I have 2 St. Bernards one is a long haired male and the other is a short haired female. Should they be bred?, also which is dominant long or short hair trait. Thanks fro help.

I don't mean to question you but why would you breed them at all?

Have you had them checked over for hip and other genetic problems? Have they accomplished anything..?

Again, I don't mean to second guess you...but THINK before you breed. Do you have proper homes set up for these pups? Pups are expensive and so is care for the bitch. There are a heck of a lot of dogs in this world. Just think about it.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply, I too agree that there are far to many unwanted dogs in this world. This was not my question that I asked . It is obvious that you dont know the answer. My dogs both are very loving and dear to me and are part of our family. If I do breed them I will find homes for them. Please dont ask any more stupid questions. I know of three that would go to loving homes right now. As far as genetic defects they have no signs of them nor did parents. Both dogs come from good bloodlines. As far as their accomplishments ,well lets see they are not show dogs they are family dogs. Once again thanks but no thanks for your response because it did nothing to answer my question.
THINK before WRITE and assume the worst case scenario. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

So what are the OFA numbers? Being able to hobble from room to room as a pet doesn't mean crap.

Ok guys and gals... it is getting to the point that no one dares ask a breeding question for fear of being jumped. If you can not answer the question- stay out of it.

http://www.saintbernard.org/advisors.htm
This board is centered around breeds other than Saints, so it is unlikely that you will get an answer to your question here. I would suggest that you contact someone in your area about resources for potential breeders. From the question you posted, I suspect that you are not ready for becoming a breeder just yet.

Here is some info I came across on this website
http://broxburnst-bernards.com/hair.htm

"The issues surrounding long vs. short hair was a topic for heated debate. Problems arose when the FCI accorded both varieties, (long and short haired) the expectation of achieving international conformation championships (CACIB) and thus, prevented inter crossing of both varieties. Experience showed that a separation of the two varieties resulted in loss of proper phenotype. Two separate breeds would have evolved if long and short haired Saints had not been allowed to be bred together. In the early 1980's, the FCI established a list of all interbreedable varieties. Both long and short haired Saints were mentioned as varieties that could be interbred. The CACIB was no longer reserved for dogs who belonged to the same variety for three or more generations.

In the United States, the prevailing thought is that short haired dogs must be used, at least every second or third generation to maintain proper type. It is felt that the continuous crossing of long-haired to long-haired Saint will result in loss of correct phenotype. On the other hand, some breeders in Switzerland feel that the exclusive breeding of short haired Saints will cause a loss of type and a convergence towards the old "Kuherhunde" (cowherd's dogs)."

At any rate, that should at least answer your original question, search engines like Yahoo! and Google can answer most questions. I suspect that the more you read about your breed the more you will realize that you don't know.

Best of luck... Study up, the pups depend on it!

Kaam, I'm thinking if you are unaware of the genetics and history of your dogs about the coat length, you are probably also in the dark about the hip history of ALL the dogs in their backgrounds.

St. Bernards have a 49% chance of getting hip dysplasia from http://rmsstudents.watertown.k12.wi.us/RMS_Projects/Milbrath/st.bernard.htm sounds pretty scary for statistics to me. It's all well and good you have homes for 3 puppies already, but selling puppies to someone that my then end up with H/D is something I wouldn't like to be responsible for. And I know that responsible breeders are 'responsible' for any dogs they breed for the rest of their lives.

GEEZ, they seem worst than GSD's for all the genetic condition they are pre-disposed to http://www.barkbytes.com/bremed/stbern.htm

And it's only listed in 43% of St Bernards on this site, nad GSD's are 'just' 24% http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/hip%20dysplasia.htm

AND to answer your question (know you are shocked) from http://www.anatoliandog.org/genetic.htm

The Inheritance of Coat Length

Crawford and Loomis reported on the inheritance of short or long coat in another Molossian-type breed, the St. Bernard. They concluded that inheritance is based on simple autosomal inheritance of the dominant (short coat) or recessive (long coat) alleles.

The Anatolian Shepherd Dog shows the same mode of inheritance for coat length. Short coated dogs can produce long coats, but long coated dogs never produce short coats. The amount of feathering on the legs, density of the coat and length of the mane do not appear to be directly related to the length of coat except in a slightly proportional manner. Short coated dogs can have heavy feathering, and long coated dogs may have less. This leads me to suppose that the other coat characteristics are on separate chromosomes.

Thank you soo very much for the info, its very helpfull I am trying to learn more and more. I dont mind criticism but when its put negatively on you it kinda makes you a little bit mad. Sorry if I Lashed out. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />