This is what Bing images brings up. Looks to be a full grown English Shepard with the colors you stated. Beautiful dogs.
Posted on 08/10/2014 3:16:58 PM PDT by Chickensoup
Does anyone here breed dogs? I love a certain breed of dog and next year I am going to end one of my jobs and would like to buy and raise and train a few dogs of my favorite breed.
But I don't know how to start. Love information. Or even direction.
FreeRepublic you are like a husband, advisor, computer geek and everyday company to me. Love you all and wish I could have you all over for Chickensoup!!
I am not interested in profit, just want to raise and enjoy the breed.
Thank you, Father.
Picture at link at post 19. Herder.
English Shepherd.
Might ask Madonna’s husband!
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Is this a play on the word dog?
I’m getting some popcorn before I start reading. And I’m not even going to take a swing at that hanging softball.
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What are you expecting?
Before you breed your special dog, first look for rescue groups for your special dog.
It is heart breaking to see so many Dachshund rescue groups.
I would never want to breed more dogs to be abandoned by the buyers of a cute puppy.
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Have looked already. Thank you.
This is where I will be a little nasty. Bitches generally have 2 heat cycles a year. Unless you plan on having two females alternating litters, breeding one female every cycle is nothing short of backyard breeding and pretty darn close to a puppy mill. And it doesn’t give you any idea of how the pups turn out either.
Your whole ‘creating life’ angle, quite frankly, is scary.
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I have no intention of breeding each heat. This is your issue not mine.
Don’t breed dogs. Thousands die in shelters every day. Why do you want to make more?
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I like the breed and I think it is important.
The breeder I know will tell you:
You will need at least 1 male, and several females, look for at least a male from a championship line, females too if you can afford it. Be sure they are all of good breeding. DO NOT over breed your females. 1 litter a year is enough. Which is why you need more than 1 female if you want to be a breeder. All should be AKC registered.
Learn to give puppy shots and worming, how to remove dew claws and dock tails if that is the breed you choose, well worth your time to do so. Cuts the Vets bills.
And a big back yard where you can establish a kennel that is properly heated and AC. And a run for the dogs to play in. This is not an in your house type of business.
This is what Bing images brings up. Looks to be a full grown English Shepard with the colors you stated. Beautiful dogs.
Look at the link in post 19, mine is sable and white. It took me forever to post that picture to that link.
Thank you!
Actually, you indicated that you wanted to have 2 litters per year, that would be breeding every heat cycle. rintense has some good advice for you and you’d do well to pay attention to it. There is a LOT of work that goes into breeding. You want to raise working dogs? No way you can reliably do that with two dogs who haven’t been proven to be working dogs. That means you (or someone you pay to do it) training and working them, and then breeding them. Then there’s screening for the diseases that are prevalent within your breed; genetic testing, OFA testing, CERF certification, CHIC certification. You need to evaluate for structure. It sounds like you’re not very experienced with what correct structure looks like, so it’s finding someone that is and will tell you the truth. A reputable breeder would NEVER sell you a dog that your purpose was to use for breeding if you’re not going to show that dog to successful AKC championship first, so good luck finding an unrelated male and female. Though they don’t necessarily need to be unrelated if you’re doing a line breeding. Reputable breeders will take any puppy back for any reason at any time, are you willing and able to do that? Puppies should be raised using Biosensor (or whatever they’re calling it now). If you’ve got two puppies from a litter older than 10 or so weeks old they need to be separated most of the day so they don’t become too attached to each other. They need to be trained separately. And on and on and on.
Have you had more than one dog of the breed you love? Maybe they’re all not as great as you think they are? Can you duplicate that temperment and look? Is that even part of the breed standard?
I’m not trying to discourage you, but there is a LOT you need to take into consideration and learn.
PS Even 1 litter per year is a lot for a breeding bitch, in my opinion.
LOL!
I can’t speak to the genetics of the thing - I have always bred working dogs (Malamutes and now mini Ozzie Shepherds)... But I will speak to the logistics.
Being in north country, it is best to use only the spring heat - The bitch will winter better if she is well recovered from her last litter. But that causes a problem, as one must keep her in seclusion during her late heat, which means a spacious and bullet-proof kennel or run for her, hopefully away from the male, as he will pine for her and drive you crazy.
And to further complicate the issue, it is often the bitches that can’t get along very well - If you intend more than one female, it may well be that you will have to have to have a way to keep them constantly separated, AND a kennel/run for each when they are on their heat, and for when they have their pups, as they tend to deliver pretty much at the same time... Not to mention really good external fences, not only to keep everybody in, but also to keep others out while the ladies are advertising.
I have lots of friends in the Ibizan Hound world and when their bitches title CH, they *may* have one litter in their lifetime.
Or they may never be bred at all.
In the 70s when Dobes were “hot’, a woman up the road bred a bitch my great-uncle gave her, to death.
Not to be dissuaded by that dog’s demise, she soon got another bitch and _bred her every cycle_ for about 2 years until that dog died, too.
They were the most horridly incorrect dogs I’ve ever seen but $35 a pup kept her in plenty of pocket money.
She also had a slew of little “designer dogs” in tiny cages on her back porch.
They just pumped out Malti-Poos and Cockapoos, month after month.
I personally would not attempt breeding dogs unless I was fully committed to genetically improve or at the very least maintain quality of the breed. I suspect a lot of hobby breeders don’t have the knowledge it takes to prevent harmful inbreeding. Lots of good breeds have been ruined through ignorance. Being a professional breeder requires a thorough understanding of genetics. I would first find a state agricultural college that offers courses in animal husbandry and breeding. You don’t need a four-year degree, but perhaps you could audit the courses you need.
I can tell you that you would enjoy ~rescue~ much more than breeding.
There is nothing like bringing a dog back from the depths of despair and giving it a new, wonderful life.
I am not one of those who counsel to ‘never breed because shelters are full’ because if that happens, pure breeds will eventually cease to exist and that would be a terrible loss.
*However*, it’s a huge decision and even greater responsibility.
When you bring a litter of pups into the world, whether you keep them or not, you *are* responsible for everything that happens to them for the rest of their lives.
When I was doing Dobe rescue, I spent months getting the dogs ready for their new homes, training them to -guarantee- there would never be any issues that would cause them grief.
The adoptive homes fully understood that I was going to be “in their lives” for the life of the dog and that if I ever saw anything amiss, the dog would be taken back, by force if necessary.
Since the adopters were always people I knew well and who lived nearby, they never dared to mistreat the dogs because they knew I was not kidding.
Can you offer that level of “crazy” to the new owners, for the sake of those pups?
I do understand your desire to enjoy the breed but perhaps you should buy a pup every year or two and create your own nice little “staggered” pack.
There would be youngsters around to offer the puppy-happiness and older dogs to offer the calmness of maturity.
Or start rescuing those who have no family of their own.
Don’t encourage him.
:-p
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