Dog breeding

Frenchy72

Hi, we have a female german shepherd and we would like her to have pups but where can we find a genuine breeder who would look after her for that? Thanks

borderlinemeath

Why would a breeder look after your dog to have pups? You can pay a stud fee for a sire but the breeding and the whelping is down to you. If you had a male dog then you get the stud fee and the bitches breeder does the work. Sometimes in lieu of a stud fee you get a pup from the litter instead.

Has your bitch been hip scored?
Has she entered shows? Won any CCs?
Or if from a working line won any schutzhund/IPO trials?
Have you contacted the breeder you got her from and made sure there's no endorsements on her papers?

If the answer is no to the above then you really shouldn't be breeding your bitch. No decent breeder will let you use their dog as stud for an untried and untested dog and there's unwanted GSDs in pounds and shelters up and down the country. As an RB they are harder to rehome than your average terrier or lab so if you did have say, 8 pups, would you have a covenant on every pup you sell that you would take them back in the event that the new owner can't care for them? That's what decent breeders do.

Do you know the hard work involved in breeding your dog? You can't just let the dogs tie and in 9 weeks expect healthy pups. Then you'll have 8 weeks of pee, poo, dirty towels, bad smells, puppies chewing stuff before you can let them go to their new homes.

Extra veterinary costs. Visits, scans. The chance you might need the vet on call if whelping doesn't go to plan. The cost and dangers involved in a C-section should it be necessary. The chances of her rejecting the pups or not being able to feed them immediately after surgery. Hand rearing pups means feeding every couple of hours around the clock. GSDs are one of the breeds with a higher rate of Von Willebrands disease, a blood clotting disorder, so she would need to be screened if there's a chance she may need surgery.

You'll need a good quality puppy food for your bitch before and after the birth, she'll need extra nutrition and energy to feed a litter. A whelping box, newspapers, old towels (straw is unsuitable for whelping) You can't leave your dog to whelp alone out in a shed, apart from the low temperature, you'll need to socialise the pups in a home environment so that they are confident when going to their new homes. They need to be handled from birth, and meet all types of people, especially children. They need to hear normal sounds associated with a household, tv's washing machines, dishwashers, radio, hoover etc. A nervous pup will grow into a nervous dog, and a nervous GSD is not what you want to be selling into a family home. Socialisation is vital, especially for a breed like the GSD.

Don't forget wormers, initial vaccinations, microchipping (legal requirement) and KC registration. All of these costs should be taken into account when having a litter.

To be honest, the conformation of most of the show GSDs should be avoided at all costs. I'd far rather see the working lines expanded and the same style of dog be conformation for both, but some of the working line GSDs can be too much work for the average owner. You may want to keep a pup from your bitch but there's no guarantee that they may even have the same temperament, as the sire may have an entirely different personality. Breeding isn't just about putting 2 dogs of the same breed together and having pups, good breeders choose dogs that complement each and enhance each others traits.

Sorry for the long winded reply but there really is no need to breed your dog. There's far too many dogs being bred in the country as it is. We're known as the Puppy Farm Capital of Europe and as recently as yesterday a bootful of puppies were caught being smuggled at the port. If you want a dog with the same personality as your own, talk to the breeder you got her from and see have they any litters coming up. A bitch is better with a dog as a companion (and make sure one is neutered!), 2 bitches may clash, and fight particularly badly, even more so if they are related - mother/daughter or mother/aunt etc.