Friday, July 31, 2009

breeding dogs?

I have a brand new 8 week old male Toy australian shepherd ( for those of you who think this isnt a breed, check out tasaa.org). He has wonderful bloodlines %26 I will be showing him as well as putting him into some kind of a working show. I was wondering if around 2 years old is the correct age to start studding him out? and also how hard is it to breed? My beagle had pups not too long ago(accidental pregnancy w/ a golden retriever), but they all died. The vet said they were premature, but it has been hard on me and has put a damper on my wanting to breed. Please give me any information you can on studding out dogs, %26 eventually breeding. Thanks.
Answers:
I am not a vet, but it is my opinion that the reason the puppies were born early and all died is because of the size difference between the dam and the stud. Smaller dogs don't have the room in their uterus to carry larger breed puppies. Since the dam was the beagle, she wouldn't have been able to carry the larger puppies of a golden to term. You are very lucky that the pregnancy didn't do any damage to your beagle. It could have killed her.
It is very important to be watchful of when the dam goes into heat and isolating her immediately to prevent accidental breeding. A good idea would be to keep the female in the house or seperate room.
As far as studding out your dog, 2yrs old is a good age to do it. You want to make sure you have all your dog's paperwork/bloodline information available, as well as your terms. This you need to decide. Do you want a stud fee or pick of the litter. If you choose Pick of the litter, I would advise you to choose a male, as picking a female could end up being an accidental pregnancy between dad/daughter (which is not good at all).
If you decide that you want to begin a breeding business, you need to make sure you find females from seperate breeders so there is no chance of the bloodlines being of the same dogs.
As long as you are careful, breeding dogs is a wonderful thing to behold. There is nothing better than seeing the puppies be born and grow into wonderful little dogs.
Enclosed below is a website about breeding and studding. They are about her shitzus of course, but it can be applied to most dogs.
Good luck!!
I have the exact same problem with my Parrot.
"Don't breed or buy while shelter animals die!"
It seems you should seriously be talking to your vet about this. And reading up on your own breed's requirements.
They are adorable dogs. A friend of mone has a blue merle female she is so very cute and has so much personality in such a tiny dog.
Earn his CH title first and the special him. Get the appropaite testing done for his breed and then you should have some connections from the showing or specials and let people know you would like to stud him.
Breeding is a gamble and you risk the life of your dog with every breeding. The mom can die or all the pups and it is expensive if they will not breed on their own and you have to do it AI. Also if the mom has trouble delivering the litter c-sections are very expensive. It is a time comsuimng and expense to breed and a risk with each litter.
You know, I can't figure out this breeding thing either. I just keep having kid after kid after kid and I don't understand how I keep getting pregnant. What causes it? I hope I can get some answers because little lawasha, ladryah, lil oopsie(yeah, it's a nickname), awwhell, ohnonotagain, wusgoinon, and fuckitiranoutofnames are really not getting the attention that they need because there are so many of them.

I don't have any advice, but I just wanted to let you know that I know what you're going through.
What should be putting a damper on your desire to breed is the fact that millions of companion animals are put to sleep every year. Thousands more are being bred in puppy Mills who have never had a hug or a stroke from a human being- but they pump out puppies as fast as they are able to.

I am sorry about your litter, it is definately heartbreaking, but leave breeding to professionals who have the knowledge and the funds to do it propperly.
From the Australian Shepherd, a group of individuals began the process of miniaturization. In the late 1970's they began producing what they labeled as "Miniature" Australian Shepherds. This group eventually formed their own set of registries, but to date have yet to be accepted and recognized as an independent breed by AKC, ASCA, UKC or the FCI members.

Along the way, another group of financial minded folks decided that if miniatures were popular, there was a place to make even smaller dogs. These are referred to as "Toy" Australian Shepherds, but it should be noted that they are not an actual recognized variation, even among the Miniature registries.

The reason there seems to be a trend towards miniaturization any breed is simple: Space is limited in growing urban environments. People want a companion dog who can be a lap dog, be content in smaller houses and in smaller yards. Smaller dogs are "cuter" because they retain puppy-like characteristics. It is easier to clean up after a 10lb dog than it is to clean up after a 50 lb dog.
So, for the financial oriented breeder the decision is simple--go for small because it sells well and for more money.

Therein lies the problem. Basically there are two ways to achieve smaller sizes--by inbreeding on naturally small dogs or by cross breeding to other small breeds to rush the miniaturization process. Obviously each approach has its problems.

Inbreeding reinforces desired traits, but also brings out the hidden genetic problems. So generations of inbreeding can cause a higher occurance of inherited problems like hip dysplasia, epilepsy, cataracts, auto immune problems and so on.

The other means is to cross breed. Some folks seem to think that if a dog looks sort of like an Australian Shepherd--merle coloration, wedge shaped head, longish coat and docked tail, that it must be an Aussie. Just because it waddles and quacks, doesn't mean it is a duck!

Some of these breeders will incorporate other toy sized breeds to hurry the miniaturization process. This amounts to essentially breeding a mutt and fraudulently selling it as a purebred dog. A good way to make sure this doesn't happen is to ask the breeder for records showing that several generations of dogs have been DNA tested proving that their parents are the dogs represented on the pedigree. This is a common place requirement in legitimately recognized breeds like the Australian Shepherd.

Reducing a dog to a toy size also can increase reproduction problems. Females may only be able have tiny litters of one to three pups, sometimes only by C-Section. Toy sized puppies can be born with a myriad of congenital defects, some apparent, some not. Remember, in nature, change takes place slowly. The breeders of miniature and toy breeds are forcing changes in the structure of their dogs at an astronomical pace.

The toy breeders are attempting to produce an entirely new breed variation on just a few generations at the expense of the health and well being of the animals. Reduced size brings about profound changes in soundness--such as the need for Cesareans--because of the rapidity of the change from large to small. The dog's genetic code does not necessarily change in proportion to the reduction in size.

Toy dogs are often bug eyed or wall-eyed. The reduction in head size occurred faster than the reduction in eye size, thereby moving the eyes around to the sides of the head. Dogs bred for small size often have nervous system difficulties such as epilepsy.

Vets can provide you with a long grocery list of problems that they frequently see in association with the extreme miniaturization of a breed.

There are no doubt, healthy, happy miniature and toy sized Australian Shepherds, but how many others are having problems? Ask the breeder of the toy dog how many of the offspring he or she has followed up on throughout their lives? What sort of health clearances did these dogs have and how often were they checked. What is the mortality rate of the puppies?

What it comes down to is this: It has taken generations of careful breeding to produce consistency in the Australian Shepherd.

The goal of the original breed was to maintain a working ranchdog who was healthy and had a temperament suited for herding livestock and protecting the family home. Reputable breeders do not jump on the newest fad bandwagons and they are not motivated by profit.

Conscientious breeders always breed by a standard of ideals called the Breed Standard. No such document exists for a "Toy" variation.

There are already plenty of existing toy breeds, each with their own set of worries and problems. The Australian Shepherd should not be included among those breeds and those who are attempting to do so are not motivated by the breed's best interest nor are they concerned with the future happiness of the owners of the dogs.
You make DARN sure that the dog has ALL the health clearances for the breed. EVERY "toy" Aussie I have ever met.at least 15..have had health problems. Most of which were eye related. PRA, detached retina.the breeding of a "normal" sized dog down to a "toy" is a horrid thing. It never works out for the health of the breed. Look at all the "teacup" breeds.
Remember that CERF for the eye clearance has to be done EVER YEAR!! If you do not do health clearances and keep up with them..you are just a backyard breeder producing pups for profit!!.
And get the Beagle spayed. Otherwise you are going to end up with Beagle/Aussie mutts.
You have not been off to a good start so far.

You do realize that ANY new fad mutt or new sized thing can have it's own "club" right? That means NOTHING. They are NOT AKC registered for a REASON and the ACTUAL Aussie club of America does not recognize them. Wonder why!
NOT a recognised breed!
No more than the f'n "puggle" or the equally NON-breed "cockapoo"!

NOBODY will EVER want to use such a POS MUTT/MONGREL! EVER!

You got *SCREWED*!

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