The Definition of a Selective Breed
In real life, breeds are crafted over many years of careful breeding. They are selected for color, temperament, conformation, fur type, and more. With the selective breeding of certain traits, a breed forms. To be a breed, it has to breed true, meaning when you pair two of the same breed, their offspring always have the same distinct features of their parents.
Selective Breeding in Petz is much the same. With careful breeding over the course of generations, you can breed Petz to reliably produce the traits you want. In petz, we have a limited pool of genes to pull from (when not taking Hexing into consideration). There are only fifteen original breeds of each species. Fifteen dogs and fifteen cats. Each dog or cat breed has a certain ear type, head type, whisker type, body type, leg type, foot type, coat type, and tail type, as well as breed specific personality traits.
When breeding was introduced to the game in Petz 3, it opened the door for combining these traits. You can have a Great Dane with Dachshund legs or a Maine Coon with a Tabby coat. Beyond just having fun mixes, however, it allowed players to be able to selectively breed. When you mix a Mutt and a Dalmatian, the offspring will genetically have both Mutt and Dalmatian traits. A few generations of breeding and you can have a dog whose body traits (head, body, legs, etc) are all Dalmatian but has mutt coloring and mutt markings without even carrying Mutt body traits as hidden traits (learn more about hidden traits Here and Here and Here). This means that when bred to itself (through cloning/copying), it can't produce any Mutt Body traits. It will breed true to the Dalmatian traits.
To put it as simply as possible, a Selective Breed is when someone puts in the work to breed out unwanted traits and make the Petz in question breed true to the traits they desire, creating a line of petz that reliably reproduce the wanted traits.
Selective Breeding in Petz is much the same. With careful breeding over the course of generations, you can breed Petz to reliably produce the traits you want. In petz, we have a limited pool of genes to pull from (when not taking Hexing into consideration). There are only fifteen original breeds of each species. Fifteen dogs and fifteen cats. Each dog or cat breed has a certain ear type, head type, whisker type, body type, leg type, foot type, coat type, and tail type, as well as breed specific personality traits.
When breeding was introduced to the game in Petz 3, it opened the door for combining these traits. You can have a Great Dane with Dachshund legs or a Maine Coon with a Tabby coat. Beyond just having fun mixes, however, it allowed players to be able to selectively breed. When you mix a Mutt and a Dalmatian, the offspring will genetically have both Mutt and Dalmatian traits. A few generations of breeding and you can have a dog whose body traits (head, body, legs, etc) are all Dalmatian but has mutt coloring and mutt markings without even carrying Mutt body traits as hidden traits (learn more about hidden traits Here and Here and Here). This means that when bred to itself (through cloning/copying), it can't produce any Mutt Body traits. It will breed true to the Dalmatian traits.
To put it as simply as possible, a Selective Breed is when someone puts in the work to breed out unwanted traits and make the Petz in question breed true to the traits they desire, creating a line of petz that reliably reproduce the wanted traits.
The Individuality of Selective Breeds
These traits can be any combination of things. Petz may seem to have limitless options, but ultimately, it doesn't. For each species, there are fifteen types of feet, ears, legs, bodies, heads, and tails. With as many petz that are being born everyday as people mix and match, there is no combination that hasn't been made at some point. So the more people that are making Selective Breeds, the more chances there are for some traits to repeat.
This doesn't mean someone copied or stole someone else's breed, necessarily. It is bound to happen, especially with some more popular trait combinations like mutt-marked Dalmatians.
What is important is to take pride in your own creation. The Selective Breed you created is your work of art. You put your blood, sweat, and tears into that line to make it what you wanted and there is value there.
This doesn't mean someone copied or stole someone else's breed, necessarily. It is bound to happen, especially with some more popular trait combinations like mutt-marked Dalmatians.
What is important is to take pride in your own creation. The Selective Breed you created is your work of art. You put your blood, sweat, and tears into that line to make it what you wanted and there is value there.
What counts as a Selective Breed?
When a Selective Breed is formed, a genetic line is established. This line reproduces the wanted traits reliably when bred together. You should always be able to trace the origins of the pet in question back to the creator of the breed, otherwise it does not count as the selective breed, even if it matches the established standard.
This is because a Selective Breed is (usually) more than just a set of standards. It is a piece of art created by the creator of the breed. Hours, days, weeks, even years could have gone into the creation of it. If a pet matches the standard, but is not descended from petz bred by the creator of the breed, it is not part of that Selective Breed. As mentioned in the previous section, there are only so many trait combinations and repeats are not uncommon, but that does not mean they are part of the Selective Breed.
A sort-of exception to this is when speaking of other types of standards. For example, PKC accepts certain naturally bred Original Breed mixes to be shown as purebreds of breeds that aren't Original Breeds, such as the English Setter or Boxer. To be shown at PKC, the pet needs to only appear a certain way. They are not required to breed true. These standards are purely about Phenotype (appearance) and not Genotype (genetics). While certainly some may breed true, overall the standard itself is just a description of traits, not a Selective Breed created by a single person.
There are other, non-PKC standards that apply to petz bred by anyone, such as the Tamsin, Patchwork Cat, or Hound. These are simply titles for petz that have a certain type of appearance. They are not, as a whole, Selectively Bred Breeds, carefully crafted to breed true by an individual. Anyone can make them and give them those labels, whether they breed true or not. That is not to say someone cannot make a Selective Breed that falls under those labels, but those labels as a whole do not refer to Selective Breeds.
This is because a Selective Breed is (usually) more than just a set of standards. It is a piece of art created by the creator of the breed. Hours, days, weeks, even years could have gone into the creation of it. If a pet matches the standard, but is not descended from petz bred by the creator of the breed, it is not part of that Selective Breed. As mentioned in the previous section, there are only so many trait combinations and repeats are not uncommon, but that does not mean they are part of the Selective Breed.
A sort-of exception to this is when speaking of other types of standards. For example, PKC accepts certain naturally bred Original Breed mixes to be shown as purebreds of breeds that aren't Original Breeds, such as the English Setter or Boxer. To be shown at PKC, the pet needs to only appear a certain way. They are not required to breed true. These standards are purely about Phenotype (appearance) and not Genotype (genetics). While certainly some may breed true, overall the standard itself is just a description of traits, not a Selective Breed created by a single person.
There are other, non-PKC standards that apply to petz bred by anyone, such as the Tamsin, Patchwork Cat, or Hound. These are simply titles for petz that have a certain type of appearance. They are not, as a whole, Selectively Bred Breeds, carefully crafted to breed true by an individual. Anyone can make them and give them those labels, whether they breed true or not. That is not to say someone cannot make a Selective Breed that falls under those labels, but those labels as a whole do not refer to Selective Breeds.
Selective Breeds as an Art Form
Selective Breeding is much like hexing in some ways. It takes a lot of work, creativity, and time to create something beautiful. In the end, Selective Breeding is a labor of love. It is a beautiful painting the artist spent hours, weeks, or even years perfecting. The creators rights to it should be respected where possible.
As we established earlier, there are only so many traits that can be bred into pets (not including Hexed Breeds), so there are bound to be repeats. But these should not be named after the preexisting Selective Breed. Each person should take pride in their own work and give it its own name. If you were inspired by an existing Selective Breed, it would be idea for you to credit them for the inspiration, but if you poured hours into making it, that is your breed. You made it and you should claim credit for your hard work, even if it isn't completely original (again, nothing is really original because there are limited options!).
Here is a comparison I came up with for Selective Breeding.
If you made a painting of Sunflowers, that is YOUR painting of sunflowers. You can name it ‘Sunny Sunflowers’ and it’s YOUR Sunny Sunflowers painting. If people share prints of it, it’s still your painting, titled Sunny Sunflowers. If people put it on a t shirt, it’s still your painting, Sunny Sunflowers.
If someone else makes a painting of sunflowers, that’s not your painting. It’s not called Sunny Sunflowers and shouldn’t be called that because Sunny Sunflowers is YOUR painting. Maybe this new painting looks a lot like it, but you didn’t paint it. It isn’t yours. Your hard work didn’t go into it.
Sunflowers are a common subject for painting, so maybe this second person had no idea your painting existed. Or maybe they saw Sunny Sunflowers and were inspired to make their own. But you didn’t paint this second painting and you don’t want people to think it’s your creation.
And so, Selective Breeding is like painting. You can adopt out descendants from your breed (like selling prints of a painting) and they are still your breed. But if someone makes something somewhat identical, but unrelated, that isn't your breed. Perhaps they were inspired by your breed or maybe, because again the options are limited, it just happened to look a lot like yours. But they still put their blood, sweat, and tears into creating that line and making it breed true. Both of your creations should be valued as each of your creations.
As we established earlier, there are only so many traits that can be bred into pets (not including Hexed Breeds), so there are bound to be repeats. But these should not be named after the preexisting Selective Breed. Each person should take pride in their own work and give it its own name. If you were inspired by an existing Selective Breed, it would be idea for you to credit them for the inspiration, but if you poured hours into making it, that is your breed. You made it and you should claim credit for your hard work, even if it isn't completely original (again, nothing is really original because there are limited options!).
Here is a comparison I came up with for Selective Breeding.
If you made a painting of Sunflowers, that is YOUR painting of sunflowers. You can name it ‘Sunny Sunflowers’ and it’s YOUR Sunny Sunflowers painting. If people share prints of it, it’s still your painting, titled Sunny Sunflowers. If people put it on a t shirt, it’s still your painting, Sunny Sunflowers.
If someone else makes a painting of sunflowers, that’s not your painting. It’s not called Sunny Sunflowers and shouldn’t be called that because Sunny Sunflowers is YOUR painting. Maybe this new painting looks a lot like it, but you didn’t paint it. It isn’t yours. Your hard work didn’t go into it.
Sunflowers are a common subject for painting, so maybe this second person had no idea your painting existed. Or maybe they saw Sunny Sunflowers and were inspired to make their own. But you didn’t paint this second painting and you don’t want people to think it’s your creation.
And so, Selective Breeding is like painting. You can adopt out descendants from your breed (like selling prints of a painting) and they are still your breed. But if someone makes something somewhat identical, but unrelated, that isn't your breed. Perhaps they were inspired by your breed or maybe, because again the options are limited, it just happened to look a lot like yours. But they still put their blood, sweat, and tears into creating that line and making it breed true. Both of your creations should be valued as each of your creations.
My Selective Breeds
I adopt out small numbers of my breeds because it does make me feel good to know people like them. If bred together with the same breed, my Selective Breeds will breed true and the result will be one of my Selective Breeds. In those cases, I would like to be credited when those offspring are shown off. I put a lot of work into my breeds. Most are descended from some of my favorite personal petz. They are my work of art.
Should someone make a Selective Breed that resembles mine, but is genetically unrelated, and breeds true, I don't need to be credited for that. I didn't invent the idea of these traits going together. What makes my Selective Breeds mine is the work I put in to making it what I wanted. If someone else does that, separate from my work, then that's their creation. Even if they got the idea from me, again, I didn't invent those trait combinations, only my own genetic line.
Please do not give the label of my Selective Breeds to any Petz unrelated to the progenitors of my breeds. If the lineage doesn't say "RogueRowan" as past owners, it's not mine and I don't deserve credit for it. If you make a Selective breed that resembles mine, this is me saying you have my full permission to give it its own name and claim your own credit for it. If you were inspired by mine, I would appreciate a shout-out, but that is NOT required.
If you mix my Selective Breeds with other, unrelated petz, I also don't need credit for the results. You can say they are descended from my Selective Breed, but once mixed, they're no longer a purebred of my breeds and I don't need or want credit for the creation of those mixes. I didn't make them at that point, you did, even if you used some of my petz to do so.
My main concern is preserving the sanctity of my purebred Selective Breeds. When those are shared, you're sharing my hard work, and I would very much like to be mentioned. Once a pet leaves my hands, however, I can't control what happens to it.
Should someone make a Selective Breed that resembles mine, but is genetically unrelated, and breeds true, I don't need to be credited for that. I didn't invent the idea of these traits going together. What makes my Selective Breeds mine is the work I put in to making it what I wanted. If someone else does that, separate from my work, then that's their creation. Even if they got the idea from me, again, I didn't invent those trait combinations, only my own genetic line.
Please do not give the label of my Selective Breeds to any Petz unrelated to the progenitors of my breeds. If the lineage doesn't say "RogueRowan" as past owners, it's not mine and I don't deserve credit for it. If you make a Selective breed that resembles mine, this is me saying you have my full permission to give it its own name and claim your own credit for it. If you were inspired by mine, I would appreciate a shout-out, but that is NOT required.
If you mix my Selective Breeds with other, unrelated petz, I also don't need credit for the results. You can say they are descended from my Selective Breed, but once mixed, they're no longer a purebred of my breeds and I don't need or want credit for the creation of those mixes. I didn't make them at that point, you did, even if you used some of my petz to do so.
My main concern is preserving the sanctity of my purebred Selective Breeds. When those are shared, you're sharing my hard work, and I would very much like to be mentioned. Once a pet leaves my hands, however, I can't control what happens to it.
RulesThese rules apply to MY Selective Breeds. Other people may have different rules for theirs.
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