# “Closed Breed Book”



## Smonroeswift (Jul 27, 2021)

Hello fellow breeders and pet owners. I would love to discuss what a "Closed Breed Book" means. The German shepherd is a closed group. What that defines is no new blood in the pool. We breed and we have a percentage of DNA matching in most dogs of 20 to 35 %. Is this in breeding? NO, it isn't! It means that they have common DNA to the totality of the Core German Shepherd pool not family DNA in a 3rd generation or less common breeding. So now breeders must make tough decisions, Do I breed a fair hip rating? Do I breed a DM carrier? Do I breed a juvenile heart murmur? Much thought goes into a matching. We test breed a certain male with a female and if we have an issue, we may choose to breed again to different partners to determine if the trait is passed and with whom should be excluded from your breeder program. This is the responsible breeder! If you have a trait that's not good, does it mean that they should not sell that puppy as a pet? No, it does not. There are many out there that think that a breeder is irresponsible because they don't understand that while striving for perfection in their program you will have problems. How you deal with them is where responsibility comes in. Discussions and communication with understanding is important in any choice we make as a breeder or a buyer. Thanks for listening. Blessings


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