft palate and harelip; slipping kneecaps; congenital cataracts; coagulation disorders; congenital deafness; entropion and ectropion; progressive retinal atrophy; behavioral disorder, such as inherited aggression and shyness.
When you breed two Pit Bulls with common ancestor, their litter inherits some of the same genes from each side of the pedigree. This allows for the statistical possibility that genes will “double up” at the same locus. The result is “two-fold”. The expression of traits is more uniform and more predictable, but undesirable recessive, if present, may come to the surface, thereby giving rise to problems. Therefore, Pit Bulls in which there are only a few foundation Pit Bulls are “more vulnerable” to genetic defects. Again, this vulnerability is not direct. It is related to the statistical chance that the foundation Pit Bulls carry an undesirable gene.
Message boards should be a place where information can be extracted in the hopes to educated new and old breeders alike. I have posted breeding information to help Pit Bull breeders in understanding what they are being told, so they are not misled by the few breeders out their that might not be willing to tell the truth about what they are breeding. I will post on this board from time to time with other information that will help in the overall success of improving our great breed.
JOHN BOOKER
A.A.P.B.A. PRESIDENT
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