Breeding

[babybombo]

I have a 3 year old cavalier king charles spaniel and have been considering breeding from him.

I've never done it before so I'm a bit unsire of how to go about it.

My mum seems to think that no one will want to use him because he's never won any competitions.
I've enver shown him but he is a five generation pedegree and has all his papers so I don't see any problems arising there, or is it true that he must have won some titles or something?

Arggh it's all a bit confusing, I doubt I'll do it unless I get some good advice from experienced people!
Anyone? lol

[lankeela]

First of all he needs to have all the health checks done for the breed, heart, eyes, MRI scan (you wouldn't want to produce puppies like those shown on the telly a while back would you). He doesn't neeed to have won in shows, but no breeder worth their salt would use a dog that had not got a good show record or very rare bloodlines .You need to study his pedigree and know what if any health problems are behind his bloodlines and you need to study the pedigree of any bitch that he is to be used on, to make sure there is no inbreeding and that the pedigrees are compatible. Then you need to find someone who has a bitch who wants to use an unknown, unproven stud. Most people would want to use an experienced good dog, rather than a 'pet' dog. Then you need to hope that they know when their bitch is ready, and she accepts him as a mate - not always the case! She may try to bite him or you. So basically, I'd say leave it to experienced breeders!

[lankeela]

Although this is from an American site, and relates to Labradors, much of the info is relevant.

http://www.godivalabs.com/stud.html

[carmalee]

As always, Lankeela's advice is spot on. Would just like to add that health issues, champions, papers etc etc are one aspect of the breeding issue (no pun intended) - there is another side. For every dog brought into the pet market there is one stray, abandoned, ill treated or lost animal deprived of a loving home. If you choose to go ahead with a mating I wish you and the pups all the luck in the world but if you are just doing it on a whim, please think again. This is in no way meant to be judgemental but it is often not brought into the equation when non professionals 'want a litter'.

[paraffin]

You sound really unsure so consider this then:

There are thousands of dogs the length and breadth of the UK looking for homes. Therefore, to just add to those numbers for no better reason than you think it's a good thing to do would not be the wisest thing to do.

The vast majority of breeders are in it simply for financial reward, not for the good of the dogs. For if they weren't, they'd be advertising their mutts for a song instead of bucketloads of cash. After all it's not unusual to see these dogs for sale at anything from �500 to �1000 plus. That proves my point about their selfish avarice. Their bitches are no better than battery hens on a production line.

But your dog would be perfectly happy if you had his crown jewels removed. You'd be doing him a big favour, plus the fact that you'd not be adding to that mountain of mutts looking for homes.

Also, consider this too: A breeder would tend to have any "imperfect" dog put down because it's worth nothing to them, it's only a liability and an extra mouth to feed. Whereas dogs homes and rescue shelters would still try to rehome them to people who really want a dog as a true pet.

Think long and hard before doing anything rash.

[lankeela]

Paraffin I really don't know where you get your facts from. There are many,many genuine breeders out there and while there are obviously some people who are in it for the money the vast majority carefully plan their litters and are in it for the love of their breed, spending hundreds of pounds on health testing and carefully studying pedigrees. If people would only be careful to choose a puppy from a reputable breeder recommended by a breed club rather that buying one out of the local free ads, or off a supermarket noticeboard they might get a better deal and end up with a healthier puppy that is going to live a long and happy life. Backyard breeders don't help, they produce dogs from what are often either poor quality or from parents that should not be bred from but again it is the fault of the buyers who create the demand. Buy a puppy with as much care as you would a new car, insist on health checks and pedigree papers and see the puppies with their mother. Ask people involved in the breed clubs for advice and don't buy the first one you see advertised.

[kita1]

Paraffin Breeders don't nowadays have 'imperfect' dogs put down - for one thing there are very few vets who would do it! Good breeders will often sell 'imperfect' or more properly put 'mismarked' pups at a reduced price to 'pet' homes.

Also some rescue centres will try and rehome EVERY dog - even ones who have really bad temperaments. Some of these dogs should be put to sleep.

I have a friend who took on a so called 'rescue' that had been taken to the vets to be put to sleep, the vet refused and passed it to a rescue. The dog was a year old and a large dog. Within 3 weeks it had badly savaged my friend and her partner - both needed hospital treatment. They had to shut it in a room and throw in food with doping tablets to knock it out, then the vet came and destroyed it.

All breeders are not bad and all rescue centres are not necessarily good.

[jules77]

Paraffin, without repeating what others have said, I wondered how many breeders you know? How can you say the 'vast' majority are in it for money - do you know how much it costs to raise a litter?

[babybombo]

Ok so more arguing than help really but I've decided against it anyway.

I actually agree more with paraffin than with lankeela and chums.

I would never buy a pedigree myself, I only have this dog because a friend of my father's is moving to England and didn't want to take his dog with him, so we took him in.
I agree with paraffin in that I'd much rather rescue a dog then fund someone who supposedly loves dogs, but is trying to make money out of them. Now I know that might sounds hypocritical 'cause I was going to do it but now I realise what I was thinking of and I definitely wouldn't.

And yes Kita, some breeders do still put down 'imperfect' puppies, we had a Rhodesian Ridgeback which my dad wook from a breeder because he was going to kill it because his ridge wasn't perfect.
And your comment about rescue centres trying to rescue dogs who should be put down is definitely not true, I know frmo experience of working in a number of different rescue centres that thousands of dogs are put down because they are deemed unfit to adopt. If you're thinking about the adverts you seeon T.V about never putting a healthy dog down, those organisations don't rehome dogs, they care for them at the centre, I should know - I spondor one and visit him from time to time.

Personally, I think there's too much snobbery and inflated egos surrounding this issue, so it's a closed matter as far as I'm concerned.