On our long and complicated quest to get Poppy registered with the Deutsche Retriever Club as a breeding bitch, we went to a test yesterday where she was judged on her conformation to the breed standard. Delighted to say that she passed, with "sehr gut". Very, very pleased . So: hips and elbows tested and all good Eyes tested, all good Character / temperament test passed Retriever examinations passed Attended seminar for new breeders Successful visit from representative of the breeder's association Kennel name applied for, and questionnaire including answers to 30 questions on breeding dogs, genetics, helping and raising puppies answered. This morning we're going to the vet's for blood tests for genetic screening for various diseases (EIC, SD etc). Once those are back, and assuming they are ok, I can send off the application to have her registered! It's been quite a journey...
Wow , that's a lot of tests Karen, so pleased to read about a temperament test , sadly overlooked by many intending breeders and in my humble opinion, very important . Well done to you and your lovely girl, several steps forward xx
Fabulous news. You can understand why people take the "backyard breeding" approach though. Not that I could condone it of course. I bet it has cost a few pennies to do that too. Exciting Karen.
I really can't see that you could make much money doing this, that's for sure! Especially as they specify no more than two litters per bitch, and no more than three litters per breeder per year. To stop puppy farms, of course. So - in Germany, if you buy a puppy certified by the DRC or the Labrador Club Deutschland, you can be certain the parent dogs have had exhaustive tests done, and that the breeder has been carefully checked too. Lots of backyard breeders, though, with cheaper puppies for sale and little if any testing
I think that's an excellent system, and the Kennel Club should learn some lessons. Well done Poppy! And Karen, of course. Hope everything goes well for the final hurdles and then we can start helping you with names. Just in case you need some, of course....
Disappointing that backyard breeding is still prevalent.... You, however, are doing it the right way, and the way it should be done everywhere. Congrats on the fab results so far
It sounds like a very, very thorough system, which is great. I do wonder, though, if all the hoops actually encourage more backyard breeding and end up reducing the size of the registered gene pool by discouraging people who have suitable breeding stock from using them. Not that I think the tests should be skipped, at all. I don't know what the solution would be, but if I had a bitch that I considered worth breeding from, would I go ahead with it, knowing that the financial and physical risks outweigh the remuneration? I know there's more to it than that for someone that's only thinking of a single litter from a single bitch, but if there's no business to be made by being a reputable breeder, what's the incentive?
Congtatulations just one final hurdle ( wow have you had a lot!) and then the pitter patter of lots of tiny paws. Exciting and they will be so gorgeous.
The puppies will be expensive, so if there are several of them I may make a small profit. But if there are only three or four then it will definitely be a loss. The incentive, I suppose, is having healthy dogs from good, caring, responsible breeders.. It seems to me that only people who really care about the breed would go to all this trouble. However, EU EU rules state that all puppies crossing borders must be vaccinated against rabies, with a three-week waiting period. This means you can't get a puppy from abroad earlier than 15 weeks. There are many more people looking for good puppies than there are pups, so it's a seller's market. My motivation is that I am utterly convinced that Poppy's genes will be a very positive addition to the gene pool here, which is a bit limited (lots of very keen, but nervy and whiny, skinny labs). Also, I want one of her puppies for myself!!
I still think there is something in my idea - if all breeders were obliged to sell the puppies with insurance against genetic disease (say for the first two years which is when most problems become evident), Karen's insurance would be reasonably priced, and a much less careful breeder would be charged an extortionate price for insurance. Insurance markets are reasonably competitive, not too badly regulated and good at assessing risk. Enforcement of this would be easy, it's a bright line test - insurance or not - unlike trying to prove a breeder is "bad" or "careless" which is an impossible test for enforcement. This would lower the costs for good breeders, and increase the costs for bad breeders. It would also dramatically increase the cost of puppies. That may not be a bad thing. We'd need some additional bits and bobs alongside in the UK at least, we'd have to bring back dog licences and so on....
Sounds really amazing - well done. It's sad that not everyone is doing that & that for ex our KC doesn't have such requirements.
I don't believe this is necessarily true anymore. My vet advised me that, if the puppy is under 12 weeks of age, it is not required to have rabies vaccinations - it only needs those vaccinations that are appropriate to its age. Here is more information: http://ahvla.defra.gov.uk/external-operations-admin/library/documents/exports/ET139.pdf - Section 3. So, it depends whether the country it is being exported to accepts non-vaccinated puppies. I believe that France and Spain (as well as Andorra) do.
That's doubly infuriating, that the EU sets up such a stupid, damaging rule, but some countries don't enforce it.. The whole idea behind it is to stop or control puppy smuggling without proper papers and health checks - but the kind of people bringing puppies across borders illegally won't be stopping at customs controls to show their vaccination certificates, anyway... So the only people it inconveniences are those looking to bring a puppy legally into Germany.
Wow,this has been quite a project Karen.Aside from the reason you are doing it,it must be really reassuring to get all these great results back to know Poppy herself has such a great standard of health.What will your kennel name be?Am I'm allowed to ask that yet or is it top secret until you've got it and it's registered? X
