Rarefied Heirs – The Otterhound

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180 – October, 2025

By Lori Sternola

With no small amount of trepidation, I’ve made a decision: I will be breeding my first litter in nearly 30 years. Much has changed since I last sat in a whelping box (and not just my ability to climb in and out gracefully). And a lot hasn’t. So I’ve been on a mission to shamelessly stand on the shoulders of those who have achieved more than I probably ever will. And, true to the best qualities of our sport, people have been generous with their knowledge and with their time. I want to especially thank Jamie Hubbard, Allison and Alexis Chism, and Lilia Berezkina. Also, thanks again to Pat Craig Trotter for Born to Win. I think this has been my 4th or 5th reading of her book. It’s always time well-spent. I can’t do justice to all the good advice I’ve gotten in this article; nor to all of the breeders who have gifted me their time. But I do want to share one theme that really stood out to me: Particularly as we look at our rare breeds, which is always our focus in this column, there seems frequently to be a desire to ‘open up’ pedigrees and try to broaden the gene pool with outcrosses or imports. I’ve wondered in my own breed if we aren’t doing it for the sake of doing it. Is there a strategy? Have those outcrosses and imports truly improved our breed? Have they moved us closer to the ideal dog as described in our standard? In some cases, absolutely. In many cases, I would argue… no. In my discussion with breeders who are long-term producers of top quality in rare breeds, the uniformity with which they have told me, “If you are happy with what you have, stick to your lines and to what you know,” has been striking. A very good comment on the subject is part of our interview for this month, which focuses on Otterhounds.

Click here to read the complete article
180 – October, 2025

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