Okay so you just invested in buying the best bitch that you can afford for your breeding program. You raise her until she’s at least two years of age. You have her x-rayed and submit them to the OFA for evaluation. You receive her OFA numbers for her hips and elbows. Then you once again take a look at the studs that you have been considering breeding her to for awhile. Hopefully you have done your homework and have investigated a little further into the bloodlines of the potential stud dogs and have talked to other breeders that have utilized these dogs into their own bloodlines. You would have discussed the faults of the lines and any health problems other breeders may have had. Perhaps you can even take a look at some of their puppies that they have produced from the stud dog that you are interested in using.
Once you’ve decided on a dog that you would like to use, your next step is to make sure that your bitch is up to date on any of her inoculations that she may need. Taking in a stool sample to your vet would be a good idea as well. This is a good time to have her thoroughly examined to make sure she’s healthy and ready to have a litter. Alright then, Mother Nature pays a visit to your girl and she’s in season.
You should get in touch with the stud dog owner on your bitches first day of season. This way the owner of the male can reserve the days that your bitch needs to be bred. Most stud dog owners will allow you to breed your bitch two times during her season to help ensure that she’ll get pregnant. Also the stud dog owner should let you know what tests he expects you to have on your bitch before the breeding takes place. These tests are to protect his stud as well as your bitch from contacting any infectious diseases. Some bitch owners will have tests done to determine when their bitch should be bred. I have never done this test and I have never had a bitch miss. But for those bitches that do have a harder time conceiving, these tests can prove to be very valuable to the bitch owner.
This is what the person that wrote to me about writing about this subject had to say about the actual breeding of the two animals. “You can of course leave out the copulation itself as I think most know how that is done.” Well you would think that that would be the case, but it’s not always that way. Most people think that you just put the two dogs’ together and let nature do what nature normally does. You would think. But it doesn’t always work out that way. Many a time the breeder has to be “hands on” when a breeding is taking place. If she’s not, injury may result or a breeding doesn’t take place at all. So let’s take a look at this eventful day.
So the time has come for you to breed your girl to the famous stud dog. Hopefully the stud dog will be a good breeder and there will be no problems. A good stud dog is an eager breeder and gets the job done without too much fanfare. The problem can arise when you have a young stud dog that is still “wet behind the ears” because he’s never been bred before or to very few bitches. I’ve written about my own experience with this. If it weren’t for me and the stud dog owner being there, serious damage could have resulted to the stud dog and maybe my bitch. Not to go into all the detail all over again here, I’ll just tell you that the stud dog tied with my bitch and then he wanted to play games and tried throwing himself on the floor like an overgrown puppy would do. That’s when the fun began! NOT! The poor dog was screaming in pain and he didn’t know what to do. The stud dog owner became so scared and yelled to me to hold my bitch very still. Thank God my bitch was an experienced brood bitch. She just looked at him like he was nuts and as if to say to him, “Are you done yet?”
Then you might run into the other side of the spectrum and have a dog that is a lazy breeder and is not really too interested in your bitch. I also had that happen before. Eventually we got the breeding done and had a large litter, but you would think that the stud would want to breed a willing bitch. Nope, he had to be coaxed.
And then how about the stud dog that is overly exuberant with anything that has four legs. He’s an aggressive stud dog and the owner has all he can do to hold the wild bronco back. This can result in outside ties and small litters or no litters at all. Then you can’t breed to him until another 24 hours at least and hope that the next time you can calm his libido down a little bit. And hopefully you’ll have a litter.
And the stud dogs are not the only ones that can give you a headache. How about your darling sweet little girl? If she is a maiden bitch, she may not want anything to do with the stud dog at all. She may be frightened or she may want to rip his head off! Most stud dog owners will muzzle all bitches that come in to be bred to their dogs. The smart owner doesn’t take any chances. Many times after they are tied, the muzzle will be taken off the bitch.
So no, it’s not just about putting the two dogs together. The breeders are very much a part of what goes when the two dogs are bred. Believe me many stud dogs owners earn their stud dogs fees and the bitch owner ears her puppy prices!
So if everything goes well, you will have had two breedings on your girl and you can take her home and wait until you see the signs that your bitch is pregnant. Your girl will carry her babies for nine weeks. While she is pregnant you will make sure that she has the proper nutrition and some breeders will give their bitches supplements at this time to ensure that she is getting the extra vitamins they she will need to nourish her babies and herself.
If you haven’t already, now is the time to invest in a good whelping box for the mother and her newborns.
(To be continued)….
DRYMATE WHELPING BOX LINER -
* Provide your pet with a clean sanitary whelping area.
* The soft, non-woven fabric absorbs and contains liquids.
* The bonded backing prevents leak through and protects the flooring.
* Machine washable and dryable.
My rating: breeding puppies: (1 - 4)
No comments:
Post a Comment