Bully breeders in America tend to be urban and young. But despite being passionate about the breed, many of them do not possess the same passion for dog breeding. Breeders are known to make many mistakes. These are mistakes, which if rectified, the results experienced can prove encouraging and positive for the entire community of bully breeders.
Note that when we talk about breeding bullies, we are not talking about the act of placing two dogs in a common room and leaving them to do their thing. What we are talking about here is taking the time to study the breed.
It is an exercise that will involve understanding the dogs and knowing the type of traits you need to bring from external blood. The information you glean from these studies can help you improve the whole bloodline.
According to My Bully Shop, these are the most common mistakes made by bully breeders:
1. Never Learning Canine Genetics
This is perhaps the most significant mistake made by modern breeders today. Bully breeds and breeders from many breeds often don’t’ take time to do their homework. Why you wonder because it requires patience and time.
You need to read a lot for you to grasp some of the basic scientific concepts about canine genetics. Many breeders are not willing or open to the idea of gaining knowledge that they may not have heard of before.
Having said this, there is a need to explain the importance attached to canine genetics, especially concerning dog breeding.
Why do breeders breed other dogs and American Bully Puppies?
The answer to this is quite simple: it is because of the breeders like a particular breed as well as the purpose of the breed in question, e.g., guarding, family pet, or working. Breeding makes it possible for the breeder to keep on improving the breed in question.
By doing this, the breeder can ensure that they get to remain as close as possible to the original breeding standards. They also get to clear the dogs from popular medical conditions guaranteeing their fitness. It also helps to ensure that the dog will get to serve its designated purpose.
The technique also makes sure that breeders get to leave the dog breed in a better situation compared to when they first got it. Of importance to keep in mind is that dog breeding is not about gaining fame for breeding a badass bully or becoming a social media personality or for making money.
Many modern breeders view these as the primary purpose of breeding a bloodline of their own. When you clarify your objective for breeding, it becomes easier to plan how to go about achieving your objectives. This is what is known as a breeding plan or breeding program.
It refers to something you have in your mind or on paper, which details the specific traits that you would like to focus on, as well as how to go about improving the traits in question. You may need to outcross (use external bloodlines), line breed (relying on your other dogs), or back breed (using one stud to breed numerous generations) to achieve your objective.
However, you should note that these are not the only dog breeding strategies that you can use. You can always blend them to fulfill your purpose. Keep in mind that getting the desired trait is not the only factor you will need to consider. Generally breeding two large-sized bullies to end with one big bully is not always enough, even if you eventually end up with the size you want.
You will need to make sure that you get to fix the traits you want, and while at it, get rid of those that you do not like. This may include avoiding heavier frames to get rid of unwanted joint problems.
2. Not Understanding What Constitutes a Bloodline
If you are an experienced breeder, a simple check online on American bully breeders’ websites or Facebook groups will quickly leave you dumbfounded. Too many modern-day breeders are misusing the term “bloodline.” Many have resorted to using the term without even taking the time to understand what it means.
According to the Oxford dictionary, bloodline refers to an animal’s pedigree or set of ancestors, especially concerning some of the desirable characteristics that have been bred into the animal.
Firstly, note that it refers to a pedigree or a set of ancestors. For those in the breeding community, this is about dogs that we have purchased from other breeders, or we have bred ourselves to start a bloodline.
And this is where things get complicated for many breeders. Many opt to purchase fancy dogs that have spent all their lives in kennels and then start breeding them. Note that two popular dogs can never be used to start a bloodline.
It is important to point out that the ability to breed a bigger dog cannot by itself be seen as a characteristic. What is larger, the tail, height, muscles, bones? By not defining or targeting what you are breeding, you get to leave some room for serious medical issues and imperfections.
These are two issues that will likely take several generations to address. Breeding muscular but lean bullies with lots of stamina during the cold season is much clearer. It is also a trait that will help define the community much better. The bullies you end up breeding will be unique and will also be able to bring something new to the breeding table: resistance and stamina to cold weather.
Taking all these factors into account, it is time that breeders stop using their kernel names as their bloodlines. The only way for you to create a serious and unique bloodline would be by making sure that you set clear objectives from the get-go. Also, make it a point to review these objectives with every new generation.
3. Betting Everything Related to Bully Breeding on Social Media
Having reviewed the first two common mistakes, we can authoritatively state that breeders in this group will normally end up with average pit bulls or bullies. At some point, the breeders will need to sell the bullies. So how do they go about it?
They resort to taking badass pictures depicting bullies with badass collars. With the pictures ready, the next step involves coming up with an aggressive marketing strategy targeting social media users.
And because they believe their customers to be stupid and uninformed, they set very high prices. High pricing is meant to convince the customer that the dogs in question are quite impressive. If you do not believe us, just head over to Instagram and search for the hashtag #Americanbully.
Expect to find well-made and enticing pictures. The reality is that this is a marketing strategy that has been well thought out, and which is aimed at hiding a broken product. To get a clearer picture as to the breeds in question, get in touch with the breeders.
Inquire about the health checks conducted on their dogs. Be sure also to make inquiries about the process used to pick the two dogs to be used for breeding purposes. Take a keen look at the answers you will receive from these breeders. Do not be surprised to find some of your questions going unanswered.
For those that take time to respond to your email or message, they may choose to provide answers that everyone in the community already knows.
Summary
The time has come for bully breeders to get serious about updating their dog breeding knowledge. Also, note that a bloodline cannot be used as a brand. It is merely a pledge to your particular dog breed.
