Toy Fox Terriers O'BJ
"Puppies with a future - from dogs with a past!"

The Breeder's Pedigree IS The Puppy's Pedigree

Before deciding on a Toy Fox Terrier, you need verifiable information.  Every breeder thinks their dogs are the best but the Breeder's experience, dedication, and success may be the only factual parts of a Toy Fox Terrier pedigree!  The Pedigree is only a piece of paper, it is what created the dog that counts.

Pedigrees are just names on a piece of paper.  Some Toy Fox Terrier pedigrees are genetically accurate.  Some are not.  DNA collected on a miss-mated dog or one with no previous DNA records mean nothing.  Actually, DNA on relatively new breeds such as the Toy Fox Terrier will show the genes of ancestral breeds.  Thus only a pedigree representing three generations of DNA certified dogs can prove authenticity or provide a genetic profile.

DNA is most often used in non-breed specific health research or to resolve disputes regarding which dog is the actual parent of a litter.  It in no way guarantees quality.

Likewise, no matter how many champions there are on a pedigree, unless each mating was the result of carefully selected, genetically compatible Toy Fox Terriers, that piece of paper is no assurance of what you're seeking. 

Here's why.  Top winners are frequently mated to each other with dismal results.  They may be AKC champions but they must be genetically compatible in order to pass on their quality.  "Compatible" means the sire and dam do not share the same visible (dominant) or hidden (recessive) faults.  That does not necessarily mean the dogs should all be from the same bloodline because today there are very few established breeders, especially in Toy Fox Terriers. 

A "bloodline" or kennel name today may not mean the breeder carefully matched the sire and dam for compatibility rather than just breeding to a top winner because his puppies will be saleable. 

A good pedigree means every dog in the first three generations is dominant for the important features of type and since no dog is perfect, their faults must be carefully weighed by the breeder.

Trust me, you don't want a Toy Fox Terrier that will have temperament or health problems, especially those that don't develop until the puppy is older and has stolen your heart.

This is not meant as a lesson in genetics.  It's not even about the Toy Fox Terrier breed.  It is just that people don't talk about these things (for obvious reasons) but every potential owner should know how to "read a pedigree" and interpret it to fit what they are looking for.  This is about how much a dog will enrich your life. 

So don't be in a hurry.  Take the time to (gasp) work at making an informed decision.  Informed owners make happy pet owners or successful breeder-exhibitors.  Bill and I didn't sell to impulse buyers which is why over 200 O'BJ dogs have became AKC National Winners and/or Register Of Merit Sires and Dams and pet or show, almost all of them lived long, happy lives with families that treasured them.

(828) 286-9944 9 AM to 8 PM in the beautiful Smokey Mountain Foothills of Rutherfordton, North Carolina

Copyright © 2002 - 2008 Barbara J. Andrews.  All rights reserved.  Except for brief reference quotations with source provided, no portions thereof may be stored or reprinted in any form, electronic or otherwise, without prior express written consent of Barbara J. Andrews