Hi everyone I'm new here.
I have a 2 year old male yellow lab named Jinx that we adopted from a family who had no time for him. In the short time we have been together Jinx has become my best friend and is the most amazing and loyal dog I have ever owned. We recently have decided to possibly breed Jinx basically for the reason that we'd love to have another Lab and what better than to have his son or daughter. We have found a few people w/ females that are interested in breeding their dogs w/ Jinx, and before I do this I had a few questions. I am aware of all the pros and cons of breeding dogs, but what are the responsibilities of the male dog's owners? And what do we get out of the litter? Is this a matter of just making a deal w/ the female's oner or is their "set deal" like we would get a certain amount of the puppies etc......
any help would be great.
thanks
-Chris
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Breeding Labs
Replies (4)
>>Hi everyone I'm new here.
>>I have a 2 year old male yellow lab named Jinx that we adopted from a family who had no time for him. In the short time we have been together Jinx has become my best friend and is the most amazing and loyal dog I have ever owned. We recently have decided to possibly breed Jinx basically for the reason that we'd love to have another Lab and what better than to have his son or daughter. We have found a few people w/ females that are interested in breeding their dogs w/ Jinx, and before I do this I had a few questions. I am aware of all the pros and cons of breeding dogs, but what are the responsibilities of the male dog's owners? And what do we get out of the litter? Is this a matter of just making a deal w/ the female's oner or is their "set deal" like we would get a certain amount of the puppies etc......
>>any help would be great.
>>thanks
>>-Chris
If you breed your male dog, he may become more aggressive. He may have more lapses in housetraining. You could lose some of the temperament in him that you value. If you neuter him soon (at the age of three years, you will see changes in his behavior even if you're not seeing them yet), you have the best chance to preserve his temperament for your family. Using him at stud will aggravate the temperament changes more than leaving him intact without breeding would do. I know one dog who bit a young girl in the family so severely that her face will be scarred for life, a couple of months after he was first used at stud. Besides increased risk of aggression toward people and other dogs, intact male dogs used at stud are more likely to jump fences and roam (common with Labradors), and to be more difficult to control on outings, in the back yard, around the house, when visiting friends, participating in training classes or dog sports (such as agility) and in hunting. As the dog matures and especially if he is used at stud, his instincts draw his attention elsewhere, and he is less able to pay attention to you.
The sire's owners are just as responsible for the lifelong welfare of the puppies as the dam's owners are. If one of the owners ever cannot keep the dog (and believe me, with the rate of turnover of dogs in their homes, it is highly unlikely that each puppy in a litter will stay in one home for life), the sire's owner shares with the dam's owner the responsibility for taking care of those dogs.
Before breeding, your dog should be certified to have healthy hip structure and healthy eyes. The hip test can be performed at two years of age and the certification number is good for life, but the eye exam needs to be repeated annually. These two certifications are the absolute minimum for breeding a Lab, considering the massive numbers of labs with crippling hip dysplasia and eye problems that lead to blindness and/or severe pain. You would also have the responsibility for making sure you do not breed your dog to any female who does not have the same certifications.
The dogs should also be proven prior to breeding. There are thousands of homeless Labradors in this country, and casually bred Lab puppies are so cheap to buy that you can often get them free. The discriminating prospective puppy adopter is going to look for puppies from parents who are proven to be healthy and trainable. Trainable means titles such as obedience, hunt tests or agility. An owner's word that the dog is smart is not enough, it needs to be backed up with verifiable proof, and that means titles.
Dogs should also be proven to have conformation that is correct for their breed, which means champion show titles. In the case of a breed like the Labrador that is so good at work, it's not completely unreasonable to breed a dog without conformation titles if the dog excells in some area of work, and if you have proof of that.
Another thing you need for responsible breeding is to know that the dog's good qualities are likely to be reproducible. You need to know the bloodline. That means going back to the dog's breeder and finding out what the dogs in the pedigree are like. The genetics of dog breeding are very complex, and in order to avoid passing on health or temperament problems, you need the help of someone who intimately knows the dog's bloodline and what it has produced in the offspring. If the dog does not come from this kind of breeding, there is no good excuse for breeding that dog--because you can have no idea WHAT the puppies will be like. All of this must also be the case for the female, and the expert breeders need to look at the two dogs' pedigrees and determine if they are reasonably likely to produce healthy, good-tempered dogs who look like Labradors and have the genetics to be trainable.
As far as what you get out of a breeding as the owner of the sire, it's usually the value of one puppy, either in the form of that puppy or the selling price. There are contracts to cover this, so it's worked out between you and the owner of the dam. Like any partnership, it's a really bad idea to breed a litter with someone you don't know and trust. Oh, and both dogs need to be tested for brucellosis, a canine sexually-transmitted disease.
The cheapest and most sure way to get another good Labrador is to have your fellow neutered and get a nice female to come grace your home along with him. Spay her, and you can have two very happy dogs.
Take it slow on adding new dogs, though. Train him thoroughly first, and give him a couple of years to settle into your family. Then he'll help you train the next dog. For the most peaceful home and greatest happiness in the dogs, avoid having two of the same sex. With a male and female, he is top male and she is top female. With two dogs of the same sex, one has to accept submission or they'll fight, sometimes to the death. The submissive dog can be rather downtrodden and stressed by living like that.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com
As a person who is strongly involved in rescue, part of my 'job' takes me to tons of shelters over a month. I am seeing more and more labs and goldens showing up in there.
With my breed of dog the big(and personally all breeds) question to ask yourself is "What can breeding my dog do to better the breed" Does your dog live to breed standard, is your dog stable tempermented, has your dog completed or working on various confirmation and other titles, is your dog of stable health, are your dogs parents of stable health. Do you know the lineage of your dog? Like humans many bad health issues are passed down the line and with out lineage you can not look and see if there are issues. With bigger breeds OFA and PennHip are a big thing. With smaller dogs slipping patellas is an issue.
Also another thing to look at is how well do you know the people that want to breed your dog. Are the trustworthy? Will they enter into a contract with you? Do they have a return policy? Who gets the dogs returned? Do they have a health guarantee?
As you can see there is a lot to look at since you are 50% responsible. BEst of luck with your decision. And as always there are always TONS of dogs in rescues and at shelters that could really really use a loving home.
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Cindy & Brutus the bullheaded bulldoggie
Bully Breed Hearts Dont Cry!
Let me jump in here as well. I work at a shelter, where unwanted/needed/no more time for him dogs end up. I can't even begin to tell you how severe overpopulation is. The best thing you could do, is to have him neutered and then adopt a companion dog. Once he is neutered, he should do well with either a male OR female (if the other dog is also altered.) A reputable shelter will ask you to bring your dog in for an interaction, and trained staff will observe to see if you have a good match. No matter how good your intentions are to breed good dogs, the reallity is you are creating lives. No matter how carefully you screen potential owners of pups, things happen. Life changes, and the once cute pup, ends up in a new home, or at a shelter. What the others added is also true, if you do plan to breed despite their suggestions, make sure you have his pedigree (and the bitchs), have him OFA'd and CERFd. All traits he and the bitch have, will be passed on to puppies. Also talk extensively with the owners of the bitch, they need to know that this is a serious commitment, that bitchs have died whelping, that an emergency c-section is a possibility. I could go on and on, but I know we are drowning you in information. Good luck with your dog, he sounds wonderful, I hope you understand where we are coming from.
Terri
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Midas the Golden Child
My first suggestion would be to have the owner of the female give you a clean bill of health from their vet. There is nothning worse then have a female that might be sick and getting your male sick as well. Now you want to make sure one partner is experienced! Very important. Think of it like your child having sex for the first time. The instinc is there, but neither knows really what to do. If the male panicks he could rupture the female as well as himself.
When breeding takes place, I would advise that you or your husband is there to make sure that he doesn't pull out of her til he's ready. This is called being locked and the female has no control of going anywhere til the male is ready or relaxed. ok
If you still want to breed, make sure you are asking for stud service this is you a money amont or a pick of the litter pup, at a certain time say 8 wks of age. Write out a contract that both parties would sign. And remember nothning is written in stone ok Or you can request two pups. But if your male is not experienced I would go with the cash first and the next time ask for a pup. Afterall you have not seen any pups from the female do have you. Go with a female that has good qualities, good teeth, good personality, etc.
