Breeding My Doodle

doodledash · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject: Breeding My Doodle

Hi

I am new to this forum and live in the UK and really would just like a little advice or thoughts from you.
I am thinking next year on breeding my Labradoodle Freya she is a black F1,and 14 months old and has a lovely temperment.
I have never breed before and have always wanted to but never felt i had the time or the right dog,but i have both now.
She has had one season so far i think her next will be in December if all goes to plan.
Then her next season after that should be in June and this is when i would like to mate her.
Think i have found a lovely male Parti Poodle to breed her with and boy is he good looking.
I have breed cats before which was no problem,but how much harder is it with a dog?
I would be glad of any replies or advice for or against.
Thanks for you time to read this,as i do go on i know.
Caroline x Wink

KingstonTodd · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:22 pm Post subject:

Like you I am in the "going to breed my labradoodle" club. I am sure the breeders will fill in lots of advice, but what we just finished doing was health testing our girl. DNA for a lot of canine diseases, x-ray evaluation of hips and elbows, eyes certified by opthmologist, etc...there is a thread titled "who tests and what kind" or something that may be a good place to start.

Jac · Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:27 pm Post subject:

Hi Caroline,
All of us who breed our dogs started where you are now so please understand that my advice, suggestions or cautions are given in the spirit of helpfulness and for no other reason.
I say this because, honestly, if I had known everything that I now know, I am not convinced that I would be a breeder.
It is so important that you look beyond the desire to reproduce your beloved pet...realize that you will be directly responsible for, probably, close to a dozen new lives with each litter. Each of those puppies rely on you to make good choices...that includes the beginning investment in time and money to test your female and to be absolutely certain that the sire you have selected is also fully tested.
It is so easy to get caught up in producing "cute" puppies that sometimes people overlook the fact that if they are not careful, they may be condemning an innocent puppy to severe and painful genetic disorders. It is true that no one can promise excellent health, but a responsible breeder will do everything in his/her power to select only the most healthy and temperamentally sound parent dogs.
Look at the testing results for your dog and for the sire you have selected, you will want to improve the worst scores with excellent scores from the other...so, for instance, if the female has "average" hips, you want to breed her to a male with "excellent" hips. If you discover that one of the parents has PRA, you must make absolutely certain that the other does not. AND that, even then, you do not keep the offspring for breeding because they will be carriers and, depending on the parents, affected.
If you don't understand genetics, learn about it before you breed.
Also consider how you will select the puppy's future home. So many things come into play here...and what if all of your puppies are not purchased or even given away to good homes? Will you keep them? Please do not place them in a shelter...this is what is meant by being responsible to the puppies.
Another thing for you to think about, and again I know because my females are black, is that black puppies are much harder to place and, unless you are very lucky or have completed DNA testing, you won't know if your dog carries any other colors or not...and the same goes for the male...no matter what color he is, if he has a black nose, you will likely get a majority (if not all) black pups.
This is just a tip of the iceburg...believe me, there is much to learn and if you want to do this responsibily (and I believe you do) then you don't want to be learning AFTER puppies are conceived.
Please feel free to PM me if you would like to discuss this further...and I do hope that you will search this forum for the posts about breeding, back yard breeders, puppy mills, etc. and also search the web for information.
Finally, please realize that your beloved female could die in whelp...many things can go wrong...many times puppies need special medical care and so does the mother...do you have the funds in reserve to pay vet bills if something unexpected happens? (I had an 8 week old puppy die from complications of surgery, but not before I paid $11,000 for her care.)
I wish that I could say that it is all happiness and rainbows...and it truly can be...I love holding my new puppies and smelling them and watching them grow...but I am very tied down with them and visitors are not common in my home because of the real and serious threat of Parvo.
I hate to be down on this idea and I am truly not trying to discourage you...I just wish that someone would have had shared this information with me when I started...I wish that they would have told me how much it hurts to watch a puppy die or to say goodbye to one of your favorite little babies when they find their forever home (and they look over their shoulder at you, and you know that they want you to take them back...)
There are miracles and there is heartache...and in order for you to go into this with your eyes open, you do need to hear about the heartache, expense, responsibility and disappointment because you already know about the joy.
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jacque.bayley.lexie.chase.rosie.nitos.amelia.dupree.madison.sherwood.gerry www.backporchlabradoodles-jacque.blogspot.com www.backporchlabradoodles.com

Doodlesville · Senior Member Joined: 25 Feb 2005 Posts: 1895 Location: VA

cocoandjane · Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:35 am Post subject:

cocoandjane · Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:40 am Post subject:

by the way,
Your doodle is really beautiful....Jac is also right about the blacks being a little harder to place....people seem to go for the other colors more....
though I am more and more inclined to LOVE them....since they don't show the dirt as much....and I think they are just really stunning anyway!
Cool

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Jane

Coco and Abby, too!!

doodledash · Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:43 am Post subject:

Thank you all for the info,i will look into everything first before i make my mind up.
I only ever want to do it the once,just a very special thing i would like to experience.
Have wanted to breed one of my dogs for ages but never really found the right girl until now.
Thanks again and i will let you all know what i will do.
Caroline

Tink · Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:05 pm Post subject:

I agree with Jac as usual.
Even on the point of black puppies being the hardest to sell. I've been lucky to have mostly cream/apricot/white pups, but of my 24 puppies 5 have been black and they've usually been the last to sell even when they had wonderful temperaments, nice coats, and were very cute.
Black being the default color for both Labs and poodles, it's not hard at all to get an all black litter.

Which is why my breeders right now are all variations of chocolate or yellow. Very Happy

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www.tinkerdoodle.net
Hickory, Ava, Hana, Misty, and Chip (happy master of his Harem)