A Statement of our Breeding Policy
While I no longer breed dogs myself, I am fortunate to have Donna Sater take over this function. I still offer advice, as I do to many other breeders, and the program continues intact as to philosophy gleaned from my many years of hard work trial and error, and experience. Perhaps someday, I will personally breed dogs again, but now with my many other duties I'm perfectly content to help and work with others.
I have bred dogs for many years and have had a lot us success with my breeding program over these years which includes right around fourty champions to date A lot more successes are coming from other breeders who have used Nordlicht dogs in their own breeding programs. They say success most often goes to those who have stayed with it the longest, and that may have some merit. I remember when I was breeding my first litter which was sired by a dog named Ch Philberlyn's Iphis which was a lot of years ago. Today I believe there are two things that, in retrospect, got me to this point: a good eye and knowledge for selection; and consolidating these selections through line breeding. Free advice such as I'm going to offer here is seldom used and generally ignored, but I will continue to spread the knowledge about line breeding to those who want to know how to breed better dogs. Good breeding doesn't exist without line breeding. With good breeding you will have dogs that consistently reproduce desired traits, and linebreeding is the most effective way to do this.
Breeding animals can be seen as three options: an outcross, line bred, & inbred, and quality can result from all three options. Out cross simply means breeding two unrelated lines to each other. Line-breeding is breeding dogs that are related, sometimes fairly closely. Inbreeding can simply translated as incest breeding. It is my opinion that good breeders are adept at all three options, & know when to utilize each approach, however it is through linebreeding that true and sustainable quality results. Which you should do at any particular time comes with experience and knowledge. Written theories such as this one are fine, but ultimately one must have developed a clear idea in his mind of what type best exemplifies the characteristics of the breed, what dogs available at stud on a national basis, or in your own program, offer the best chance to produce that type, and what are productive combinations of bloodlines. Most dog breeders understand that line breeding leads to good results, but few recognize which dogs can be linebred on.
This means, among other things, that we not only have an opinion of what constitutes correct type and who can transmit that type safely with out also giving us a lot of genetic faults, but that we examine whether we have the right to hold such an opinion. One of the best ways to do that is to show your dogs and get an honest evaluation of yours against others in the ring, and to evaluate other dogs you are interested in using. Once you are satisfied that you are on the right track, then you should begin working towards creating a uniform product in which all the breeding and show stock in your kennel are similar, each exemplifying similar characteristics. Uniformity is the mark of a breeder who knows his business, knows what he wants, how to get it and how to maintain a high level of consistent quality. The best kennels do this with varying degrees of success.
Since each breed, regardless of their age, was originally created by inbreeding on desired characteristics it should be obvious that this is the premier way to stamp genetic traits in a dog, both individually and genetically, but it is also a clear way to disaster and is best left to those with years of experience. I believe most would agree that line breeding and out crossing are safer ways to go until you know your subject. Inbreeding means that you will have more than 50% of one animal in the pedigree (meaning more than just the sire or the dam). which rarely happens in nature, and if pushed too far, especially with the wrong animals, it loses it's advantages.
Many people have come to see the value of inbreeding and thereby concentrate on a much smaller genetic pool; one with the traits you desire, and this is indeed, how new breeds are created, but also how the look of a breed can be made to change. The problems arise when the genetic pool you are intensifying carries lethal, or undesirable genes, as well as the positive ones you hope to enhance. That is why experience and knowledge are so important. In other words, know your bloodlines. To inbreed on a dog, it is imperative that dog be free of undesirable genes. Only a few such dogs exist, and my experience has shown that Andretti was one of those very few dogs. The desirable traits he passed on were many and the undesirable traits were very few. .
The same idea exists, but with less intensity, when one line breeds. Here one can also set a type and enhance desirable traits, but without as much risk that the undesirable traits will be as prevalent. Again, you must know your bloodlines. You cannot count on all stud dog owners to be honest as to the faults their dogs tends to produce, and this requires that you do your due diligence. Line-breeding is by far the most common form of the two types mentioned here. I have had much success with grandfather granddaughter types of breeding, and on several lines going back to the same dog if he or she is a powerful producer. I have not seen a lot of success with half-brother half-sister breeding however. Many breedings are done by line breeding on a male, although one sees much fewer line breedings on a female. I see no apparent reason for this, and I believe if you have a great producing female you should think about line breeding on her just as much as using a male to line breed on.
Here are the main keys to line breeding:
1. Start with genetically sound individuals of excellent quality.
2. Learn how to evaluate puppies so that you keep the best.
3. Consolidate those individuals and their genetic strengths by line breeding.
4. Turn the generations.
Out-crossing, also very popular, leads to many successes, but also one will find more inconsistency in the litter. Still, there are many top dogs that are out-crossed. In my experience I have found it is harder to get top quality while out-crossing as opposed to line-breeding on a successful dog. I believe that line-breeding is the key to lasting success, but only if you have found a male that can be line-bred on. Not only does out crossing give you more inconsistency in the offspring, but it also sets you up for more inconsistency in the next generation if not corrected by going back on a productive dog on either one side or the other of the pedigree. You will find that dogs from out crossing usually moves you back two steps instead ahead one.
Today in America we have created a beautiful breed, but it is not a breed without serious shortcomings. We have a vast amount of nervous, hyperactive, flighty dogs, and a breed permeated with such devastating problems as elbow dysplasia, esophageal, and reproductive problems. While I hear breeders today comment on such trivial things as locked hocks, I fear they are ignoring a much more obvious and much more serious fault of weak temperaments. Also, I have seen some breeders focus purely on side-gait, ignoring everything else, thereby ending up with a mere charicature of the breed. On the other hand we have also corrected some problems over the years, such as missing teeth, hip dysplasia, and some problems with movement. Probably the key factor why such problems, such as elbow dysplasia, for example, exists throughout the breed to such an extent is the German Shepherd breeder's great propensity to line breed on the wrong animals. We may be at the point where new and unrelated blood needs to be infused in the breed to overcome some of this. And this is, of course out crossing. It may be difficult to truly outcross with America's Show Dogs, because when one traces their pedigrees back enough generations one sees an immense amount of bloodline all tracing back to a small number of pillar dogs, thereby not leaving any place to go, other than to the German dogs. Yet, I still believe we can improve the breed by staying within American bred dogs merely by identifying those dogs that are fault free, genetically pure, and still possessing good temperament. .
That said, it has been a valuable breeding philosophy, tried and true in the past (with the aforementioned disclaimer re: the future), to line breed for consistent quality that runs deep in the litter and is established with each breeding. This can be done for several generations, until one must outcross, only then to go back to the line-bred program that has proven itself to be free of faults and loaded with quality. What tends to happen is that the quality is maintained for awhile through line breeding. When you reach a point of diminishing returns the quality will get a large boost with an outcross. At this point you can then go back to your line-breeding to maintain or enhance the boost you just got though the last outcross.
I have seen this program work not only in dogs, but in other species as well, such as cattle. This is what I have practiced at Nordlicht, and we clearly endeavor to produce dogs that look like German Shepherds, free of degenerative faults and of good health and mind. Cattle men talk as much about cow families as they do about top bulls. There is a saying that breeding good cattle is not rocket science or brain surgery. It is done by finding the best cow you can find and breeding her to a bull who is out of the best cow you can find. This is the importance of cow famlies, or in dogs, realizing the importance of the mother.
After a decades of learning, gaining experience, I have been able to create nearly 40 champions, clear proof that these methods work.
You have often heard it said, "what's the story behind that?" Well the story I want to tell you is the story behind Nordlicht dogs... where our program is headed, why, and how it will benefit you. The Nordlicht program started about 30 years ago. It started with the purchase of one female German Shepherd puppy while I was a college student. It grew until I was running a large commercial kennel, which had a grooming shop, held training classes, a Pet Shop, and bred dogs, sold puppies, had stud service, and I worked as a professional handler. I even bred several other breeds as well as German Shepherds, but I always specialized in the Shepherds. One can learn a lot about breeding and evaluating their own breed by studying other breeds.
My goal in breeding Shepherds over the years eventually distilled into this one idea: to produce dogs that can consistently reproduce their likeness. This creates an extra value in an individual dog and it is a real and lasting value for the breeder. Accomplish this, and as the saying goes, "The world will beat a path to your door." There is nothing more frustrating in breeding dogs than to take one step forward and then have to take two steps backward. I believe that this one simple, yet elusive goal of breeding dogs that consistently reproduce their likeness is the reason why this program has had it's success.
To produce the kind of dogs that are consistently good one has to look no farther than the early history of how purebred breeds were created, or even to nature itself. It is no secret, yet it is often ignored. The development of all purebred breeds and the traits they are known for were developed by using two simple processes: 1. Selection, and 2. Inbreeding, and then line-breeding like to like. This breeding of like to like requires some intense line breeding of certain individuals. By doing this you are able to concentrate the selected genetic traits and this, in turn, will allow for them to consistently reproduce their type. When ever you do a breeding that jumps out of the type you have, and out of your bloodlines you will get much inconsistency and loss of the breed type you have worked so hard to create.
Line-breeding is not a one time thing; it does not stop at the first sign of success. It is meant to be a continual process, one that gathers genetic prepotency with each generation turnover. The mere fact that you are breedng purebred dogs means that you are already line breeding.
In nature, animals on their own will in similar fashion, do the same. They are largely territorial, and will end up living, reproducing, and dying in an area not really that large in proportion to their ability to travel. Even species that migrate, or species that follow migratory species, will run in set herds or groups and avoid as much disturbance to their groups as possible. The reason being, to survive they have to be able to reproduce their likeness, individuals that are adapted to the needs that are unique to them and fitted to allow them to survive.
In a dog breeders case, genetic guidance comes from selection pressure. Like most breeders I have a number of selection criteria. Basically, my selection traits are geared to produce a functional animal that can do what people want of a dog. The advantage I have in line breeding is that I can still line-breed on Andretti, who was one of the breed greats and a dog who gave us the traits the dog fancy was and is still looking for. So while he had headed us in the right direction, I'm not going to stop and throw in a genetic curve and breed to a dog that is of a different type or has an unrelated pedigree, or has breed faults, or health problems. Instead, I will stay the course and line-breed on ancestors that produce the desired traits we are looking for. As I have said before, this creates value that is real and lasting. It creates lasting value because it will transmit itself into the future.
If you are looking to head in the same direction as we are, you are in a great position to take advantage of over 30 years of experience in selection and generation turnover. With all our wins and champions, what kind of a breeding program do you think would accomplish this? Surely it would have to be one that had consistency and quality and was headed in the right direction. In fact, you can see the success other breeders have had with our breeding stock across the nation, and for a lot of years. Today, we still have a large demand for our bitches, as people know they can produce with them. Andretti daughters have been in high demand for years simply because they produce so well and so many of them today are ROM's and the mothers behind were also ROM's. Now is the time to put yourself at the forefront. All the genetics you need can be found in the line bred Andretti females at Nordlicht.
Although showing has been a big part of my life there have been countless numbers of our dogs that have gone to pet homes, guard dog duties, schutzhund training, search and rescue, and to the police forces all over the country. We have sent dogs to countries all over the world, and still do, where they have performed their duties very successfully.
A dog that is beautiful but without functional sense of mind is a true waste, but so is a dog of excellent mind but structurally incapable of extended gait or athletic movement. A balance between the two is desired, yet it remains true that any dog of weak temperament is basically useless to man, and that is why we try to put temperament first.
Finally, I would like to talk about some of the things I have found to be useful to breeders, things that appear to be true time after time. It is always better to breed to a stud dog that has multiple champions in his litter, and this is even more true if you can find a stud dog that has a sire and a dam that also came from litters of multiple champions. This is an indication of the purity of the genetic pool from which they came. If you don't have a brood bitch from this kind of background then lease one. It will save you years of trying to catch up with other top breeders. Since anyone can breed to any dog in the country that is truly superior and possesses the bloodlines you are searching for, the quality of the bitch is of utmost importance. Breeders who keep and use their own stud dog never advance much, unless they happen to have one of the best in the breed.
Good temperaments are hereditary, it is bred into the dog. A truly sound dog will come back from a bad experience or trauma. Today we emphasize early and continual socializing so that our dogs will be sound enough to show. Of course this is important and it works, but truly sound dogs are still sound whether they have had all this socializing or not. You have had them and I have had them.
Good conformation dogs are rarely have a bad stage, at least not a serious one. It used to be thought that a puppy that won a lot would not win as an adult, and sometimes this is true, but there are plenty of examples of puppies that won as a puppy, as a teenager, and as an adult. I always prefer puppies that look good and stay that way over waiting for two or three years before their show career can begin.
In my experience the hardest part of the dog to get right is the rear quarter. I was always told shoulders are the most difficult but I strongly disagree. Hind quarter, with the proper ratio of length of bone is extremely difficult to create. When I evaluate puppies, the first thing I look for is rear quarter and top line, and then go on to shoulder and front extension. A good shoulder without rear drive does not work, nor does rear drive without a good shoulder. Shoulders have always been easier to get for me. Above all, balance is a must.
When reading pedigrees the most important part is what is up front, meaning the first two or three generations. Anything in the fourth or fifth generation has little influence in your dog unless it is heavily line bred on. Perhaps 80% of what a dog is comes from the parents in the pedigree, and 20% after that, unless, as said, it is heavily line bred on.
If you want a good German Shepherd for competitive shows, breed for side-gait in so far as you can and yet avoid other faults. That is to say, breed side-gait to side-gait, but be aware of the total dog when doing this, as side-gait isn't everything.
Observe what the top breeders do. Learn from other's mistakes, as there isn't time enough to make them all yourself. Do not fall in love with your dog if you want to be a good breeder as this will make you blind to their faults. If you are going down the wrong road admit it and make the necessary changes. A good breeder is very cold hearted when he sees serious faults in his dogs and will make every effort to get past them even if it means starting over.
Showing dogs is a tough business. It is not easy. Just remember a good dog will rise to the top over a period of time. No one wins all the time and if you have a good dog you will get your opportunity. It doesn't matter who you are, or how much money you have, if you have a good dog it will be found, if not by the judge then by good handlers as they are always looking for winners.
It takes time to become a winner in this game. Newcomers rarely, if ever, are able to purchase a top dog. There is a very good reason for this. Novices do not know how to raise a dog to be a show winner. In fact, novices ruin good dogs for show. They don't know how to feed or how to train a dog to show well, but more than that, they don't know what they have. If they find what they think is a fault they think the dog is a loser and they begin to look for another one. Every breeder has been burned by novices who bring their dog to the show ring fat, out of condition, out of coat, untrained and not ready to show in many other ways. If this isn't enough many of them will go to their first show, get beat, and decide showing is not for them. Patience is a virtue in dogs, but it takes time and experience to know this. Time and experience is a great teacher, and novices have neither. Getting and creating a great dog is not easy and that is why there are so few of them, and that is also why they are valuable. On the other hand, once you learn what it takes to be a winner, there is a lot of inner satisfaction that can be had. The question is, "Are you willing to pay the price of preparation to be a winner?"
Time! There is just not enough of it. That is why it is important to work with an established program, a proven program, one that has already put the building blocks in place. You don't have to start at square one, you can start with a breeder who has the best building blocks the breed has to offer.
Nordlicht
1575 Zimmer Rd
Addy, WA 99101
509-935-0797
E-mail
saterhaus@aol.com