Question: Would/do ethical breeders ever intentionally choose a dog that doesn't perfectly fit the breed standard for coloration?

[whitestonehope]

ETA: Thank you so much for your thoughts!! Gives me lots more insight into the considerations that go on "behind the scenes"

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purely out of curiosity as I've randomly gotten interested in dog shows and learning about dog breeding! (ETA: if that means this post would be better elsewhere, please let me know!)

Would an ethical breeder ever choose a dog that fit health and breed standards (size, shape, temperament, etc.) except for a slightly-off coloration?

I was reading through this series of the process for breeding a Corgi and saw the author listed things their dog could improve on and those seemed structural (weight, shape, etc.) Is the decision making different for coat color?

As an example, pointing to this post I was looking at (of a dog with apparently nonstandard coloration).

Thank you very much for any insight!

 

[glass1985]

@whitestonehope In my breed, you'd be hard pressed to find an ethical breeder using an off-color dog in their breeding program. For example, dilute does exist in the breed, but overwhelmingly in backyard bred lines. So they're generally not going to pop up in well bred litters. This is one of those things where I think the culture in each breed will dictate too - I get the sense that if dilute popped up in a reputable pem breeders lines they would soft cull those dogs and take steps to insure they didn't produce it again.

I have seen or heard of reputable breeders breeding slight mismarks (not something severe like half white/full white heads, more like a slight patch of white rising above the line of the elbow) or even breeding dogs with two copies of the fluff gene to fluff clear dogs, but these are all dogs who came from long established well bred lines who were otherwise structurally correct with good temperaments, solid health testing, good pedigrees etc. I would trust a long time reputable breeder to make those judgment calls but I would be concerned if this was done by someone just starting out in their breeding journey. It's very easy for someone who isn't as well versed in structure, movement, pedigrees etc to claim their dogs are otherwise perfect breeding specimens if it weren't for "x small cosmetic thing", when in fact that is not their only issue.

So in short, to me it depends on specific breed culture, what is behind the specific dog's pedigree, if it truly is just one small issue with an otherwise perfect dog, and the experience of the breeder in making those calls.

 

[knicole97]

@whitestonehope The horror of the rare white Doberman. Still trying to get them out of the gene pool.

 

[jstfrths]

@knicole97 Didn't know white Dobermans existed, just had to look up, saw some white, some kind of tan. I think if I saw one in rl wouldn't realize the breed.