Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,
Im looking to find a male chow so that I can breed my lil girl. Its really hard to find Chows in my area and I was wondering if anyone knew how I can do that kind of research. My Winnie (The Pooh) is a cream chow which is rare and its even harder finding that color male chow. If anyone could help I'd love to know how to go about this. Also if anyone knows when the girl is in heat or ready to mate. This is my first time so Im not sure when to do it. Thanks a lot guys!

>>Hey,
>>Im looking to find a male chow so that I can breed my lil girl. Its really hard to find Chows in my area and I was wondering if anyone knew how I can do that kind of research. My Winnie (The Pooh) is a cream chow which is rare and its even harder finding that color male chow. If anyone could help I'd love to know how to go about this. Also if anyone knows when the girl is in heat or ready to mate. This is my first time so Im not sure when to do it. Thanks a lot guys!

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Best bet is to go back to your dog's breeder. There are some very serious genetic issues in Chows, and you only want to breed with a bloodline that will breed true for good health and temperament. Your breeder is the only one who would know the bloodline. If there is not such a breeder behind your dog, you don't want to breed her anyway. And either way, her health and temperament can go seriously south from a bad breeding experience. She could even die.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

Thanks for the information, what steps should I take to ensure that everything will go OK with her breeding and that she doesn't have a "bad experience". Her breeder is in Hungary so I don't know if I can locate them specifically but I do have a blood line chart so I don't know if that would help. But my Chow is amazingly sweet and has got an absolutely gorgeous face and build so I really want to breed her- mostly for my family to keep some puppies...Thanks again!

>>Thanks for the information, what steps should I take to ensure that everything will go OK with her breeding and that she doesn't have a "bad experience". Her breeder is in Hungary so I don't know if I can locate them specifically but I do have a blood line chart so I don't know if that would help. But my Chow is amazingly sweet and has got an absolutely gorgeous face and build so I really want to breed her- mostly for my family to keep some puppies...Thanks again!

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ask your breeder to help you find a mentor close enough to help you in person. Your dog needs an experienced person involved for testing genetic problems, choosing a mate, breeding, whelping, and getting the puppies safely raised. Remember, too, that part of the responsibility of a breeder is to stand ready to take back any of the puppies who ever again needs a home, for the rest of their lives. It's a very hard job when you do it right.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

>>Hey,
>>Im looking to find a male chow so that I can breed my lil girl. Its really hard to find Chows in my area and I was wondering if anyone knew how I can do that kind of research. My Winnie (The Pooh) is a cream chow which is rare and its even harder finding that color male chow. If anyone could help I'd love to know how to go about this. Also if anyone knows when the girl is in heat or ready to mate. This is my first time so Im not sure when to do it. Thanks a lot guys!

Please do not even consider breeding your dog!

If you really care about your dogs, I hope that you will read the following with the understanding that responsible breeding applies to ONE-TIME breeders as much as anyone. We all make mistakes & I most certainly made many. I am sharing this information both to help others NOT flounder around as long as I did learning and also because I care about dogs, especially those not properly bred, and what happens to them and their owners.

As AMWhite555 says: "When you love your dog it breaks your heart to know he/she won't be here for the long-term future. But remember, much of the reason that your dog is so special to you is because of what YOU gave him/her, and what YOU taught him. You don't need to have an offspring to replace him. You just need to commit yourself to investing the love that you have into another dog. Have faith."

Breeding should be done for entirely other reasons. The purpose of this is not to anger or lecture, but to educate. As someone who works very hard in rescue, who invests money, time, heart and tears, it is my sincere hope that you will read what is presented here in the spirit with which it was written.

If a bitch is spayed before her first heat she has almost ZERO chance for mammary cancer. Waiting until after the first heat that goes up to almost 12 percent. After the second heat the number is over 25 percent! There is also the very real possibility of losing her when whelping.

When you have a dog of such quality that it will better the breed to use it, then you do so knowing that you do it at the health and life risk of your dog. I cannot tell you the sadness of guilt felt when you lose a bitch you bred to cancer at an early age, but I assure you, even when you bred in a responsible way, it does haunt you.

Dog Owner's Guide: Spay/Neuter Surgery
"Heat cycles bring hormonal changes that can lead to personality changes. Repeated heat cycles subject the reproductive system to uterine and mammary cancers and uterine infections."
Health Care Issues
"From a health point of view, the earlier the bitch is spayed, the better. Ideally, she should be spayed before her first heat, this reduces the risk of reproductive and related cancer (e.g., breast cancer) later in life considerably; not to mention guaranteeing no unwanted puppies. The most dramatic rise in risk of cancer occurs after the second heat or two years of age, whichever comes first before spaying. After that, while the risk is high, it does not rise further."
Canine Spay
"Q: Dear Dr. Mike,
We have heard conflicting opinions on whether to spay our border collie before or after the heat. Can you give us your objective opinion on this? Thank you

A: I hope that you have not heard conflicting opinions from vets! It is pretty much universally agreed upon by vets that the best time to spay is BEFORE the first heat period. If a dog is spayed prior to the first heat, the odds of developing mammary cancer later in life are less than 1%. If spayed between the first and second heat periods the risk increases to about 8%. If spayed at any time after the second heat period, the risk of mammary cancer is about 25% in the dog (same as in an unspayed dog). There are no reasons not to spay prior to the first heat that I am aware of. A few dogs do develop incontinence from low estrogen levels after spaying but this does not appear to be affected much by the time the dog is spayed. Some dogs just develop this problem after spaying."

Although spaying later does not help with mammary cancer, it still eliminates pyometria, and ovarian and uterine cancers. When you breed a bitch you are essentially putting her well-being at risk as they are far healthier and better off never being bred. Breeders have to balance the good of the dog against their real value in bettering the breed.

Most people who breed registered dogs are one-time breeders. According to AKC, they register more than 70% of AKC litters. It is easy to think that breeding a pet JUST ONE TIME does not make the difference, but it does.

Because no responsible breeder would EVER sell a novice a dog without requiring it be neutered/spayed unless that novice is under their or a trusted mentor's guidance, most dogs being bred are pet quality. There is nothing wrong with pets! They are as deserving of love and care and esteem as any titled dog. But breeding such dogs is a whole other matter.

Unless at least half of EACH of the last 4 generations, including YOUR DOGS, are champions or titled, their pedigree isn't something you should consider breeding from. It takes several generations, generally 4 to 5 minimum, of breeding, records, health checks on puppies produced to know what a dog's genetics are like. With unproven dogs, it is guesswork. However NICE your dog looks, that doesn't mean that most or even any offspring will be as nice; nor does your dog being healthy mean that their offspring will not have genetic problems. If dogs come from nonshow ring or performance dogs for several generations, it is difficult to really know much about their genetic makeup. To breed responsibly, you need to know their pedigrees for the last 5 generations inside and out, what recessive genes have popped up, what genetic health problems, if all the bitches were free-whelping or needed c-sections. Without that you cannot really have any idea what kind of puppies will be born. Careless breeding can create litters that must be euthanize at birth for defects, or create puppies that are placed and later come up with major problems which causes suffering to both the dogs and their owners. Also, with increasing Lemon Laws in many states, breeders can be financially responsible for those puppies, especially if they cannot prove they did recommended testing on the parents.

WHAT YOU NEED TO READ BEFORE YOU BREED
http://www.angelfire.com/de2/readbeforeyoubreed/

Before a responsible person thinks about breeding they have spent sometimes years researching a breed, often buying a dog or two that they will work and train in order to learn more. They attend different kinds of dog events. They find a mentor who will let them be there and help out with several whelpings. They study genetics. They evaluate their abilities - mental, physical and financial - to make a commitment to breeding.

They should also become involved in RESCUE of their chosen breed. By working to help place dogs, by having to make choices about which dogs live and die, one can help develop a real sense about homes, problems, and determine if what they are going to produce is really special enough to create more dogs.

By then the person will have a good working knowledge regarding the level of commitment it takes to be a responsible breeder and will understand that a resposible breeder is commited to genetic testing, financially preparing to keep any and all puppies until excellent homes are found, making sure they have a solid legally-binding contract, and being able and willing to take back any puppy they produce for the REST OF ITS LIFE if things don't work out. In addition, a responsible breeder recognizies the need to be financially able to pay for treatments, refunds, etc., if their dog(s) produce puppies that have genetic problems for which they are responsible. (Several states now hold the breeder responsible for refunds and some even all medical care!).

Then they look for dogs that POTENTIALLY could be breed-worthy and pray that they turn out. If they meet conformation and temperament requirements and pass all the necessary health checks, they campaign them in shows or working venues until they are titled/champions. Then it is time to research and look for an appropriate mate. If their dog is good enough and if there are adequate homes, then they proceed with breeding plans. Next they spend a lot of money on the best food, vet care, and whelping costs. They spend a minimum of two months working with and raising the puppies.

Done? Not by half! At this point puppy homes will have been screened, references checked, contracts signed. The responsible breeder will keep track of the puppies he/she did not keep and make sure those who are to be spayed/neutered have been. The breeder continue to be a source of help, training, information and support for the puppy owners for the rest of those puppies'/dogs' lives. Quite a commitment to get one "just like Fluffy."

If you plan to "raise" and breed, you need to learn about how all registries work, why they are there, and how to use the AKC limited/full registrations. More importantly, you need to know about the genetics and lines of your dogs, the breed standard, and whether your animals have ANY potential as good breeding stock.

Learning all the following will help you to evaluate your dog and make good decisions. Once you have learned all the critical information, if your current dog does not meet the standards, you will be in a good position to get a dog that is breed-worthy if that is still something you desire.

Please, click on the following web page Responsible Breeder Links http://hometown.aol.com/debradownsth/myhomepagerespbrd2.html

and read the links on that page. I have tried to put a list of breed specific issues - standards, general health and genetic testing and concerns, whelping info, and BASICS - that one should know first. Then there is a list of issues to consider even if your dog IS breed quality. If once you have studied these you still think breeding your dog is a good idea, by all means, begin to earnestly seek a mentor to help you proceed.

Keep in mind that you can own and love without breeding. Your dog will live longer, be healthier and not add to the over-population of poorly bred dogs by being spayed/neutered
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Debra
ebraDownSth@aol.com" target="_blank">DebraDownSth@aol.com
Blessed Are The Flexible For They
Shall Not Be Bent Out of Shape.]