BREEDING 101: Not All Puppies Are Born Equal
Breeding if left to nature is simply a matter of "survival of the fittest". Normally, a healthy bitch comes on heat twice a year. Tell-tale signs before its estrus cycle is frequent urination, a way of leaving scent for the dogs in the neighborhood. Once the bitch is on heat, the studs come. There is a reason why the female dog is called "bitch". She may whelp a litter with different sires and not necessarily just one. In this case, there is no "breeder". PCCI will not register a litter when there is uncertainty to the identity of the sire. In general, anyone who takes his bitch to a dog to be mated may call himself a breeder. If you own a bitch and you have it mated, then to PCCI, you are the breeder.
Technique of Breeding Better Dogs by Dr. Dieter Fleig:
"But just as a distinction must be made between the person who goes out with a gun and one who holds a game license, so must we distinguish between this kind of breeder and the holder of an official permit to breed dogs. The most important function of the breeder is to maintain the vitality of a breed, followed by its physical appearance and performance and, if possible, to alter and improve upon them! It goes without saying that the necessary knowledge must be acquired before breeding is commenced.
Responsibility is the key word in defining the term dog breeder. Breeders who are not aware of their responsibility to find good homes for each and every puppy produced should give up their breeding ambitions, or else confines them to creatures that are less dependent on individual, or on families. Breeding one show winner in a litter is no justification for producing dogs that, owing to their unstable temperaments and susceptible constitutions, should never be sold to anyone at all. Often, it is the irresponsible breeder who ends up paying for his mistakes. The real victims, however, are the dogs themselves.
The main prerequisite of the good breeder is the extent of responsibility he or she bears for every single dog bred in their kennels. This responsibility does not end with the sale of the dog but continues throughout its life. Every dog, without exception, should always be able to find a home with its breeder in case of need. The true breeder feels bound to care for the dogs he or she breeds much as parents feel bound to support their children,
A further field of responsibility is the careful selection of breeding stock. This selection means is by no means any easy matter. Adequate room in the house must be available. The aim of a true breeder is a constant striving for perfection, and this must be a deep-seated ambition It would be better for those who do not see it this way - those who regard breeding as a sort of leisure occupation, a mere hobby - to spend their time in a different way. And another point is that tehre is hardly a dog owner who believes that his dog should not be allowed to propagate itself. There are owners of mediocre dogs who, thanks to to their own misguided expectations, have managed to damage a who breed. No dog is of poor quality - the dogs need it, so they say. This attitude has nothing whatever to do with breeding. A good portion of common sense, some objectivity, and if necessary, the psychiatrist's couch could do a lot to put things straight here. Parallel to this way of thinking are the owners of bitches who believe that their bitch should be allowed to have puppies at least once in her lifetime. Added to this, the vet advices that it will help to avoid damage to their help, malignant tumours and so forth. When hear your vet say this, change your vet! Scientific research over the past eighty years has without any doubt that cancer of the uterus, pyometra, mammary tumours, and so forth, occur no more frequently in virgins than in those that have had litters.
But the children - they do so want some puppies! This is the very last reason why to justify bringing puppies into the world! Buy your kids some guinea pigs. Dog breeding is a serious matter and should be carried out free of all human sentimentality. It calls for great love and understanding and, not infrequently, involves a great deal of work and considerable financial sacrifice. These facts should always be kept in mind.
It is a well-established fact that the larger, well-run kennels exert the most influence on the steady progress of a breed. A single leading kennel has frequently influenced an entire breed. In the larger kennel, the are greater opportunities, but also incalculable risks, for a breed. A great number of good breeding stock available, the large kennel is able to exert a lasting impression on the development of the breed. Under these circumstances, the breeder can not, as a rule, spend much time on individuals. The dog/owner relationship is, to put mildly, much less close than it would be in a family with a fully-integrated, single dog. The kennelled dog can never fully develop its potential as a companion for humans, and the breeder can never know whether the dog possesses all those qualities that will allow optimum integration into the human environment. There is always a possibility that dogs bred in large kennels will be more successful show dogs than family companions."
It is unfortunately, human nature to prefer to talk about success rather than failure. It is also a natural trait to take a somewhat malicious pleasure in the failures and disappointments of rivals, believing that your own reputation gains by comparisons. In dog breeding, this all too human quality has had very harmful effects. All breeding is subject to setbacks. In some breeding lines, the increasing incidence of hereditary defects requires urgent action, yet, in many cases, these hereditary defects are carefully hushed up. The breeder fears the setback, the malice of rivals, and the poor reputation that his or her dogs would incur, if such reverses became known. To put it concisely: breeders who cover up hereditary defects occurring in litters are acting as gravediggers to a breed. Every geneticist stresses the fact that hereditary defects can be eradicated by well-planned breeding. But this can only be done if breeders are prepared to make sacrifices, One basic rule must be absolute honesty. Defects that are recognized may be dealt with: deliberately concealed defects are like a cancerous growth in dog breeding. breeders who conceal defects, either from egotistic motives or from a false sense of loyalty ought to be barred from breeding."
Cob is a large kennel, it is a big breeder and does have a considerable advantage over the smaller breeder. It builds up stock of brood bitches and retain high-quality puppies from its litters. In this way, Cob's brood bitches form a firm Cob foundation. A critical look at the progeny will prove that dogs from certain kennels present a uniform appearance; they are alike as two peas in a pod. In careful planned lines, this similarity goes far beyond the uniform breed type. The good breeder is able to present a uniform kennel type through many generations. In order to build up a well-planned strain of this kind along genetic lines, a considerable number of closely related dogs are required.
To Cob, breeding is an art form. It is a hobby, it is a lifestyle.
Things To Consider When You Want A Dog
Fellow dog lovers (& divers!) are always welcome in our homes!
Don't forget to leave your paw prints (or bouys) behind!
THANK YOU FOR DROPPING BY!
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