From: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore)
Subject: Re: Breeding dogs was Re: pit bull?
Newsgroups: rec.pets.dogs
Reply-To: tittle@ics.uci.edu (Cindy Tittle Moore)
Organization: ICS Dept., UC Irvine
Date: 16 Sep 92 00:07:07 GMT

In <BuMoDF.482@hsi.com> hecht@hsi.com (Alice Hecht) writes:

>>>|> has had a positive effect on these breeds.  To compete in the ring,
>>>|> a Staffie must get into the ring with other dogs (Staffs of the same
>>>|> sex in the breed ring, other terriers in the group ring) and show
>>>|> no signs of aggression.  He must allow a stranger (the judge) to touch
>>>|> his testicles without showing any aggression.  He must spend lots of
>>>|> time on the crowded show floor with grownups, kids, and all kinds of dogs
>>>|> brushing by him.  If a dog cannot do this, he cannot be shown and therefore
>>>|> cannot win.  If he cannot win, he cannot breed.
>>>|>              ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>>>Not to be a smart-a** but,
>>>It'd be a great world if this were really the case.

>So is it necessary to have a dog who's won shows in order to breed him?

Strictly speaking, as the person says above, no.  But how many
hundreds of thousands of dogs are there?  If breeders restrict their
breeding stock to the top 1/10 of one percent, you'd still have plenty
of dogs for everyone.  You might not breed a dog that is a champion,
but you'd want to show his worth in other ways.  How about obedience
titles (to show a good temperament)?  Working titles (hunting,
herding, whatever is appropriate to the breed)?  Just breeding him
without due consideration of these factors will add yet more
mediocre-to-average puppies to the vast horde of unwanted dogs out
there.

>I'm thinking about breeding my puppy when he's old enough but have no
>plans on showing him.  He has all his papers and comes from championship
>parents.

This by itself is not necessarily enough.  Sounds like he has the
potential good background, but what about HIM?  There is a range of
genetic potential passed on to the puppies in a given litter, what
assurances do you have that he's one of the good ones?

>But rather than having him fixed, we thought we'd stud him and
>which should make him happy :-)

Sorry, this is pure anthropomorphization.  Your dog will not care if
you breed him, neuter him, or keep him intact and never breed him.

>and we'll make a little money which will
>make us happy.  Is this a pipe dream?

Pretty much.  How are you going to convince the owners of the
potential bitches that he's worth breeding to (eg titles or other
evidence of worthiness)?  What are you going to do if he sires puppies
that are not/can't be sold?  Suppose your dog passes some disease to
the bitch or gets one from her (there are some VD among dogs).  Do you
have the facilities for housing a bitch sent over to you to be bred?
The accepted procedure is that the owner of the bitch ships her to
you, and you are at that point responsible for keeping her until she
reaches the correct point in heat, breeding her to your dog (usually
over several days), and then shipping her back.  Obviously, then, you
need a kennel or some place where you can keep a bitch in heat till
she's ready and prevent mismating.

>If not, how do we go about doing
>this when he's old enough (around 2 years we figure.)?

Talk to other breeders of your dog's breed.  If you seem serious
enough and your dog seems to have the potential, they'll give you good
advice.  But its long and hard work to put up a serious stud dog that
is worthy of being bred.

--Cindy


--
Cindy Tittle Moore

Terrell's Chocolate Deduction--Hershe (Labrador Retriever)

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In loving memory of Betsy: 4-10-92 to 8-19-92...