One of the interesting outcomes of line breeding is that you can get to see if your dogs carry a health problem that you did not know about. This means that you can then plan better in the subsequent litters. However, on the other hand, you may be left with a litter of pups with a severe health problem. The key is to be honest to yourself about the health problems in your lines. Then you can work to get rid of them. It is pointless to put your head in the sand and try to ignore your health problems.
Please note: every single breeder has health problems/risks in their lines. If you find a breeder that thinks their dogs have no health problems then I want to meet them now! Please email me now!
When you outcross you basically leave it up to great randomness about what the babies will look like. You will NOT get the best charactertics of the mother and the father. In all likelihood, you will get a very average looking litter or worse.
In order to outcross successfully, you have to understand that within every breed there are different types. For example, in boxers there are great differences between the US type and the English type boxer. To outcross a US and a UK boxer together, you are unlikely to have a very good result. However, if you outcross a UK with an Italian type boxer, you will probably get better results all other things being equal.
So, when you outcross, please be sure you understand type, and that you have chosen which type you prefer. If you decide to bridge the gap between types, than that is a step which will probably take you the better part of 10 years to gain the success you are striving for.
One of the fallacies of cross breeding is that the genetic diversity you get will give you a better pup. This is completely unfounded in any scientific study. What you do get, is a lot of "unknowns".
These are the sorts of questions you need to consider:
Furthermore, there are loads of "old-timers" in every breed that will be prepared to help you make these decisions. There are plenty of people around you that can and will help you as long as they can trust you with the information that they give you.
If you are new to dog breeding and are looking for a mentor, you may want to join the dog mentor email list, where such assistance can be found..... just click here.
The fundamental question you need to ask yourself before every breeding is - why am I doing this, and what do I hope to achieve?
I would love to be able to give you a definitive answer to this question, but really, the answer will come to you after considerable thought and research. Breeding is not an easy undertaking, and comes with considerable responsibilities. I think long and hard before I make such decisions. Right now, I am undertaking a strategic move where I'm going to an outcross - but which looks very similar to my breeding - and then will breed back along my lines. This is a decision based on the very tight lines I already have, a small gene pool, and a completely unsuitable gene pool from other local breeders.
For those that are just breeding in the hope of making money, then perhaps you should read this page on costs.
If you are breeding so your children can see the "miracle of birth" then perhaps you should read this.