Strauss and Solace Shiloh Shepherds

1. Our Responsibility to the Shiloh Shepherd Breed

The Shiloh Shepherd breed is continually under development, and we have a limited gene pool. As breeders, Jessica and Laura spend countless hours studying pedigrees, talking with other experienced breeders about faults and virtues in their lines, and discussing the possibility of using our lines together to produce the best dogs possible, but also not being “kennel blind” and knowing when to retire a line not producing what we want, which does not benefit the Shiloh Breed as a whole.

We choose to breed healthy, thoroughly tested, and well-documented dogs in our breeding programs, in order to continue this breed. We also can't ever “throw the baby out with the bathwater” in our breed.

2. Understanding the Dogs Behind the Dogs

Breeders like us are those who breed dogs whose lines have all been health tested for known breed-specific abnormalities, whose temperaments have been evaluated, and whose conformation conforms to the breed standard.

We also have knowledge of the dogs behind the parents, the dogs behind the grandparents, the dogs behind the great-grandparents, down to the dogs that began the Breed!

Experienced breeders like us know how to look at a pedigree, or a test breeding report, how to look back many generations and know what they are bringing together. We know what the risks are and how to mitigate those risks, or which risks are not worth taking.

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Shiloh Shepherd breeders have access to extensive pedigree and health databases dating back to the creation of the breed, providing decades of information about ancestry, hereditary health issues, and the bloodlines behind today's dogs. We use that database and know the dogs behind the dogs, and what the good and bad various dogs can bring forward.

 

We know how to breed healthy dogs!

We have worked to develop lines that are solid in temperament, structure, and health.

3. Keeping a Breed Healthy

There are four ways to strengthen the breed population:

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1. Enlarging the population.

2. Managing diversity — breeding the most distantly related dogs together and outcrossing.

3. Health testing breeding dogs.

4. Establishing a store of cryo-conserved genetic material (frozen semen to reinfuse back into the gene pool).

We know that loss of genetic variation has adverse consequences for canine health and fertility, specifically the high prevalence of recessive genetic disorders. What occurs when dog breeds suffer too much inbreeding is decreased fertility, difficulty whelping, smaller litters, higher puppy mortality, puppies that don't thrive, and a shorter lifespan.

In the dog breeding world, action to maintain or increase genetic diversity should be a high priority in the interests of the health of purebred dogs. Possible remedial action includes limits on the use of popular sires, encouragement of breedings of lesser-used and most distantly related dogs, and outcrossing.

The health of individual dogs cannot be improved without improving the genetic health of the breed. The only way to improve the genetic health of the breed is to manage the health of the breed's gene pool.

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Jessica and I make sure that we have a diverse breeding program. We keep female puppies from our own breeding program and research distant lines for compatible studs, years in advance. We always have our own genetically compatible studs available in our breeding program to breed our girls to. We also have back up studs, in case when we start using a new stud, we don't like what he is producing.

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We keep breeding females from our own dams, because we understand the importance of a good dam raising and teaching puppies. We have always done this, and we have seen it pay forward in the temperaments of our puppies.

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4. Preserving Genetics for Future Generations

The number of puppies that grow up to be bred from a breeding pair determines how much of the parents' genes gets transferred into the collective genomes of the puppies and carried on to the next generation. The higher the number of puppies that go on to breed, the more transferred; the lower the number of puppies that go on to breed, the higher percentage of genes lost.

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Bottom line, each breeder needs to think about two things: one, their own breeding program and the long-term consequences of losing genetics in their line by keeping only one puppy or even petting out the entire litter; and two, the loss of genetic diversity in our entire gene pool. When we lose these genes, we cannot get them back.

Ideally, it would be great to place 2 to 3 puppies into homes where they could be bred and contribute to the gene pool. 

We understand the importance of how to continue and maintain a healthy breed. We know our lines and what is behind them, and a new breeder doesn't understand yet the genetics, or the reasons behind a particular pairing for their future breeding dog.

5. Health Testing, Breeding, and Pregnancy

Experienced breeders have knowledge of the dogs behind their breeding stock, the health issues in those lines, and the risks involved in bringing two lines together.

We have extensive knowledge in the veterinary sciences and canine health issues and have taken courses in Theriogenology, canine genetics, and canine behavior.

There are several important considerations when preparing dogs for breeding.

Brucellosis testing should be done on both males and females. On females, it should be done each time she's going to be bred. On males, it should be run every six months.

Things you can do to help your male and female be fertile:

Not allowing the testes to become too hot or too cold. There is a reason that the testicles are hung outside the body — they need to be kept cool. Make sure your dog is not overweight; obese males and females have difficulty with reproduction. And, finally, good dog food.

Progesterone machines are not all the same. A progesterone level that was 5–6 ng/mL on one machine might have been 4–5 ng/mL or 8–10 ng/mL on another one. The value needs to be properly interpreted. It's important to rely on somebody who is used to working with the laboratory or the machine that gives the results, so they are properly interpreted.

Always run the progesterones with the same machine, at the same Vet clinic, or use the same laboratory.

Calories become critically important the last two weeks of pregnancy and throughout nursing. A premium, performance food should be given during the last half of pregnancy and through nursing.

6. Passing Our Knowledge to Future Breeders

We mentor new breeders, passing on knowledge and information so that the new breeders have a solid launching pad into breeding healthy and happy puppies.

The following is a sampling of what we teach clients to become breeders:

* The history of Shilohs
* The breed standard
* What we are breeding for and why
* Health issues and health testing for the breed
* How to prepare your male or female for breeding
* How to determine peak time for breeding
* How to breed your female, methods of insemination
* What to expect during her pregnancy
* How to set up a proper whelping area
* Prenatal and postnatal care
* How to whelp a litter and raise puppies properly regarding nutrition and socialization
* How to properly vet clients for your puppies

We take placing a puppy with people who wish to breed, even one litter of puppies, very seriously. We select the puppy that is the best representative for the continuance of the breed.

We don't just sell you a dog because you have cash on hand. We sell you a dog so that you will provide a forever home for these beautiful, majestic creatures that we are responsible for, from the moment we help their dam bring them into the world till the moment that you call us and tell us that they have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

We cry with you, we mourn the passing of the magnificent being that brought you love, affection, security and happiness into your life.