mating

[babyblueyes2]

I wnat to breed my bitch labrador, when is the best time to mate her as this is the first time I have mated a pet

[lankeela]

Some questions to answer first:

Why do you want to breed from her?

Is she Kennel Club registered?

How old is she?

Is she hip scored and eye tested?

Does she have an excellent temperament?

Do you have good homes lined up for up to 12+ puppies?

Have you got the money to pay a stud fee for a decent dog?

Have you got the money to pay a large vets bill should anything go wrong? (C Section - up to �800).

Are you preared to lose the bitch and/or puppies if anything should go wrong?

Are you prepared to hand rear the litter should you lose the bitch, or feed them should she not want anything to do with them? (Every two hours day and night.)

Have you the facilities to whelp/rear a litter of up to 12+ until they are 8 weeks of age? Can you afford to feed the bitch and puppies good quality food so the litter grows correctly?

Have you noticed how many puppies are advertised in the local free paper?

Did you know that 45,779 labradors were registered in 2005?

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but dog breeding should not be undertaken lightly and is not a money getting game if done properly.

If you only want one to keep, why not go back to her breeder and buy one.

Why have you not done even basic research about when to mate a bitch. Asking on this forum hardly constitutes extensive research, does it?

[kipchik]

What,,,,,with experts such as yourself on here,why would she need anything else????

[lankeela]

I have never professed to be an expert, but I do have over 30 years experience of being involved with dog breeders and trying to sort out the problems caused by irresponsible people breeding for the wrong reasons and without due consideration for the bitch or puppies.

[Metz]

Have to agree with everything Iankeela says..and if someone has to ask when to mate then they have not done any research at all!!

[kipchik]

Attleborough,,,smith,,vondaun,,,,i know the types,,,,!!

[lankeela]

I rest my case.

[drgnrdr]

Thanks lankeela..good answer..did not want to have to type all that myself..you saved me the frustration...LOL

My 32 years working with badly bred dogs gives me some insight also, I don't say I'm an expert either, there is always room for new research and new ideals that better the business I'm in. Babyblueyes..you need to know what your doing first, please take lankeela's info to heart...if you love labs you need to make sure you better the breed not put something bad or unacceptable into their gene pool. That's how alot of breeds got their defects...bad, uninformed breeders.

[babyblueyes2]

thanks for the lecture but I am not a child who needed to be dictated too! I am an adult who has had male dogs before, i came across this website and thought it would be just a quicjk way of getting an answer. I will go to my brother who has bred many dogs of the years and yes i know all the other questions you raised i was not looking to do research, your answers assume too much and you know what they say about people who assume dont you ? in future I will go and ask a person who i can talk too and not forums as you seem to think people who ask questions are imbeciles!

[blue eyes ;)]

babyblueeyes2,dont be upset by the answers.im not having a go but it an enourmous responsibility bringing up puppies and you can understand the other posts asking why you do not know when the best time for mating is?you need to register and chip them etc...if as you say you brother has bred dogs then he could probaly give you some advice.i have a 4 and half mnth old puppy and he is a right handful and thats just one puppy!!(hes going through teething stage!,i.e biting everything!)if your not too sure on breeding it might be best not to attempt it and poss if you would like another pup you could get one from another breeder and maybe breed later when you gain some experience.good luck anyway xx

[dilf]

i cant believe how rude you lot are all you had to do was answer a simple question and cos you are experts you chose to lecture.
so babyblueyes2 allow me . the simplest way is to let the dog see the rabbit so to speak.i trust that she is old and fit enough tho this is not essential it just good sense,if so when she is in season open the back door and let jason and kylie get to know each other and 9 times out of ten he will be top of the class before you have a chance to finish your tea.
one more thing you are not a criminal and you dont have to answer anyones questions or justify in anyway what you wish to do with your dog.
then again im just presuming you are a responsible dog owner

[kipchik]

You know,,,,sometimes its not whats said on here,,,its the tone in which its typed?????

[dilf]

and as for kennel club registered .its breeding dogs to their standards that causes the hip and eye problems talked about. almost all show breeds of dogs have problems caused by inbreeding so as to please the eye of a judge. having a good pedigree is not an advantage as its usually the product of inbreeding. if you want fit and healthy puppies breed your lab with a different breed altogether and forget about kennel club standards

[Snappy]

My mam bred good quality labs for years. The last bitch we bred from is still with us at the age of 13. Its not something to be undertaken when you have no knowledge of what you are doing. Its very hard work, even if everything goes to plan. We had to hand rear a few pups who got pushed out by their littermates,its very tiring! Our first bitch also had eclampsia after her 2nd litter, would you be able to deal with situations like this? Does your bitch have any FT or show titles? Do you even know what strain your bitch is? I dont think you should go into this just yet, good breeding takes years of experience and is not done just because you have a dog able to breed from! The hardest part of all is saying goodbye to all the babies after bonding with them!!

[babyblueyes2]

can i also just say I do not intend to keep on breeding her I just wanted her to have a litter of puppies is that so bad, but like i said before in my last response I will go to my brother in future who is a champion breeder of staffs, i came across this website by accident and thought i'd just ask a simple question, not get you all on your high horse giving lectures. and thanks to kipchik and dilf who seem to understand where i was coming from, i wont bu usning this type of forum again if people have to be so vindictive. assuming is making an ass out of ones self! not me

[orange-gnome]

I have to just add to this that I get where you are coming from babyblueeyes, however you have to understand that people who have worked with animals for years have seen so many cases of people rushing into these things without ever asking themselves essential questions about what they are doing. Also if you do breed her just the once you will have to be prepared to be grilled by prospective new owners about your knowledge and hip scoring etc etc etc They will also be expecting after care advice, so you do have to know what you are doing.
Nobody here is assuming that you know nothing just making sure that you have thought about it. We are all animal lovers here so surely you can understand that.
As for the 'tone in which its typed' Kipchick, in text it is actually very hard to get the right tone that it was meant in, as you can't hear the voice! So something that was meant with all good intentions could easily be misconstrued as patronising or lecturous.
I understand that you might feel annoyed by some replies on here babyblueeyes, what you have to remember about using 'forums like these' is that you open youself up to everybodies opinion and can't expect everyone to agree with you.
It sounds to me that your brother is the best person to ask if he is a 'champion' breeder and you don't want to be asked any questions.
Good luck with your efforts and I hope everything goes well for you and your dog.

[kipchik]

babyblueyes,don't let a few spoil it for you coming on here,most are really nice on here and can give and take advice pleasantly,of course people will worry about dogs and unwanted pups,i personally would be more up in arms at someone who didn't bother to post your question and went ahead regardless,,,good luck

[dilf]

its hard not to laugh blueeyes but dont despair we need people like you to help keep the balance
kipchik is this your way of creeping round me, if so i forgive you and apologise for calling you a dozy mare xxx

[kipchik]

Oh Dilf i haven't seen that post,,,but i am lmao at your reply here,i mean come on a good healthy debate does no-one no harm if we all agreed we'd be bored as hell wouldn't we?

[kipchik]

Ooops don't know what i've done but the red bit in my last post don't know how it got there,but its nothing,,

[Snappy]

Look, we aren't being horrible but most people involved with dogs will always try to put you off getting one or breeding from it until you know exactly what you're doing! Having seen the way some dogs turn out, due to improper care and handling, it makes me really mad when people want to take this lightly! If you aren't ready to hear the opinions of experienced handlers then why bother asking?!! There's two sides to every arguement!