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WHAT IS ANIMAL BREEDING?

Animal breeding is a branch of animal science that addresses the
evaluation (using best linear unbiased prediction and other
methods) of the genetic value (estimated breeding value, EBV) of
livestock. Selecting for breeding animals with superior EBV in
growth rate, egg, meat, milk, or wool production, or with other
desirable traits has revolutionized livestock production
throughout the world. The scientific theory of animal breeding
incorporates population genetics, quantitative genetics,
statistics, and recently molecular genomics and is based on the
pioneering work of Sewall Wright, Jay Lush, and Charles
Henderson.

Breeding stock is a group of animals used for the purpose of

planned breeding. When individuals are looking to breed
animals, they look for certain valuable traits in purebred animals,
or may intend to use some type of crossbreeding to produce a
new type of A with different, and presumably superior abilities in
a given area of endeavor. For example, when breeding swine the
"breeding stock should be sound, fast growing, muscular, lean,
and reproductively efficient. The subjective selection of breeding
stock" in horses has led to many horse breeds with particular Purebred Arabian Horses
performance traits.
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Rodents, Birds and horses

Are popular pets as
They are often considered
Cute or exotic.

TRUE BREEDING
In the world of selective animal breeding, to "breed
true" means that specimens of an animal breed will
breed true-to-type when mated like-to-like; that is,
that the progeny of any two individuals in the same
breed will show consistent, replicable and predictable
characteristics. A puppy from two purebred dogs of
the same breed, for example, will exhibit the traits of
its parents, and not the traits of all breeds in the
subject breed's ancestry.

However, breeding from too small a gene pool,

especially direct inbreeding, can lead to the passing
on of undesirable characteristics or even a collapse of
a breed population due to inbreeding depression.
Therefore, there is a question, and often heated
controversy, as to when or if a breed may need to
allow "outside" stock in for the purpose of improving
the overall health and vigor of the breed.

Because pure-breeding creates a limited gene pool,

purebred animal breeds are also susceptible to a
wide range of congenital health problems. This
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The above is a classic example of true breeding. When an offspring look like an exact clone of the parents, who
resemble each other entirely. Unfortunately, this can only be achieved with a lot of inbreeding, something that
can produce very undesirable results.

problem is especially prevalent in competitive dog breeding and dog show circles due to the singular emphasis
on aesthetics rather than health or function. Such problems also occur within certain segments of the horse
industry for similar reasons. The problem is further compounded when breeders practice inbreeding. The
opposite effect to that of the restricted gene pool caused by pure-breeding is known as hybrid vigor, which
generally results in healthier animals.

PEDIGREE
A pedigreed animal is one that has its ancestry recorded. Often this is tracked by a major registry. The number
of generations required varies from breed to breed, but all pedigreed animals have papers from the
registering body that attest to their ancestry.

The word "pedigree" appeared in the English language in 1410 as "pee de Grewe", "pedegrewe" or "pedegru",
each of those words being borrowed to the Middle French "pi de grue", meaning "crane foot". This comes
from a visual analogy between the trace of the bird's foot and the three lines used in the English official
registers to show the ramifications of a genealogical tree.

Sometimes the word purebred is used synonymously with pedigreed, but purebred refers to the animal having
a known ancestry, and pedigree refers to the written record of breeding. Not all purebred animals have their
lineage in written form. For example, until the 20th century, the Bedouin people of the Arabian peninsula only
recorded the ancestry of their Arabian horses via an oral tradition, supported by the swearing of religiously
based oaths as to the asil or "pure" breeding of the animal. Conversely, some animals may have a recorded
pedigree or even a registry, but not be considered "purebred". Today the modern Anglo-Arabian horse, a cross
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of Thoroughbred and Arabian bloodlines, is considered such a case.

PUREBRED DOGS
A purebred dog is a dog of a modern breed of dog, with written documentation showing the individual
purebred dog's descent from its breeds' foundation stock. In dogs, the term breed is used two ways: loosely,
to refer to dog types or landraces of dog (also called natural breeds or ancient breeds); or more precisely, to
refer to modern breeds of dog, which are documented so as to be known to be descended from specific
ancestors, that closely resemble others of their breed in appearance, movement, way of working and other
characters; and that reproduce with offspring closely resembling each other and their parents. Purebred dogs
are breeds in the second sense.

New breeds of dog are constantly being created, and there are many websites for new breed associations and
breed clubs offering legitimate registrations for new or rare breeds. When dogs of a new breed are "visibly
similar in most characteristics" and have reliable documented descent from a "known and designated
foundation stock", then they can then be considered members of a breed, and, if an individual dog is
documented and registered, it can be called purebred.
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More PUREBRED CATS

examples of Purebreed pets.
A cat whose ancestry is formally registered is called a pedigreed or
purebred cat. Technically, a purebred cat is one whose ancestry contains
only individuals of the same breed. A pedigreed cat is one whose
ancestry is recorded, but may have ancestors of different breeds.

The list of cat breeds is quite large: most cat registries actually recognize
between 30 and 40 breeds of cats, and several more are in development,
with one or more new breeds being recognized each year on average,
having distinct features and heritage. Owners and breeders compete in
cat shows to see whose animal bears the closest resemblance (best
conformance) to an idealized definition, based on breed type and the
breed standard for each breed.

Because of common crossbreeding in populated areas, many cats are

simply identified as belonging to the mixed types of domestic long-haired
and domestic short-haired cat, depending on their type of fur.

OTHERS
Although cats and dogs are the most common household pets, other
animals whose breed matters above all else in the exotic, expensive and
showy category of pets are several guinea pigs, reptiles, horses, birds,
rabbits and other rodents, and aquatic animals who are kept in
aquariums
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BACKYARD
BREEDING