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I currently started source breeding German Shepherds since I saw that the only colors in showable dogs are Solid Blue and Red and Solid Black and Red. I'm working getting the other colors to showable SOPs. Is there any advice you could give me? This is my first time source breeding.

First off, congrats on taking that leap!

First off you need lots of patience, this will be a slow go. I got a few Gordon Setters to bring back different traits, as we have the same traits available from every stud and bitch (with the exception of feet). I began with breeding source to source but this was done to lock down the traits. Now I breed to show quality studs/bitches to speed up the SOPs.

Just know as long as there is "Source Dogs" in the pedigree, you don't really know what will pop up as far as colors and traits go.

Feeding the adult version of Old Boy is cheaper than starting out with puppy food and switching them over. It doesn't matter about condition when they are so low, as the won't be hitting the show ring any time soon and it helps with your feed bill. Just be prepared to avoid looking at your source dogs' condition levels.

You may be able to talk to other kennels about possibly lowering stud fees, but be prepared for the kennels to decline. It doesn't hurt to ask though, right?

If I think of anything else to add to my post, I'll update it.

Welcome to the source breeding world!

Thanks Treestand! I appreciate the tips. So far I have three litters due Tuesday. Two are bred to showable dogs and one is to a source dog. Should be interesting to see what I get. It'll take awhile to get them where I want them but I really want to. I have GSDs in RL so I love colors like Sable and Liver and really want to see them in the show ring on here eventually.

Best of luck with it, the process is long but the results will be worth the effort.

I have just returned to SD and am doing something similar in IG's for color and just started a kennel of American Foxhound since it was the lowest breed currently so got starters and hunting down old studs who were still standing at stud but not listed hope to work up.

In my previous SD experience I did it in my first kennel in Aussies, just because I had named them like your typical newbie with names from two of my RL dogs...so I kept those two bitches and outcrossed to dogs that were high sop, kept the best bitch bred her to a top sop kept best bitch and kept going that way. The one took about a year to get a champion out of that line and the other several months longer, but it was a very competitive breed. In the meantime I had a regular show line. I also did the same with the gray gene in Tervs and it took over a year. However I did find that in tervs I got some valuable traits because it had gotten so stuck that helped kind of kickstart my normal color dogs by crossing them back into the gray line to get the traits moving again. I fed the source stock the cheapest food to keep costs down until I was closer to a showable sop then started feeding with the idea I might get something to show.

Awesome! Thanks for letting me know about your sucesses!! It's good to know that it will pay off in the end. It is slow going but I really want to bring these colors back. So far my highest is a SOP in the 22s. I'm getting somewhere though. Mainly with breeding to higher SOP dogs though. Unfortunately it is a hit or miss with color sometimes all high SOP dogs have the red gene. Makes it a little hard to get cream in there.

When you are dealing with issues like that (your colors being lost to current colors), it can be helpful to breed back to the dam or sire. Obviously the next generation's SOPs will be lower than they would be otherwise, but you should see an accurate representation of SOP when you breed back to current SOP dogs again. I'm sorry if you've already figured this out

I'm about 15 SOP points away from showable with two of my colors. It's taken a little over 1.5 years to get to this point. A long road for sure, but fun too. Good luck!

Source breeding, true source breeding, take many years, depending on the breed.

I am source breeding Welsh Springers and have been since 2006.
They are no where near showing but at least I am getting all blues now. mostly...some green.

I am Generation 91 where the top show dogs are Generation 101
I have 2 other kennels where I am active in showing and as long as I have those, I can stay sane.

I'm having fun doing it and look forward to the day that I can not only point one of my Sourcies but finish one.

Carol