Monday, April 20, 2009
Dog breeding
One of the three vital considerations needing to be assessed, and arguably even THE most important, is the quality of the dogs' temperament. Nothing is worse for a pet loving family than to be continuously in fear that their dog may bite them or someone else. And these situations are seen daily in every animal hospital all across the country. Temperament IS strongly associated with genetics. A fearful, ambivalent, or aggressive dog is much more likely to produce offspring that share those characteristics than to produce mellow, self-confident and biddable offspring. Again, let's listen to Ginger's good advice:
"Before you begin to breed, you need to question yourself if you truly have a breedable dog. The goal of breeding is to improve the breed. Just because your dog is AKC registered doesn’t mean it should be bred. To me temperament is the first; to ignore that attribute is to do a grave injustice to the entire breed. The dog’s personality should be true to breed, for instance a Great Dane, the Apollo of dogs, should be gentle, with a calm and noble stature, never fearful or aggressive. Temperament is such an important aspect of breeding that I can’t express it strongly enough. Please be conscious of this and if you are unsure, just don’t breed this dog! Too many dogs are being euthanized every day because of intractable personality and temperament disorders. This dog breeding business IS serious stuff.”
Establishing a kennel, watching it and the "family" grow, and seeing your goals gradually attained through careful, consistent planning can have rewards far beyond simply monetary benefits. Take a lot of pictures, too. Years down the road you won't believe how fast the time flew and the photos will bring all those happy days back again.
"Before you begin to breed, you need to question yourself if you truly have a breedable dog. The goal of breeding is to improve the breed. Just because your dog is AKC registered doesn’t mean it should be bred. To me temperament is the first; to ignore that attribute is to do a grave injustice to the entire breed. The dog’s personality should be true to breed, for instance a Great Dane, the Apollo of dogs, should be gentle, with a calm and noble stature, never fearful or aggressive. Temperament is such an important aspect of breeding that I can’t express it strongly enough. Please be conscious of this and if you are unsure, just don’t breed this dog! Too many dogs are being euthanized every day because of intractable personality and temperament disorders. This dog breeding business IS serious stuff.”
Establishing a kennel, watching it and the "family" grow, and seeing your goals gradually attained through careful, consistent planning can have rewards far beyond simply monetary benefits. Take a lot of pictures, too. Years down the road you won't believe how fast the time flew and the photos will bring all those happy days back again.
Dog care
Now you need to find a mate for your dog. Define what qualities your dog’s mate must have to assist the likelihood of the offspring being closer to the Breed Standards than either the sire or dam. For example, if you own a bitch whose head seems slightly smaller than ideal, look for a sire that has a large head. If your bitch has just a slight drop in her top line, look for a male whose back is level and strong.
And if you say your dog doesn’t have any faults, stop right now! Every dog has a fault no matter how many International champions and obedience titles the dog has. If you are unsure of what is standard, call the AKC; they will have videos and information on your breed and they will also have reputable breeders that you can contact to help you determine if your dog is conformationally correct. If the dog isn’t, don’t breed. It is very difficult to correct faults with 1 or 2 breedings. It is easier and faster and wiser to start your breeding stock with the very best quality you can get. Look into reputable breeders who show and have AKC titled champions.
Finding that first dog: Do a search on the Internet, read nationally published magazines and newsletters, and subscribe to breed club newsletters. If you are looking for a male, find a boy that will improve your genetic pedigree and hopefully correct the faults your girl has. The male should also have the same temperament and physical traits that your girl has and should have passed all of the genetic tests. This can be very time consuming, and it should be. There are a lot of dogs out there so don’t limit yourself because of distance. You have invested so much already and if you find a dog half way across the country... go for it! You can always artificially inseminate if travel is a problem. Artificial insemination is practiced much more commonly today because it doesn’t limit you by distance and it opens up a wider field for your pedigree. Keep in mind that you are looking for a dog/bitch that will improve upon your dog. Think Breed Standards!
Once you have determined who the sire will be, you need to begin planning the breeding. You need to contact the owner and set a price for stud fee. A written contract is important to ensure proper breeding rights if the bitch doesn’t become pregnant on the first try. In fact, get as much in writing as possible. The stud fees often range from $500 to $2,000. If you own both parents, it can be quite easy. The bitch should come into heat every 6 to 7 months and the heat usually lasts about 3 weeks. Within this time, usually about 10 to 14 days into the heat, she will become receptive to the male. She will begin to stand with her back end toward the male and flag. This means she will stand with her tail crooked off to one side. She should let the male mount and tie-up with her. If you can breed her 2 or 3 times over a three day span, that should insure a successful breeding. Be sure to be in contact with your veterinarian, too, if you have specific questions about the breeding procedure. Get the male and female dogs together before the expected time she will be in "standing heat", too, because it is better to be four days early than four hours late.
A note about Artificial Insemination: If you plan on using Artificial Insemination you need to start progesterone hormone level tests on the bitch shortly prior to her anticipated time of accepting the male. Your local veterinarian can do this. These blood tests often cost a minimum of $30.00 per test and may need to be run every other day until she shows what is called a surge... which means she is ovulating. Once established that she is ovulating, there will be a window of 2 to 3 days in which to collect the semen and ship it either cooled or frozen and have it implanted in the female. Surgical emplacement of the semen directly into the body of the uterus carries a much higher rate of success than non-surgical deposition of semen into the upper vagina. If you have the male and are collecting and shipping the semen you will need to contact a collection lab ahead of time and have the proper kit on hand. You need to arrange to have a collection and shipping box specially made for this procedure sent to you so that you can properly collect the semen. This will run about $200.00 including the collection and shipping costs. Wow, I bet you didn’t know it could be so costly, and you don’t even have puppies yet! Hopefully around 64 days later you will. You can bring the bitch in to your veterinarian about 24 to 29 days after breeding for an ultrasound or manual palpation of the abdomen to assess the success of your efforts. Once you have a confirmed breeding the real work begins! But that’s another article!"
And if you say your dog doesn’t have any faults, stop right now! Every dog has a fault no matter how many International champions and obedience titles the dog has. If you are unsure of what is standard, call the AKC; they will have videos and information on your breed and they will also have reputable breeders that you can contact to help you determine if your dog is conformationally correct. If the dog isn’t, don’t breed. It is very difficult to correct faults with 1 or 2 breedings. It is easier and faster and wiser to start your breeding stock with the very best quality you can get. Look into reputable breeders who show and have AKC titled champions.
Finding that first dog: Do a search on the Internet, read nationally published magazines and newsletters, and subscribe to breed club newsletters. If you are looking for a male, find a boy that will improve your genetic pedigree and hopefully correct the faults your girl has. The male should also have the same temperament and physical traits that your girl has and should have passed all of the genetic tests. This can be very time consuming, and it should be. There are a lot of dogs out there so don’t limit yourself because of distance. You have invested so much already and if you find a dog half way across the country... go for it! You can always artificially inseminate if travel is a problem. Artificial insemination is practiced much more commonly today because it doesn’t limit you by distance and it opens up a wider field for your pedigree. Keep in mind that you are looking for a dog/bitch that will improve upon your dog. Think Breed Standards!
Once you have determined who the sire will be, you need to begin planning the breeding. You need to contact the owner and set a price for stud fee. A written contract is important to ensure proper breeding rights if the bitch doesn’t become pregnant on the first try. In fact, get as much in writing as possible. The stud fees often range from $500 to $2,000. If you own both parents, it can be quite easy. The bitch should come into heat every 6 to 7 months and the heat usually lasts about 3 weeks. Within this time, usually about 10 to 14 days into the heat, she will become receptive to the male. She will begin to stand with her back end toward the male and flag. This means she will stand with her tail crooked off to one side. She should let the male mount and tie-up with her. If you can breed her 2 or 3 times over a three day span, that should insure a successful breeding. Be sure to be in contact with your veterinarian, too, if you have specific questions about the breeding procedure. Get the male and female dogs together before the expected time she will be in "standing heat", too, because it is better to be four days early than four hours late.
A note about Artificial Insemination: If you plan on using Artificial Insemination you need to start progesterone hormone level tests on the bitch shortly prior to her anticipated time of accepting the male. Your local veterinarian can do this. These blood tests often cost a minimum of $30.00 per test and may need to be run every other day until she shows what is called a surge... which means she is ovulating. Once established that she is ovulating, there will be a window of 2 to 3 days in which to collect the semen and ship it either cooled or frozen and have it implanted in the female. Surgical emplacement of the semen directly into the body of the uterus carries a much higher rate of success than non-surgical deposition of semen into the upper vagina. If you have the male and are collecting and shipping the semen you will need to contact a collection lab ahead of time and have the proper kit on hand. You need to arrange to have a collection and shipping box specially made for this procedure sent to you so that you can properly collect the semen. This will run about $200.00 including the collection and shipping costs. Wow, I bet you didn’t know it could be so costly, and you don’t even have puppies yet! Hopefully around 64 days later you will. You can bring the bitch in to your veterinarian about 24 to 29 days after breeding for an ultrasound or manual palpation of the abdomen to assess the success of your efforts. Once you have a confirmed breeding the real work begins! But that’s another article!"
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Labrador Retriever
As you probably know, we are celebrating Adopt-a-Shelter Dog Month! I chose the Labrador Retriever as the Dog Breed of the Week because it is one of the most common dog breeds found in shelters. That's probably because Labs are one of the most popular breeds today. A very large percentage of shelter dogs are at least Lab mixes, if not purebred Lab.
If you know Labradors, then you know that these are happy, friendly dogs with sweet, loving personalities. They are also masters of retrieval - just try to keep a Lab from chasing a tennis ball! With a strong history as water dogs and hunter's helpers, Labs are also great competitors in most of today's dog sports. Plus, their intelligence and loyalty make them perfect assistance dogs. Are you a Lab-lover? Tell us all about your "Labradorable" dog!
If you know Labradors, then you know that these are happy, friendly dogs with sweet, loving personalities. They are also masters of retrieval - just try to keep a Lab from chasing a tennis ball! With a strong history as water dogs and hunter's helpers, Labs are also great competitors in most of today's dog sports. Plus, their intelligence and loyalty make them perfect assistance dogs. Are you a Lab-lover? Tell us all about your "Labradorable" dog!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
We Never Told Him He Couldn’t Do It
My son Joey was born with club feet. The doctors assured us that with treatment he would be able to walk normally - but would never run very well. The first three years of his life were spent in surgery, casts and braces. By the time he was eight, you wouldn’t know he had a problem when you saw him walk. The children in our neighborhood ran around as most children do during play, and Joey would jump right in and run and play, too. We never told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to run as well as the other children. So he didn’t know. In seventh grade he decided to go out for the cross-country team. Every day he trained with the team. He worked harder and ran more than any of the others - perhaps he sensed that the abilities that seemed to come naturally to so many others did not come naturally to him. Although the entire team runs, only the top seven runners have the potential to score points for the school. We didn’t tell him he probably would never make the team, so he didn’t know. He continued to run four to five miles a day, every day - even the day he had a 103-degree fever. I was worried, so I went to look for him after school. I found him running all alone. I asked him how he felt. "Okay," he said. He had two more miles to go. The sweat ran down his face and his eyes were glassy from his fever. Yet he looked straight ahead and kept running. We never told him he couldn’t run four miles with a 103-degree fever. So he didn’t know. Two weeks later, the names of the team runners were called. Joey was number six on the list. Joey had made the team. He was in seventh grade - the other six team members were all eighth-graders. We never told him he shouldn’t expect to make the team. We never told him he couldn’t do it. We never told him he couldn’t do it...so he didn’t know. He just did it.
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