Understanding Brackett--An Introduction

CH. Lyloak's First Knight

"Let the sire of the sire become the grandsire on the dam's side."

Lloyd C. Brackett

As you move among breeders of the German Shepherd Dog, it is inevitable that you will often hear the name “Brackett” dropped in the conversation.  "Let the sire of the sire become the grandsire on the dam's side" is the single most recognizable Brackett quotation.  However, understanding Brackett goes much deeper than knowing this single foundational principle and striving to apply this axiom to one’s breeding program.

What I will attempt in the articles that follow will be to analyze the writing of Lloyd Bracket by utilizing his booklet entitled Planned Breeding.  Brackett’s booklet is a compilation of articles written for Dog World Magazine in 1960.  These articles won for him the Dog Writer’s Association Award as the best non-professional work in the dog press that year (1960).  Dog World Magazine published these articles in booklet form in 1961 as a result of the hundreds of requests from their readers.  I have gleaned ten (10) insights or principles from Planned Breeding based upon my careful reading and analysis.

As a preface to sharing my summary, I enclosed the following editorial notes about Brackett which are included in the booklet:

“One of the fathers of the German Shepherd in this country and the oldest living continuous fancier of the breed in America (since 1912) his theories on breeding have been more than proven in the Long-Worth Kennels where he established his own strain in the breed and produced more than 90 champions in only 12 years—a world’s record for any breed.”

“Known affectionately as ‘Mr. German Shepherd; he has proven beyond doubt the soundness of his breeding program.”[i]

Carmen L. Battaglia wrote an article entitled Brackett’s Formula in which he noted the following:

“By the early 1950's, Lloyd C. Brackett had become a legend in his own time. In part because of the quality of the dogs he produced and in part because of his candor when addressing problems related to the breeding of canines. He had much to say about the selection of sires, how to correct problems and how to make improvements. . .  Brackett was well read and a quick learner. Through his writings he shed light on the confusion and misunderstandings associated with line and inbreeding.” [ii]

Battaglia espouses Brackett’s breeding program indicating that his methods and ideas were not new. However, he points out that Brackett “combined the study of pedigrees with the results they produced. After years of watching what combinations produced the better offspring he refined his ideas about how to select breeding partners. Out of these experiences came a formula that later would make him famous.”[iii]

The German Shepherd Dog Club of American (GSDCA) has even designated an award (Lloyd Brackett Award) in memory of Brackett’s contribution to the breed.  This award is for a member of the GSDCA whose breeding program exhibits a vision of improvement to the breed, tempered with the wisdom to exhibit strict attention to the standard of the German Shepherd Dog.  The recipient(s) should be someone whose dogs display a consistency of breed type and have created a line of German Shepherds easily recognizable within the breed.

Briefly outlined below are the ten foundational principles which I find within Brackett’s planned breeding program:

#1 Learn What a Good GSD specimen is!

#2 Build a Strain!

#3 Build Your Kennel on the Selection of Bitches!

#4 Linebreed/Inbreed Wisely!

#5 Outcross—But Only for Definite Purposes!

#6 Know What to Expect through Inheritance!

#7 Know Faults for Correction through Physical Compensation!

#8 Use Only Outstanding Studs!

#9 Always Select the Best Bitch Puppies!

#10 Breed Back to Your “Toppers”!

In future blogs, I will elaborate upon these foundation principles.  I conclude this brief introduction with an implied underpinning as we consider applying these principles in future articles:

“Perhaps the easiest fault for a beginner to recognize, as well as the most important in many breeds, is that of temperament (again not the result of a single genetic factor), . . .”[iv]

Lloyd C. Brackett

---

[i] Brackett, Lloyd C.  Planned Breeding, page 2 (Editorial Notes).

[ii] Carmen L. Battaglia, Brackett’s Formula.  Accessed from http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/bracket.html , January 27, 2008.

[iii] Ibid.

[iv] Brackett, page 27.

10,000-Hour Rule (Part II)

RFB Lyloak's Isn't She Lovely

As we move forward with our dialogue concerning:  What does it take for a breeder, owner, or exhibitor of German Shepherd Dogs to become an expert?  What might the 10,000 hours of intensive practice look like for these individuals?  What will the 10,000 hours resemble in the becoming an expert German Shepherd Dog aficionado utilizing the three pillars outlined in the earlier post?

Achievement is talent plus preparation.  How would the 10,000 hours be calculated?  How does the individual gain breed knowledge and experience?  For some it will be more than, or others less than, the 10,000 hours depending on the type of experience gained and the level of praxis (study, practice, dialogue and reflection, study, practice, dialogue and reflection, etc…).

This calculation, of course, must be individualized.  Does each individual excel—making the most of the time and opportunities presented?  Or do they simply move through the motions at each stage of development?  For some it may take 10 years of experience at roughly 3 hours a day.  However, this just does not seem feasible or practical for most individuals involved in GSDs.  It may, in fact, take a much longer period of time—for most, perhaps more in the neighbor of 20 years.  This would be the result of most people being hobby breeders and exhibitors. 

This experience must be a continuum of intense training and exposure to all elements of the German Shepherd Dog.  Does the experience build upon the prior experience?  Not all experience is equal!

The genesis of gaining knowledge of this breed must be the breed standard.  How can one possibly know what the desired outcome of potential breedings will be without first establishing what is the ideal—the standard of the breed?  How can one know a good German Shepherd Dog when they see one?

Next, after studying the breed standard, one must place themselves into circumstances to see and evaluate as many dogs as possible.  This might most easily accomplished today by undertaking the following:

o   Attending dog shows in which your breed is shown and judged; both specialty and all-breed shows.  Evaluate each class of dogs according to the breed standard and rank them within that class and eventually the winners.

o   Finding a regional specialty club, join that club and attend as many functions as possible. 

o   Talking with knowledgeable people in one’s bred—judges, handlers, breeders, and owners who show.

o   Joining the German Shepherd Dog Club of America (GSDCA).

o   Attending seminars and educational programs sponsored by the GSDCA.

o   Reading the German Shepherd Dog Review and other GSD magazines (such as the German Shepherd Quarterly).

o   Referencing the annual Redbook published by the GSDCA and the Bluebook (which has articles dealing with health and genetic issues relative to the GSD).  You will find timely information and helpful interviews with breeders, up-to-date health issues and highlights, as well as shown results, etc… 

o   Reading as much as possible, not only about the GSD of today, but of yesterday as well.  There are a fair number of older (30+ years) books available.

Opportunity.  Each breeder, owner, or exhibitor is given opportunity to develop.  Is (s)he presented with, or does (s)he seek out, the necessary new experiences while being mentored and coached by a highly functioning, experienced expect—a mentor or coach who will guide, instruct, correct, allow for practice and experimentation during these reality development periods?  A good mentor will not merely instruct the mentee.  They will offer options, advice, and knowledge and allow the mentee to discover through real-life encounters and not simply instruct with the “Do it my way!” mentality.  There is little to be gained with this dictatorial instruction.

James Moses in his interview for The German Shepherd Dog Review (June 2010) stated…  “You need to stay involved with people who are dedicated to the breed and not just what the current fad is.  I hope to learn about this breed until the day I die.  I learn something new every week and hope I never think that I know everything (34).”

Luck.  This involves having the good fortune of everything coming together naturally—being in the right place, at the right time, with the right people.  Nem and Percy Elliott write in the The Complete German Shepherd Dog concerning luck…

“Without this you get nowhere.  You can plan all you want and be correct in all your assumptions but without luck there is nothing.  The more knowledge and common sense that you possess the more you can cut down the odds and not rely on luck so much (82).”

          

So the question is:  Where are you on this continuum of real-life experience in the area of German Shepherd Dogs?  How many hours have you put in?  Are you progressing toward a higher level of knowledge or simply repeating elementary knowledge of the breed?  You might have 20,000 hours of experience, but only in the more rudimentary areas of knowledge within the breed.  Are your experiences building or scaffolding upon prior knowledge?

All the best in the journey!