Stay Signed In
Do you want to access your site more quickly on this computer? Check this box, and your username and password will be remembered for two weeks. Click logout to turn this off.
Stay Safe
Do not check this box if you are using a public computer. You don't want anyone seeing your personal info or messing with your site.
A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment.
A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances, time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting! They give up the dreams of a long, luxurious cruise in favour of turning that all-important Show into this years "holiday".
The Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee!) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards, over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry. The Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due or the babies have to be fed at eight. They disregards birth fluids and puts mouth to mouth to save a gasping new-born, literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless creature that may be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams.
A Breeder's lap is a marvellous place where generations of proud and noble champions once snoozed.
A Breeder's hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.
A Breeder's back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable the breeder to show the next choice pup to a Championship.
A Breeder's shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from competitors, but they're wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations.
A Breeder's arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer.
A Breeder's ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver), often deaf to criticism, yet always fine-tuned to the whimper of a sick puppy.
A Breeder's eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog's faults, but they are ever so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen.
A Breeder's brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees faster than an IBM computer. It's so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogues thousands of good bone, fine ears, and perfect heads...and buries in the soul the failures and the ones that didn't turn out.
The Breeder's heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with hope everlasting... and it's always in the right place !
Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are BREEDERS!!
Author unknown
Premier Breeder Site
Click ^^^^ Here
SO YOU WANT TO BE A BREEDER?
So you want to breed your bitch. You know what to expect if everything goes right; your little girl will present you with tiny bundles of joy. She will lovingly nurse them and care for them until they are old enough to be weaned.
You and your family will find great joy in watching and playing with these little dolls, and then when the time is right they will all (or maybe you keep just one) go off to special homes to live out their lives as cherished companions. But have you given consideration to what happens if something goes wrong? I have listed here a few of the problems that I myself have personal knowledge of.
Everything listed has happened either to us or someone we know. These are not isolated incidents. I'm sure other breeders could add miles to my list. Learn by others mistakes! Leave the breeding to those who know what they are doing, have the experience and know what to expect.
What if during the mating............
· The stud dog you have chosen is carrying a venereal disease and gives it to your female. She not only doesn't conceive but you have to pay the vet bills to get her infection cleared up and she is now sterile.
· The stud dog you decided to mate your darling to is not experienced. Once the two dogs are joined tightly in a tie, he decides to chase the neighbours cat out of his yard. He bolts for the cat ripping his penis loose and causing your bitch to haemorrhage from within.
· Your modest girl decides she doesn't want the attentions of this gigolo mutt chosen for her without her consent. She snaps at him catching her tooth on his loose cheek and rips it open sending blood flying everywhere. He retaliates by sinking his teeth into her left eye.
· You leave your bitch with the stud owner because the mating is not going very swiftly. In fact, it's been three hours and nothing is happening. The stud owner leaves the two dogs alone in the back yard. The dogs get out through a tiny hole in the fence and a bus hits your female.
· You pay the £500 stud fee up front figuring you will make that and more back when the pups sell. The breeder guarantees the stud service to work or you can come back again. After 2 months you discover it didn't work and now must wait another 4 months to try again. Of course it doesn't work again, so in another 4 months you take your bitch to another male and risk losing another stud fee.
· You get her mated. Bring her home. She bothers you so you let her out (she is still in heat and still receptive to males). You hear a commotion outside and there is your girl tied up with the neighbourhood mutt. When she whelps there will need to be DNA tests done on the pups.
· You get her mated. Bring her home. Let her out. (She is still in heat and receptive to other males) but you do not see the neighbourhood mutt mate her. The pups are born but look odd. You call the stud owner he suggests DNA testing (at your expense). You have a litter of mutts!. What do you do about the ones you have already sold?
· Or knowing she tied with the neighbourhood mutt you decide to terminate the pregnancy and try again being more careful next time. But a few weeks later your female is very sick because you had her given a miss-mate shot creating a hormonal imbalance causing a uterine infection and now she has Pyometra and needs a complete hysterectomy. All plans of getting a litter are gone and your female’s life is now in danger if she does not have the operation.
What if during the birth..............
· The puppies are too large for the female. She never goes into labour, the puppies die and she becomes infected by the decaying bodies.
· The puppies are coming breech and they drown in their own sacks before they can be born.
· The first puppy is large and breech. When it starts coming your female starts screaming, and before you can stop her she reaches around, grabs the puppy in her teeth and yanks it out killing it instantly.
· A puppy gets stuck. Neither your female nor you can get it out. You have to race her to the vet. The vet can't get it out either. She has to have an emergency caesarean section of course it is 3:00 am Christmas day.
· A puppy is coming out breech and dry (the water sack that protects them has burst). It gets stuck. Mum tries to help it out by clamping her teeth over one of the back legs. The head and shoulders are firmly caught. Mum pulls on the leg, hard, peeling the flesh from the leg and leaving a wiggling stump of bone.
· A dead puppy gets stuck in the birth canal, but your female is well into hard labour. She contracts so hard trying to give birth that her uterus ruptures and she bleeds to death on the way to the vet.
What if directly after birth.........
· The mother has no idea what to do with a puppy and she drops them out and walks away, leaving them in the sack to drown.
· The mother takes one look at the puppies, decides they are disgusting droppings and tries to smother them in anything she can find to bury them in.
· The mother gets too enthusiastic in her removal of the placenta and umbilical cord, and rips the cord out leaving a gushing hole pulsing blood all over you as you try in vain to stop the bleeding.
· Or, she pulls on the cords so hard she disembowels the puppies as they are born and you have a box full of tiny, kicking babies with a tangle of guts the size of a walnut hanging from their stomachs. Of course all the babies must be put to sleep.
· What if because of some Hormone deficiency she turns vicious allowing no one near her or the babies, she then refuses to nurse.
· You notice something protruding from her vagina when you let her out to pee. You take her to the vet to discover a prolapsed uterus, which needs to be removed.
What if when you think you are in the clear..................
· One or more of the puppies inhaled fluid during birth, pneumonia develops and death occurs within 36 hours.
· What if the mothers milk goes bad. You lose three of your four puppies before you discover what is wrong. You end up bottle feeding the remaining pup every two hours, day and night. After three days the puppy fades from infection and dies.
· The puppies develop fading puppy syndrome and you lose two. You are bottle-feeding or tube feeding the last remaining baby. It begins to choke and despite your efforts to clear the airway, the pup stiffens and dies in your hands.
· Your female develops mastitis and her breast ruptures.
· Your female develops a uterine infection from a retained placenta. Her temperature soars to 105. You race her to the vet, he determines she must be spayed. He does the spay in an attempt to save her life, you pay the hundreds of pounds bill. The infection has gone into her blood stream. The infected milk kills all the puppies and the bitch succumbs a day later.
· All the puppies are fine but following the birth the female develops a hormone imbalance. She becomes a fear biter and anytime anyone tries to touch her she viciously attacks them.
· What if she constantly growls, for no apparent reason, and this necessitates taking 4 - 5 weeks off work, without pay, to be with her, just in case, until the pups are weaned.
· Mum and pups seem fine, the puppies are four weeks old and are at their cutest. However, one day one of the puppies disappears. You search everywhere but you can't find it. A few days later another puppy is gone. And another. You can't figure how on earth the puppies are getting out of their safe 4' x 4' puppy pen. Finally there is only one puppy left. The next morning you find the mother chomping contentedly on what is left of the last murdered puppy.
What if the new homes are not so happy?............
· You give a puppy to a friend. Their fence blows down so they tie the puppy outside while they go to work. A roving dog comes along and kills the puppy. Your friend calls you up to tell you about the poor little puppy and asks when you are having more puppies.
· You sell a puppy to an acquaintance. The next time you see them you ask how the puppy is doing. They tell you that it soiled their new carpet so they took it to the local rescue.
· You sell a puppy to a friend (you give them a good price and payments). They make a couple of tiny payments. Six months later they move to a flat. They ask you to take it back. You take it back and of course the payments stop. The dog they returned is so shy, and ill mannered from lack of socialization and training it takes you a year of work providing socializing and training to be able to give it away.
· You sell a puppy to a wonderful home. They love her like one of the family. At a vet check done by their vet it is determined that the puppy has a heart murmur. (Your vet found nothing when he checked the puppy before it was sold.) They love their puppy and want the best for her. They have an expensive surgery done. The puppy is fine. They sue you for the medical costs. They win, because you did not have a contract stipulating conditions of guarantee and so as breeder you are responsible for the puppy's genetic health.
· You give a puppy to your mother. She is thrilled. Two years later the puppy starts developing problems. It begins to develop odd symptoms and is suffering. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds worth of tests later it is finally discovered that the dog is suffering from a terminal condition that was inherited. Possibly from your female since you know nothing about her family lines.
· One loving home decides your puppy is untrainable, destructive and wants to return the pup and get a full refund, which you have spent on your vet bills.
· One loving couple calls you and is very upset because their pup has crippling patella luxation and want to know what you are going to do about it. You have spayed your female so a replacement is out of the question, looks like another refund.
The Sale:...................
· You put your ad in the local paper for your pups at the usual price and get only 2 responses and no sales. You cut the pup's price in half and broaden your advertising to 3 other newspapers in which the advertising totals £80.00 a week.
· You get a few more puppy inquiries from people who ask all about health testing you did before breeding and if the pups are registered. You tell them your dogs are healthy and it was enough and that you could get the papers. The callers politely thank you and hang up.
· The pups are now 4 months old and getting bigger , eating a lot and their barking is really beginning to annoy the neighbours who call the police who inform you of the £150.00 noise by-law.
· Your neighbours also call the dog warden and RSPCA who come out to inspect the care of your dogs. You pass inspection but end up feeling stressed and harassed.
· You finally decide to give the rest of the litter away but still have to pay the £200.00 advertising bill and the £600.00 outstanding on your vet bill.
by Chris Halvorson
(Provided by the Responsible Dog Owners Alliance, with some editing and additions )
Reputable Hobby Breeder
1. Motive for breeding: Dedication to producing quality dogs. Often has so much invested in dogs that they struggle to break even not making a profit. Will sell pups only to approved buyers.
Backyard Breeder
1. Motive for breeding: "Fun," "good for kids", "to make money". Doesn't screen buyers and seldom refuses to sell, even if buyer is unsuitable
2. Breeding Plan: Chooses parents with regard to emphasizing specific qualities through linebreeding, outcrossing, etc. and more rarely inbreeding, knowing weaknesses and strengths of all individuals concerned
2. Breeding Plan: The family pet to any convenient pet of same breed just to have purebred puppies. No concern for genetics, bloodlines or breed improvement.
3. Health Testing: Has breeding stock eye tested to check forPRA and tests for other genetic faults. Can produce certification to prove claims.
3. Health Testing: Though pet may be well-loved, it wasn't eye testedfor hip PRA or checked for other hereditable problems.
4. Guarantees: Offers no health guarantees beyond proof of shots, if that. Unqualified to give help if problems develop
4. Guarantees: Lifetime commitment to replace a dog with genetic faults or to help owner deal with any problems, taking back dog for any reason
5. Breed Knowledge: Seller has little knowledge of breed history or KC Breed Standard. May claim this doesn't matter "just for pets"
5. Breed Knowledge: Loves the breed and can talk at length about its background, uses and ideal type, as well as health problems and personality.
6. Breeding Facilities: Pups raised in makeshift accomodations, indicating lack of long-term investment in breeding
6. Breeding Facilities: Has serious investment in dog equipment such as puppy pens, crates and grooming tables and knows how to use it.
7. Commitment: Even when selling "just pets" may produce KC papers or "championship pedigree" as proof of quality. Yet seller doesn't increase own knowledge through participation in national or local breed club. Doesn't show own dogs to "prove" quality.
7. Commitment: Belongs to local and national dog clubs, indicating a love for the sport of dogs. Exhibits own dogs as objective test of how stock measures up.
8. Pick of Litter?: Shows litter and dam in a sanitary environment.Will show photos of sire - who may be many miles away- Helps buyer evaluate and choose pup. Takes time to match each pup and owner. Explains criteria for "show picks" versus "Pet picks" and has already evaluated litter prior to putting up for sale.
8. Pick of Litter?: May be unwilling to show buyer entire litter or to introduce dam of litter. Can't or won't compare/critique pup or pups ancestors.
9. Price: Prices will be at high end of local range, not cut-rate. Price will not reflect all that is invested in pups, who will often be a minimum of 8 weeks of age and at least started vaccination program. Will include all KC papers, pedigree, diet and information sheets, supply of food,toy etc. and enough written advise to keep owners busy!!
9. Price: Priced at high end of local range to start with, often at around 6 weeks of age with no shots, which would mean more money invested.The price often dropping to below average when unsold pups remain since pups must be moved quickly.
10. Follow-up: After purchase, which will most likely be by contract itemizing guarantees, conditions, etc., will help with grooming or training problems. Will take pup back if you can't keep rather than see it disposed of inappropriately. Sells pets with spay/neuter agreement and/or Endorsed KC Registration. Pups will be either Tattooed or michrochipped.
10. Follow-up: No concern for the future of individual pups or breed as a whole. Doesn't use KC Endorsed Registration option or spay/neuter contract (or any contract) to guard against breeding of substandard pets. If you can't keep pup, tells you to take it to dog's home or sell it.
11. Permanant Identification: None, no advice on legalities for identification, or any legal aspects of ownership.
11. Permanent Identification: All puppies are Tattoed , Microchipped or both, before they leave home. All aspects of identification and how it is affected by law is fully explained.
All aspects of the law pertaining to dogs is known and discussed with new owners, much of it will be included in the puppy pack.
