When to get no2?

SarahSassy

Thanks to another poster on here, and she knows who she is , we now have a lovely 5 month old pure bred choc labrador pup (photo attached of course ). We adore him and he is definintely part of the family and is first and foremost our pet.

When we brought him to the vet for his second round of shots, the vet, who breeds dogs said he is one of the best labs he has ever seen and we should definitely show and / or breed him.

We had planned on getting another dog, maybe german shepard, in due course but are now thinking of getting a choc lab bitch to breed them a couple of times. I also think it would be good for him for companionship and a little bit of romance never hurt anyone...

The question is, how old should our fella when we introduce a new pup. We would not be breeding til the new lady was of the appropriate age but we dont want to introduce some 'competition' in the house too soon. Any feedback welcome.

star-pants

Personally I might wait until your pup is fully trained and settled in the house - as it seems you've just got him? If it were me, I'd wait a few more months anyway, then again some people may say the more the merrier.

Regarding breeding... don't go into it lightly. It's a LOT of hard work, a LOT of research, a LOT of vet bills and trips and a lot of time and care.

SarahSassy

star-pants wrote: »

Personally I might wait until your pup is fully trained and settled in the house - as it seems you've just got him? If it were me, I'd wait a few more months anyway, then again some people may say the more the merrier.

Regarding breeding... don't go into it lightly. It's a LOT of hard work, a LOT of research, a LOT of vet bills and trips and a lot of time and care.

We thought when he was maybe 1 year old.

We may only breed once and def max twice. My OH has a lot of experience with dogs and he has the time available to be there on tap when the pups arrive. Anyway thats a long way down the road but wanted to know when we should get no 2 whether or not its to breed.

star-pants

Aye I would think that might be good (a year) - but as said that's just my opinion, other people may have better experiences and so forth.
We had Lily (who was 2 at the time) about 7 or 8 months before we got our pup Daisy.

I know you're far away from breeding and it's still yet to be decided, I just wanted to put it out there because some people don't realise how much time and money and effort / dog screening etc goes into it.

Paul91

star-pants wrote: »

Regarding breeding... don't go into it lightly. It's a LOT of hard work, a LOT of research, a LOT of vet bills and trips and a lot of time and care.

have to second this, i probably came pretty close to a nervous break down once or twice (no exageration) during the last 3 and half months carring for my GS's 6 pups (and her and my othe dog) I was kind of flung into it as the GS was rescued one month and gave birth the next - you must add star-pants "a LOT of food bills, a LOT of blanket/towel washing for the three months, a LOT of sleepless nights"

If you have a dog though, and papers, why not use him as stud with reputable breeders?

SarahSassy

Well we were going to stud him anyway but still get a second dog no matter what so when is a good time to do that. This guy is a pet first and foremost and we want to try to do the best we can by him.

Before we get onto the breeding steamtrain we will look into it from all angles.

Paul91

I'm not sure there is a "best" time, i mean if you wait till he's settled and in a routine and then get one this upsets the routine, if you get one without a routine it could be more work with two to settle, will you be getting a pup or a mature dog for the second ?

cianer

star-pants wrote: »

Regarding breeding... don't go into it lightly. It's a LOT of hard work, a LOT of research, a LOT of vet bills and trips and a lot of time and care.

I also have to agree with this, I've fostered a number of pregnant dogs, who have had the most beautiful pups but it's been quite difficult to find homes for the medium - large breed pups. Small pups get booked very quickley but sadly the larger ones dont. One mammy I had produced the most fabulous lab x pups, chocolate coloured and some were silver coloured and we couldnt home them in Ireland, they ended up going to England to a charity we work with there.

So before you consider breeding I'd suggest you have at least 7 genuinely interested people ready to take a pup so you're not left in the same situation a lot of people are when they breed based on someone saying they've a good specimen of a dog. That's apart from expense, time and the smell that can be associated with rearing an active litter of pups in your house :eek:

SarahSassy

Another pup definitely..

Thanks to all so far... Great info on the breeding.

Paul91

cianer wrote: »

So before you consider breeding I'd suggest you have at least 7 genuinely interested people ready to take a pup so you're not left in the same situation a lot of people are when they breed based on someone saying they've a good specimen of a dog. That's apart from expense, time and the smell that can be associated with rearing an active litter of pups in your house :eek:

yup - we had a few people interested, at the start we had more "homes" than pups, but now left in the position that two may be off to the UK - shame cos they are beautiful babies

Ruby Soho

Regardless of what the vet says, please don't even consider breeding from your dog without proper screening / hipscores etc. To be honest, I'm surprised your vet would even suggest doing such a thing without hip-scoring. At your pups age, its nigh on impossible to accurately assess the condition of a dogs hips from palpation / observation etc. You really really need to get those x-rays done!
Ive seen it before in my practice where we get young dogs / pups in with what appear to be extremely 'wonky' back ends, on x-rays, they actually appear relatively normal. And vice-versa, fairly solid looking animals can have horrendous x-rays, but may just not yet be showing symptoms or weakness.
His hips might be perfectly fine, then again, they may not be, and do you really want part responsiblity for producing pups that are destined to spend their lives in discomfort and pain? Some labs I've seen are so bad with hip dysplasia, they have had to undergo extensive surgery at a very young age, or be crippled and on pain medication for life.

Sigma Force

Great to hear of a lab in such good health however just because he's in good health and perhaps of a good line doesn't mean you have to breed him, can understand how tempting it is but there are a lot of things to consider if you do.

There are lots of labs already, very common pet to have and so the 'market' is flooded with them. Very common in rescues as well as people don't realise what they are taking on they think of an Andrex puppy when in fact they need a lot of attention, exercise and can be chewers.

There are a few guidelines you need to follow if he is IKC regd. and the pups are to be IKC regd.

The dog must be at least a year old before breeding begins, you also have to be wary or where you stud him to and anyone who does must be highly responsible and house their own dog in their own home etc.

If you do breed from him just to lots of research first, I know it sounds obvious but even if you stud him you might have responsibility to the pups if the person that owns the mother cant sell or home them you might end up with them.

Magenta

Please don't breed from him to produce puppies that will only be pets. The country is swimming with Labradors, we really don't need any more.
If you show him and he is a champion then you could look into creating your own line but aside from that, really, we have enough Labradors. Every other dog in the pounds is a Labrador or Labrador cross.

andreac

Also, a pup at a few months old is no indication on how it will turn out when its fully matured so to say its a great example of the breed at a young age is madness. They can change hugely from 6 months onwards.

I would say to show him first, see does he turn into a champion and then and only then, consider using him as a stud dog once he has all necessary health checks done for labradors.

A vet is not an expert in every breed and its only labrador experienced owners/exhibitors and breeders that would be able to tell if hes an excellent example of the breed.

star-pants

Just a note to point out - the OP is also looking for advice on when to introduce a second pup to her household.

Sigma Force

Agree with Andreac it's best if breeding a dog to have shown him a few times, and see how he goes in the ring etc. because there are plenty of healthy dogs out there that don't make the grade.

If you have the time and energy and money to take on another pooch that can be done at any time however would highly recommend puppy classes or better still taking him to puppy classes first see how you go and talk with the trainer about introducing another pooch to the family.
It's important any dog that is going to be shown has good obedience and these classes can help a lot. Although do only go to one that uses humane methods of training.

SarahSassy

Thanks to all

star-pants

I'm sorry if it's put you off Sarah - please don't let it - that's why I put in my post saying that you're looking for other info too.

I think a few months anyway with your current chap before getting another one. To let him settle in etc. You can see about socialisation classes which might help him when your next addition does arrive.
IF/when you get another pup/dog, let them meet on neutral ground, and make it as if your dog is letting the new dog into the house. Make sure they have their own food bowls, they're own beds. If it's a pup, it'll just want to play with your chap, and he may or may not want to, he'll still be young enough so I'd say he will. Don't leave them on their own together for a few days (play by ear) incase he goes for her (not to scare you, but it's safer). Don't give all the attention to the new pup/dog - make sure if the pup/dog is getting attention, so is your chap, so he doesn't feel left out and won't have reason to feel jealous.

Hopefully within a week or so they'll be used to each other, make sure your chap has somewhere he can go to get away from the pup if he needs a break from her. Because if he's a year or so when you get the pup, he may or may not be as playful as often as she will be.

cianer

I'm sorry if you feel hassled, it's not the intention at all. I guess there's so many here who work with rescue groups and have experience with the number of unwanted pups that were bred cos someone said it was a great example of the dog that everyone gets a bit nervous when they hear someone planning to breed for that reason. It's just sad when so many beautiful pups end up unwanted.

As regards introducing a second dog, it really depends on what time you have available to train both dogs. Training 2 pups can be a nightmare as they can behave like 2 bold kids playing up whenever they can! My advice would be to get your first dog fully toilet trained, good level of basic obedience and preferably out of the destructive phase. I'd suggest waiting until your current dog is about 1 year old, that way they'll be close enough in age for them to be playmates but give your head a break from trying to train 2 pups at the same time.

votejohn

wow he is absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!!

Just a point re: having pups, when they do come your fella may have to head off to kennels or to a friend, as ive heard that the mummies will turn against the daddies when the pups come!!

Would you concider getting your female spayed? that way your fella will have friends, and you can still show the male and female, and if your going to be studding your fella anyway you can ask for playing access to the pups!!!

That way you get to play with your fella's babies and dont have the hassle or costs of rearing the pups!!!


more pics????

SarahSassy

I have loads Votejohn

Happy New Year to all.

lrushe

First off, what a darling pup!!!!:)
Second, I won't repeat what's already been said about breeding, though I do agree with most of the points made. The only other side note I'd add is if you do breed you are responsible for possibly 8 - 10 little lives for the rest of their lives even after you sell them. A responsible breeder will always take back any pups they breed should the need arise even years down the line, would you have the space or time to do this?
Finally, there is 4 years in between each of my dogs, personally I've never felt the time was right to introduce another dog until then. For me puppyhoodd is such an exhausting time ( it can last from 0 - 2yrs) that I like to spend some time reaping the rewards of the balanced, well trained dog I've created before stepping back onto the rollercoaster that is having a new pup

Paul91

SarahSassy wrote: »

I have loads Votejohn

Happy New Year to all.

is that a hotel room - did they know the puppy was in there

SarahSassy

Paul91 wrote: »

is that a hotel room - did they know the puppy was in there

It is indeed and they did know. He was on his holidays