Hi everyone, I am Nicola and I have a 4 year 4month fox red labrador who is cutest and so well behaved. I have been watching her seasons and sometime a hit and miss date wise but always spot on 21 days. I monitor during the season but for some reason when I look at her she does not seem to enlarge and I am concerned that if I should mate her it would hurt her and cause some internal issues. As you have possibly quessed I have not breed any dogs before. My family did many years ago but unfortunately my mother has passed recently and my father has dementia and doesn't remember. As she is the age she is I feel if I don't do it on her next season she will be 5 years old. Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi noonoo61. There are a few questions you need to ask yourself; -why do you want to breed her? Breeding should always be with the aim to better the breed. So she needs to be a good example of the breed temperamentally, physically etc. If she is show lines, then she will have won some titles in the showring, if she's working lines, she must have proven herself in field. -what are her health test results? Is she DNA hereditary clear by parentage, or do you need to do her DNA tests? Does she have a current clear eye certificate? Are her elbow scores 0 and her hip scares below average? - what will you do with the puppies? If all your friends and family members say they want one, bear in mind that when it comes to the crunch, they probably won't. You need to find good homes for them that you have vetted. Puppy prices have shot up and you need to be sure someone won't buy one to sell on. - are you able to take back any puppies that the new owners may return? - can you take a significant amount of time off work? For the first couple of weeks you may need to sleep with the pups to check they don't get squashed by mum. Once weaning starts at 3 weeks then they will need feeding 4 time a day. Once you start potty training them, you will need to take them out many times a day. - do you have some funds put aside (£2k+) in case she needs an emergency c-section? - there are many more points to consider, but lastly I'd say; are you willing to risk your bitch? Pregnancy and whelping are a risky business and sadly some bitches are lost.
Morning 5labs, firstly thank you for your reply. I have worked from home for 20 years. My husband and I have a business where I don't need to even leave the house apart from walking the dogs that I have and that's is a very lazy Springer unusual I know but we were told on collecting her a 8 weeks that they had studied her behaviour and found her to be a day dreamer. We have had springers before and to be quite honest she is beautiful and we don't care. My Lab Maddie is the most well behaved dog I have owned. The breeder I purchased her from recently emailed to see how she was going and to tell me that her sister has already had 2 litters. My reason for thinking about it is her colour, her temperament, she has such a sweetness about her I would have liked for her to have a litter and to keep one to carry on her line. She comes from a shooting pedigree but we are not in that circle so she is our little girl (we have no children) all our attention is on our two dogs. Believe me they don't want for anything. Financially I understand that there are costs involved and we are secure so that would not be an issue. I also as I said to her breeder DNA testing is a must and our vet does all that. She comes from DNA test parentage. So money and time is not a problem and I would hope that they would all go to good homes and I also know that it is my responsibility to accept any of her puppies back should the new owner not want the dog they had taken. I agree it's a worry with reference to people selling them on to make a profit with the way the prices are. I am not in it to make money like some. I want owners to enjoy the beauty of the breed and colour but also to enjoy what I enjoy total harmony with such a beautiful girl. You mentioned that bitches can be lost and the subject of the post is the only drawback. Maddie does not enlarge enough to take a male or that is my opinion and I compare her to my Springer who would have no trouble. My Lab is not a large bitch but no different in size to her siblings. She is Missmarked she has little white bits on tips of rear toes and a little bit on her chest. So a lot to think about but only have a couple of months to decide. Again thank you for your advice. N
