breeding

hi all.
my 9 month pup is in heat for the first time, so i have a couple of questions, how many times a year does this happen as its been years since me last dog had hers and i cant remember, plus i'm thinking about taking a litter out of this one, so what age can i let her have pups.

Is she KC reg? have u had all the relevent health tests and screenings done? Do u have 10 plus potential homes lined up? Are u fully aware of all her faults and do u have a potential stud lined up to complement her? Are in a good financial position in case the worst was to happen and she needed vet care eg) emergancy c section etc? Are u in a position to offer ALL the pups a home with u in case u cant sell them or they are returned at some point in thier lives? I could go on and on with questions.......If any of the answers are no them DO NOT breed from your dog

some good points,she is KC reg, her parents have been cleared l-2-hga & cataract, ive not looked for a stud yet as i'm only thinking about it, i would be very fusy of the homes that the pups went to, so i might have to keep all the pups (the wife might not like that though lol).

u need to find good homes before breeding her.. 10/12 just in case some people decide not to have one, i wouldn't breed any dog younger 3 year old.

The kennel where Romeo comes from, he is also 9 months now, they breed their dogs at around 3. Romeo's mother turned 3 one months after she had her first littler.

On average bitches comes into season every 6 months, and you should never breed from a bitch before she is at least two years old, or her 5th season - whichever is later!

I have to echo Carly's post.....

blaze wrote:Is she KC reg? have u had all the relevent health tests and screenings done? Do u have 10 plus potential homes lined up? Are u fully aware of all her faults and do u have a potential stud lined up to complement her? Are in a good financial position in case the worst was to happen and she needed vet care eg) emergancy c section etc? Are u in a position to offer ALL the pups a home with u in case u cant sell them or they are returned at some point in thier lives? I could go on and on with questions.......If any of the answers are no them DO NOT breed from your dog

OK...How do I say this without causing offence?...If you don't know how many seasons a bitch has in a year then you shouldn't be thinking about breeding!

There are so so many unwanted dogs in this country, especially Staffies so they should only be bred by people who know what they're doing, have spent years researching and are trying to improve the breed. To do so for any other reason is immoral IMO.

Breeding is a minefield, there is sooo much to think about. If you seriously want to start breeding then I suggest you go back to the breeder you bought her from (if he/she/they were good breeders - in fact, you'll have to if they were good as your pup will be endorsed) and see if they'll mentor you.

Before even thinking about breeding, you need to know whether your girl is a good example of the breed in the opinion of breed experts so start looking into showing.

Along with being L2 and HC clear, she will need to be screened for PHPV and PPSC and be clear.

She will need to be of sound temperament and you will need to know her inbreeding coefficient.

Breeding is expensive, do you have the funds? Aparently you should expect to loose about £2,000 on your first litter if you're going to do it properly and ethically. That doesn't include any costs you may face incase your girl needs any emergency vetinerary treatment like a Caesarian.

Have you thought about the emotional risks? How would you feel if you lost your girl or all the pups? It does happen, and it's not rare. Not only would you not have either your girl and/or the pups, but you'd be seriously out of pocket then. You could also loose your girl during mating.

How do you like your sleep? You won't be getting much for a week or two come whelping time.

That's all just for starters.

My advice to you would be to just enjoy your girl and don't put her at risk. If you want another like her, go back to the breeder you got her from.

Galadriel wrote:OK...How do I say this without causing offence?...If you don't know how many seasons a bitch has in a year then you shouldn't be thinking about breeding!

There are so so many unwanted dogs in this country, especially Staffies so they should only be bred by people who know what they're doing, have spent years researching and are trying to improve the breed. To do so for any other reason is immoral IMO.

Breeding is a minefield, there is sooo much to think about. If you seriously want to start breeding then I suggest you go back to the breeder you bought her from (if he/she/they were good breeders - in fact, you'll have to if they were good as your pup will be endorsed) and see if they'll mentor you.

Before even thinking about breeding, you need to know whether your girl is a good example of the breed in the opinion of breed experts so start looking into showing.

Along with being L2 and HC clear, she will need to be screened for PHPV and PPSC and be clear.

She will need to be of sound temperament and you will need to know her inbreeding coefficient.

Breeding is expensive, do you have the funds? Aparently you should expect to loose about £2,000 on your first litter if you're going to do it properly and ethically. That doesn't include any costs you may face incase your girl needs any emergency vetinerary treatment like a Caesarian.

Have you thought about the emotional risks? How would you feel if you lost your girl or all the pups? It does happen, and it's not rare. Not only would you not have either your girl and/or the pups, but you'd be seriously out of pocket then. You could also loose your girl during mating.

How do you like your sleep? You won't be getting much for a week or two come whelping time.

That's all just for starters.

My advice to you would be to just enjoy your girl and don't put her at risk. If you want another like her, go back to the breeder you got her from.

I suggest you get the Book of the Bitch by J M Evans, not just good for those thinking of breeding but a must for anyone who owns a bitch. It will tell you how many season a bitch has a year and much more.

I know experienced breeders that still refer to it, their one criticism is that it doesn't cover enough of the things that can go wrong, of which there are many.

Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

Equi wrote:Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

dont think the posts have been patronizing hayley yes there was a jibe about how many season in a year but the rest good info

Equi wrote:Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

Sorry, I did try not to come across as patronising and be as helpful as possible even when I was shocked that someone would be considering breeding when they weren't even aware how many seasons a bitch has a year. My comment in my 2nd post was meant in a banter-ish way

bigwazza wrote:

Equi wrote:Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

dont think the posts have been patronizing hayley yes there was a jibe about how many season in a year but the rest good info

To the OP - may be a good idea to have a look at http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/item/473

Also at http://www.thepuppyplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/PP_Brochure_Breeders_07_LO.pdf that will give you an idea of the time and commitment involved just to socialise and habituate a litter before they are homed.

Equi wrote:Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

This response to my mind is a tad high handed. Galadriel's post is well written, balanced and informative. I am still looking for the 'jibe' bigwazza commented about.

Ty wrote:

Equi wrote:Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

This response to my mind is a tad high handed. Galadriel's post is well written, balanced and informative. I am still looking for the 'jibe' bigwazza commented about.

I just didn't like the way they sounded, if i read it i would have felt offended by the first line.

Galadriel wrote:

Ty wrote:

Equi wrote:Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

This response to my mind is a tad high handed. Galadriel's post is well written, balanced and informative. I am still looking for the 'jibe' bigwazza commented about.

Equi wrote:I just didn't like the way they sounded, if i read it i would have felt offended by the first line.

This one I think
"I suggest you get the Book of the Bitch by J M Evans, not just good for those thinking of breeding but a must for anyone who owns a bitch. It will tell you how many season a bitch has a year and much more."
It's a cheeky and jokey comment and nothing else.

I think the poster has not been particuilarly careful about how the post was written and it comes across in totally the wrong manner , as in can't be bothered looking into things so I'll just ask someone else to tell me, and we all know where this ends up with the well being of any pups.

The poster should be made fully aware of the requirements of a good breeder , end of in my book

hi, when i first read the post i thought it was a bit cheaky, but you only said what you thought, i asked how many times per year because my last staffy that died last year was snipped and and she only had one season i just could'nt remember how many times from my dog before her, but after reading these posts i'm not going to bread her, i just thought it would have been good for her to have a litter.

thanks.

garyftb wrote:hi, when i first read the post i thought it was a bit cheaky, but you only said what you thought, i asked how many times per year because my last staffy that died last year was snipped and and she only had one season i just could'nt remember how many times from my dog before her, but after reading these posts i'm not going to bread her, i just thought it would have been good for her to have a litter.

thanks.

Really think in these current times Gary you are making the right decision , just way too many staffies without homes and TBH I've seen many posts like this and they will always raise the emotions a bit from a lot of us that have had the experiences of seeing all the stories, visiting rescues etc, enjoy your girl
I hope I haven't offended you with my comments , I was once told by one of my directors , you only have 1 chance to put it down in words, regardless of how you mean it , always read it back and try to think how others may interpret it.
Hope you stick with the Forum and get some good sound advice now you've joined and all we ask in return is lots of pictures

Ty wrote:

Equi wrote:Galadriel please don't sound so patronizing. Everyone has to learn about things at some stage, this person could turn out to be the best breeder ever. I'm sure all the breeders on here were not just born knowing everything about dogs. People need to learn and asking for advice when the dog is only 9 months old is a perfect way to start.

This response to my mind is a tad high handed. Galadriel's post is well written, balanced and informative. I am still looking for the 'jibe' bigwazza commented about.

haha i stated were the jibe was in the bit of how many seasons a b1tch has in a year

garyftb wrote:hi, when i first read the post i thought it was a bit cheaky, but you only said what you thought, i asked how many times per year because my last staffy that died last year was snipped and and she only had one season i just could'nt remember how many times from my dog before her, but after reading these posts i'm not going to bread her, i just thought it would have been good for her to have a litter.

thanks.

Good choice

The old wives tale about how a bitch should have one litter before being spayed as it's good for her is just that, and old wives tale and a complete myth

I didn't mean to cause offence but I'm not the most tactful person; what was it Abraham Lincoln said? "We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it."

Really think in these current times Gary you are making the right decision , just way too many staffies without homes and TBH I've seen many posts like this and they will always raise the emotions a bit from a lot of us that have had the experiences of seeing all the stories, visiting rescues etc, enjoy your girl
I hope I haven't offended you with my comments

i'm not offended one bit, it was just a thought with the breeding,

if you were REALLY serious about breeding from her you would need to start showing her. i would contact the breeder you got her from and talk about it. but really, there is no hurry. she is just a baby. its like talking about your 13 year old daughter having babies

But there is no harm in asking. there are no stupid questions

Romeo wrote:if you were REALLY serious about breeding from her you would need to start showing her. i would contact the breeder you got her from and talk about it.

I think that this should be the starting point for all dog breeding:
"Responsible dog breeders believe that each litter that they breed, should be an improvement on the parents"

I too was interested in having a liter with my dog Jack and a potential bitch that I was gonna buy down the track. Then I found out through this forum the costs, risks and emotional investment require to do this properly and realized that this sorta thing should be left for the professionals.

You should scroll down to two thirds down on this topic:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t24067-kc-registered#341450

And read Denise's post on what can happen when breeding. I think it will make you leave it to the professionals.

Jellytot wrote:You should scroll down to two thirds down on this topic:

https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/t24067-kc-registered#341450

And read Denise's post on what can happen when breeding. I think it will make you leave it to the professionals.

nothing like the professional's view point on things