Decision to breed Laborador

[JuliaGulia]

Hello,

I am new to this forum, but wanted to get some advice/stories from some like minded people.

I have a beautiful Fox Red Labrador bitch who is the most loving, well-behaved and intelligent dog. She is KC registered. I am thinking of breeding her in her next season. She is 18 months old currently.

I currently work part time and my partner works full time from home.

Has anyone else who works bred their bitch from home, what advice would you give? What stories do you have.

I am just interested to learn more about the experience, I want to enter this (or not) with my eyes wide open in order to prevent any mistakes which jeopardize the health of my bitch and her puppies.

Thanks,
Julia

 

[Hemlock]

I'd say that at 18months she is not yet the dog she is going to be, and would benefit from more time to mature.

If you go ahead, you need to be able to take 8 weeks off work or else have a very good support network in place. Puppies and nursing bitches should not be left without human supervision, and a lot can go wrong in the final weeks of pregnancy and especially leading up to and just after the birth.

If things go wrong it can get very expensive very quickly, especially if you end up having to hand-rear a litter.

You need homes lined up well before the birth and preferably before the mating. People will let you down at the last minute.

Do you know exactly what is involved with the mating? It's a lot more complicated than people realise, and there is a lot of risk of injury (sadly sometimes death) if people aren't aware what needs to happen. You need at least one helper who knows what it is all about, and preferably two.

You need paperwork for owners stating the registration of both dog and bitch. It's sensible to have written pedigrees available for purchasers.

I don't know if your dog is working, show or pet bred. There are significant differences in temperament and appearance. You need to check this before you choose a stud.

There's more......a lot more......but that's quite enough to start with.

 

[JuliaGulia]

Thank you Hemlock, great advice and I really appreciate.

She is 18 months, but will likely be just 2 at her next season (she has just started her second season, so potentially mating at her third).

There is someone at my home all the time so that is not a problem. If we were both working full time out of the home, I would never even consider this.

I am trying to research as much as I can, my bitch' breeder is on hand for advice. I am in the process of trying to find and befriend breeders which are local to me so that I can have help/advice on hand and in person if needs be during the birth.

I have contacted a few studs already and have checked out their lineages, will of course ask for copies of paperwork prior to mating and will only go with a stud owner who I think is experienced, probably from a licensed breeder. I have been researching what I can regarding the mating, but of course have no on hand experience, so consulting with other breeders regarding this would be important to me.

She is from working line, but my bitch is a pet, I intend to breed for pets.

You say there is more, I am interested to hear it! Want to soak up as much as I can.

Again, thank you for responding.

Do you breed yourself? Any particular breed?

 

[JoanneF]

I'll continue though. Elbow and hup dysplasia are inheritable problems that shouldn't be allowed to be passed on to the litter. Do you know that to breed responsibly, you should have her hips and elbows scored, under general anaesthetic, and only breed if they are low enough? The stud should be tested too.

Then there's temperament. Both the dam and sire need to be exemplary.

I'd also ask, what's your motivation to breed? That's a hypothetical question, obviously you don't have to answer, but there's a massive number of dogs in shelters after the covid puppy boom - if you plan to add more dogs to the population, please do so only for good reason.

 

[JuliaGulia]

Thanks Joanne!

Yes, I have already enquired with my vets regarding the costs of the Hip and elbow scoring. I would of course ensure to see and have copies of the stud scores also. The breeder I got my bitch from did all her due diligence also.

It was never my intention to breed this bitch when I bought her, but she is the most lovely dog I have ever had the pleasure of owning (previously owned Border Collies). I sincerely believe that her bloodline should be carried on for other homes/families to enjoy a wonderful family dog. We would also intend to keep one of her puppies. And this would be the only time she would be bred.

 

[Hemlock]

Aaaaand carrying on - and yes - you probably recognise the voice of experience here - I bred each one of my bitches once except the last one who was not bred from at all.

Start saving newspaper now. And have a firm plan in place for disposing of it. Labs have big litters and after weaning that's a lot of mess and fluid to clear up multiple times daily.

Get a good supply of VetBed or similar, and remember it needs to be washed (often) so rather than one big sheet have several smaller ones (but not that small). I used to use a thick layer of newspaper then VetBed on top of it. Easily changed and kept sweet.

Pups' nails have to be trimmed from 2 or 3 weeks onwards. The first time is easier than the following ones! Ideally you need one person to hold the pup and one to snip. They do NOT keep still!

Wormers. You need to worm pups every 2 weeks from 2 weeks old onwards. They don't like that either. I recommend a liquid wormer from your vet. Never use pet shop wormers.

Sometimes you find worms even though your bitch has been wormed properly ever since you brought her home. This is part of a complex process and I suggest you look it up. Bitch needs to be wormed while she is suckling as she is clearing up puppy poo that has worms in it even though you can't see them. Weaned puppies can shovel out some alarming specimens. Modern wormers usually ensure that we don't see the result as they strip the worms of their protective coating, then the puppy digests them. But this isn't always the case! Pups need worming every 2 weeks , then every 3 weeks, then every 6 months. Read up online for details.

People may try to challenge you on price. Tell them to get lost. These are the sort that intend to sell the puppy on for a profit.

Have some sort of a bill of sale/receipt to cover you legally if anything is challenged later. This may include words to the effect that if ever they want to part with the puppy, it comes back to you in the first instance.

You may or may not want pups to have their first vaccination before they leave you. Your choice. New owners should have this made clear. Some vets insist on starting a new vaccination course, so some owners prefer to have the pup vaccinated by their own vet.


There's more - oh so much more.......

 

[JuliaGulia]

Thank you Hemlock.

the information sharing is invaluable and will not go to waste.

Two if my sisters are dog groomers! So I’m sure they will offer to help with the nail clipping.

Itentions are to mate Rosie next spring/summer if all goes well and we’re still happy to go ahead.

 

[JoanneF]

The Book of the Bitch is the breeding manual usually recommended.

I'd add about vaccinating, make sure your vet uses a vaccine that's widely available - so many people have to restart the vaccination process if their vet uses a different one from yours, which delays puppies getting out on walks.

Also look up the Puppy Plan for the steps you should take before the puppies leave you.

Make sure your contract with the stud owner is clear and unequivocal. If you agree to pick of the litter, for example, what happens if the pups are all still born and your girl dies?

 

[CoCo2014]

A responsible breeder breeder to improve their particular breed, not simply to produce pet puppies.
They research their bitches pedigree, look at her strengths & weaknesses & look at studs that produce quality offspring that are an improvement on the parents.
We had a stud dog typical of his breed, from working lines & with perfect hips & pelvic construction. In every litter he produced he improved/equalled(if the mother was:0:0=0) on the hips of the mother. He also produced excellent working puppies with good temperaments. We refused more bitches than accepted for him, as our aim was to improve the breed.
A dog the size of a Labrador Retriever, won't be mature until they are at least 2 years of age.
Do you successfully work or show your bitch ? These are ways of assessing your bitches quality.

When a bitch is in whelp it's the most dangerous time in their life. Bitches can serious health problems during pregnancy & could need expensive veterinary treatment.

TBH IMHO dogs shouldn't be bred so that humans can have the experience of producing puppies.

 

[Hemlock]

I agree with every word. I refused more bitches for my stud dog than I accepted for him. CoCo yours sound exactly the sort that should be bred from.

All the best OP for whatever you decide.

 

[Feverfew]

Some very sound and trenchant advice here. I would just add that you will need some considerable financial back up and insurance in case things go wrong during the pregnancy and whelping.

Also, if you intend to sell the puppies as companion animals, not for show, working, or breeding, you may want to consider putting limits on the new owners' rights to breed from them, or at least to forbid registration of any puppies Rosie's offspring produce. Not everyone will be as conscientious as you.

On the subject of the vast number of puppies already in shelters, I do agree in part that the last thing we need us more puppies really! But on the other hand, we do need more responsible breeders, and it sounds as if you are likely to be one of those rare beings.

Remember also that you will need to be ready to take puppies back if things don't work out, and also that you will not be able to take them back if you don't like the way the new owner is caring for them.

 

[JuliaGulia]

Thank you FeverFew. Valuable advice and kind words!

I have started to look into the insurance part, we already have insurance for her but need to understand what it would cover in terms of breeding etc and upgrade what we need to. Do most insurers cover for stuff like this, or do you have to go with particular insurers?

I think I would go down the route of preventing (or trying to prevent) new owners from breeding by preventing registration on the kennel club.

One question, for whoever.
Would you set up a bit of a ‘camp bed’ near the whelping area for the labour time and shortly after? She will likely whelp in our garage area (which is attached to the house, has proper flooring, more like a workshop/laundry room than a garage really).

 

[Hemlock]

I have always shared a room with my bitches from ten days or so before due date, and had the pups in my room for the first 3 weeks. After 3 weeks (well, actually 2) they are very mobile and have no intention of staying in a puppy pen. That's when I moved them out into a prepared (and heated) kennel and run arrangement, where the Mum could come and go as she pleased. I think I slept with one ear and eye open all the time in those days.