Eligible to Breed

This webpage was last updated on July 9, 2010

LMCNA believes that quality hunting dogs are built by whole pedigrees, not just a few exceptional individuals. Therefore, all LMs bred in North America satisfy a basic field, health and conformation standard prior to approval for breeding, as their ancestors did in turn for many generations.

LMCNA-approved field tests employ simulated hunting situations in upland and water, before and after the shot. Hip evaluations are based on x-rays, where bone remodeling if present would indicate hip dysplasia. In approved HD-free LMs, the quality and fit of the ball-and-socket joint is described from Excellent to Fair, or A to C in Europe. While conformation tests are organized occasionally, breeders and sire owners unable to attend these due to distance are on the honor system to report conformation in their own words. The LM's international height standard ranges from 58-65 cm for females and 60-67 cm for males.

LMCNA dos not make specific breeding decisions. The standard we have set are basic standards that identify the limits of the "playing field". It is the breeder who brings his or her experience to bear in deciding which dogs to breed to whom, and to keep inbreeding coefficients low. Given LMCNA's performance-based breeding strategy, all LMs that are bred are capable hunting dogs. Most breeders require a standard of performance that is even higher than that set by LMCNA. All breeders and sire owners are hunters and thus "know" their own dogs well. This coupled with club-wide information sharing allows them use of good judgment in choosing the appropriate pairings. Prospective owners should ask breeders what level of hunting their dogs are accustomed to, how the dogs work in the field and how pleasant they are to live with during the other 9 months of the year.

Most versatile-dog testing programs employ three stages of field testing. In a young dog, a basic natural aptitude for hunting is evaluated. In the advanced test, the full range of hunting aptitude is evaluated with enough training required to conduct a test efficiently and observe the dogs' responses to training. The third level evaluates the fully obedient and experienced hunting dog. The first two stages are most important for breeding, since they minimize the role of obedience. Obedience is taught to a dog, it is only marginally heritable.

The listing of eligibles should be complete as of July 9, 2010. However, dogs that are 10 years or over are not listed.

A printable Listing of Eligibles can be downloaded as a pdf file.

The abbreviations used on the eligibles list are as follows: