O/T Breeding dogs

Replies

• goldiemad

  Aug 6, 2010 9:25AM

  Hiya, I have extensive experience in breeding and showing dogs and should be able to answer a few of your questions, provided Adam stays asleep lol. Fistly, you should think really hard about this as it is really not the easiest task in the world lol. Its not a case of just putting 2 dogs together and they have babies and they go to forever homes.
  Generally speaking, unless both owners (espescially the stud owner) is experience in breeding it is not advised to mate a maiden dog to a maiden bitch (maiden, I mean those that have never mated before). Neither the dog or bitch will have had experience and the bitch espescially can become quite aggressive towards the male at the time of mating, even if they are usually rock steady. If you are planning on being a responsible breeder of healthy puppies rather than doing it for the money then both parents need to be kennel club registered and have had all of the health tests required for the breed. I dont know a lot about shih tzus, just my 2 breeds but Im sure they suffer from certain problems that need health testing against as they are hereditary. You will find out more about these at http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/breeding/index.html
  
  
  Breeding is definately not for the faint hearted and is constant hard work and very costly from before the bitch is even mated. Bear in mind you have to find forever homes for all of these puppies and may even have to take one or 2 back at any stage of their lives.
  The male should have reached full adulthood before you even considering using him at stud and should be checked for any health tests needed and be clear. Usually the age in such a small breed is around 12 months old.
  
  The first few weeks of pregnancy in the bitch is fairly normal, then they start to change. Feeding etc needs to change at 6 weeks in whelp and lots of care needs to be taken in the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. Shih tzus are a breed that are known for needing c sections becuase often they only carry small numbers therefore the pups grow too big for the bitch to give birth to. Then there is always a risk of the bitch rejecting the babies once they have been born by section, therefore having to hand rear a litter of pups. Not forgetting the cost of a section will be around ??600-800, without any other costs.
  The firstfew weeks after the birth are very worrying, let me tell you! You wont have to do a lot provided the bitch is a good mum, but the babies can NOT be left alone, not even for one hour. When my girl had her last litter my partner and I took turns sleeping on the couch for the first 4 weeks, on day 5 we sadly lost a puppy as Tiegan lay on him by accident and I was so exhausted I didnt hear him cry while I was asleep, even though I was 1 metre away from them was very sad!
  Once they hit 3 weeks thats when the hard work starts! You practically do everything, they need to be starting to eat solids and then the bitch willstop cleaning up after them.
  She will still tend to them and play with them and tech the manners etc. but most of the hard work is left up to the owners lol. It costs a lot of money and pretty much all of you day is taken up by them. Also you need plenty of space to keep them and make sure theyre safe once theyre getting up and about.
  They will need registering with the KC, vaccinations, wormer every week from 2 weeks old, food, flea treatment etc etc etc.
  Oh and be prepared for many sleepless nights cos once youre back in your own bed after the first 3-4 weeks they will keep you up all night, playing anf fighting and crying to be out lol.
  
  Ive made this sound like an awful task but really it isnt easy and can be heart breaking nd very sad, break the bank and its not often people make money from it, if its done responsibly. However, I have to say that it is very rewarding seeing them grow up and going to their new homes as a new member of someone elses family. But once theyre gone it doesnt end there, the breeder should always take responsibility for bringing the pup into the world and I have had many litters over the years but would take my babies back at any time and fight to the hilt for them.
  One of my pups came back at 14 weeks old, from what I thought after lots of vetting questioning etc. was one of the best homes I could find. He was so badly damaged, it took me 6 months to get him to trust people again as he had been beaten with newspapers, brush etc becuase he wasnt house trained!!!! He was so frightened of everyone, lukcily he found another lovely home and came on leaps and bounds. These people wouldnt hand the pup back to me until they got their money back. Of course they got their money, that didnt matter to me, but they were going to be taking me to court etc. was quite scary at the time. I sold a puppy to the wrong home and that pup didnt half pay for it for the 6 weeks he was with them
  
  All Im saying is that you really need to think hard about this, you cant keep 5 pups because you became too attached but you really need to make sure you have very good homes. These puppies will be just as much your responsibility as the owners up until the day they die.
  If they are registered with the kennel club then look into the health tests they need, have a think and let me know what you decide to do, Ive kept this short really lol but will be happy to help further and in more detail should you decide to breed. If they arent KC reg then you really shouldnt be considering breeding from them, in my opinion.
  
  Good luck lol
  Amy with baby Adam 42 weeks, cycle 8 of ttc no.2 and getting married 5 weeks today.....whoop whoop lol xxxxxxxxxxxxx

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