Where are we now? Are these ten foundational principles passé or still of value to us today? What are the principles upon which you are building your kennel? How do your principles meld together with Brackett’s principles?
From time to time, I have heard criticism of Brackett’s system of planned breeding. As I have read and reread Brackett’s writing, I am impressed of his very deliberate openness to his system. He has shared indiscriminately about his successes (he seemed to be unhesitant to tell forth about his achievements) and about his failures. I have been amazed that he was so transparent about the shortcoming of his system. Today so many breeders hide the problems that become evident through their breedings. Brackett wrote about them, shared them with others and refined his system as he observed, gathered data, and allowed his mistakes to inform his future practices.
I find it rather interesting as I research the pedigrees of all the Grand Victors and Grand Victrixes from the past eight years (2003 – 2010), they ALL have a common characteristic—there is a Longworth dog in their pedigree. Brackett himself bred the 1950 Grand Victrix CH. Yola of Longworth and the 1951 Grand Victor Ch. Jory of Edgetowne was sired by Brackett’s Ch. Vol of Longworth. The Dual (1966 & 1968) Grand Victor Ch. Yocalla’s Mike was linebred 5-4 on the 1951 Grand Victor Ch. Jory of Edgetowne. I would encourage readers to do a thorough research of the pedigrees of your own German Shepherds. You may have to go back 10 or more generations; however, there is a strong likelihood that you will find a Longworth German Shepherd in your pedigrees.
As this article moves toward its ending, it only appears appropriate to include comments from several other writers concerning the contributions of Mr. Brackett to the development of the German Shepherd Dog specifically and, of course, to the breeding of canines in general.
Gordon Garret wrote:
“A sorting through years of German Shepherd Dog Reviews leaves little doubt as to the tremendous impact this one man made on the German Shepherds in North America. He is one person, who should be given recognition for keeping the breed going through the rough times. There were others, but Lloyd Brackett was really the one to point the way. It was in the '30's that he found the golden ring. From all indications, it would appear that he was a perpetual student, always studying how others had been successful. He learned to be flexible but with very definite principles as to the right way to breed dogs. He had it all figured out. He spelled it out in his articles, and later generations found a lot of truth in what he had said. He philosophically endured the unbelievers that scorned him. Then he added more fuel by bragging of his successes. ”[i]
Fred Lanting wrote:
“Another famous program of the 1940s was the Long-Worth line of Lloyd Brackett. . . Lloyd emphasized linebreeding, while Grant Mann’s Liebestraum kennel was based more on a type-to-type philosophy which maintained genetic diversity, better yet, was just as successful in turning out great numbers of great dogs.
“Long-Worth dogs did a lot of winning and producing in the late 1940s and 1950s, and their genealogical branches intertwined with those of Browvale, Edgetowne, Dorwald, and Rock Reach. Many of the LongWorth dogs were richly pigmented with much of their coloration coming down through Pfeffer. . . By the 1950s and early 1960s, many experienced dog watchers could guess at the LongWorth background by simply looking at a dog’s markings and build.”[ii]
Carmen Battaglia wrote:
“Brackett understood the value of using quality dogs that were related to each other. This approach allowed him to concentrate the genes needed to produce desired traits. His techniques for reducing error and improving quality focused on the careful selection of breeding partners. . . Brackett became famous for breeding quality dogs with consistent type. His strategy relied on a series of breedings using relatives. Often times he was quoted as saying, ‘never outcross when things seem to be going well, do it only as an experiment or when some fault or faults cannot be eliminated.’ He was careful to study each stud dog and their offspring, eliminating those who did not measure up and those who produced faults. . . Brackett's success helped to make line breeding popular. He demonstrated how to make improvements by retaining a common pool of genes through the use of related dogs.”[iii]
Lloyd C. Brackett himself wrote the following in Popular Dogs (December 1952) and it was also printed in the German Shepherd Dog Club of America, Inc. 1973 National Futurity and Maturity Section, Tabulation of Stud Dogs and Brood Bitches (Redbook):
“While it is undeniable and often observed, that good dogs do come by accident at times, the consistent production of outstanding specimens and the obtaining of multi-champion litters can be had only through knowledge, and a familiarity with various traits possessed by the animals in the pedigrees of the mating pairs. The breeder must also have in his mind’s eye a picture of what he wants to produce; the idealized dog as described by the standard of his breed. Through this knowledge of what constitutes both desirable and undesirable physical traits in his dogs, he can do compensator breeding. This mating of dogs with certain shortcomings to dogs which themselves as well as their ancestors are strong in the characteristics desired, is even of more importance than dependence upon pedigrees alone. Physical compensation is the foundation rock upon which all enduring worth must be built.”[iv]
German Shepherd fanciers and breeders owe more to Lloyd Bracket than we realize. I might suggest that there may not be a single individual, at least in this country, to whom we owe more. Lloyd Brackett. Well-deserving of the affectionate title, “Mr. German Shepherd.”
[i] Gordon Garret. History of the German Shepherd Dog. Accessed from: http://www.grunfeldshepherds.com/articles/garrett/Gordon%20Garrett%20History%20of%20the%20German%20Shepherd%20Dog-CHAPTER%2012%20BRACKETT%20AND%20MANN.pdf on July 12, 2008.
[ii] Lanting, Fred. The Total German Shepherd Dog. Wheat Ridge, CO: Hoflin Publishing, 1999, pages 26 – 27.
[iii] Carmen L. Battaglia, Brackett’s Formula. Accessed from : http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/bracket.html , on July 21, 2008.
[iv] Lloyd Bracket, Breeding, An Art. GSDCA Redbook, 1973, page 130.
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