Hello, I have 2x Cocker Spaniel Girl's who are both beloved pets and am considering breeding them. How do I go about becoming an accredited breeder I adore my girls and want only the best for them and any litters they have Having never bred dogs before... I am interested in ALL opinions and any advice that you may have on how to go about it all properly and in the right way Does anyone here breed them Do the pup's sell well As only good homes will be considered Also, how do you go about finding the right stud dog Sorry about all the questions but I would like to be fully aware of all responsibilities before proceeding
Firstly research the breed & decide which type you want to breed(show or working). Then have all the health tests done on your bitches. If they are all satisfactory(ie all either clinically clear, genetically normal & within the acceptable limits for the breed(for HD) Then either show or work them & if they are good examples of the breed & do well in the chosen disciple consider breeding from them. Looking at your previous posts & your profile you do not appear to have a very much experience of owning dogs(1-3 years & 3 dogs of whom only two are still owned by you)does make it appear that you are trying to run before learning to walk in regard to dogs. The question about what FTCH stands for, the acquiring your second dog via a third party without apparently much research being done is somewhat obvious. There are very strict restrictions for docking dogs & you will have to satisfy them if you wish to have your puppies docked, should you decide to breed the working type. Then research your bitches pedigrees & with help from a more experienced responsible breeder select a stud dog from those available(which needs to be fully health tested also of course)-bearing in mind the current financial situation. You need to have the facilities to rear the puppies correctly, the time to spend with them & their mother to make sure that both she & the puppies are well both in body & mind. You also need to be able to keep all the puppies for a considerable length of time after the time that they would normally leave until you find the correct homes for them & also you need to be able to take back any of the puppies at any time in their lives if/when they become unwanted. To join the Kennel Club Accredited Breeder Scheme you need to apply to the Kennel Club-the site appears to be off-line at the moment-but put UK Kennel Club in any browser & you will find the KC site with the information about how to join the ABS. You do need to realize that breeding dogs responsibly is not a money making venture, your bitch may need a C section, she may be ill/die before/after/during whelping & the puppies can also be ill/die before/after/during whelping. No matter how fit & well the bitch is these situations do occur. Breeding should not be considered without considering the cons as well as the desire to reproduce your bitches(which will not be exact replicas of the bitches of course). You should not consider breeding without have people very interested in having the puppies. Dog owning/breeding, IMHO, is a privilege & not a doG given right.
cant really add much more that what Diane has, I dont think it should be taken in at all lightly and I myself would only actually do it if your dogs are excellent examples of your breed as quite honestly I believe there are far too many pups out there who cant sell... I would also ask you to contact your regional Cocker spaniel Breed rescue and ask them how many pups / dogs they get in and how easy they home them before deciding on whether you need to add to the population. Also bear in mind the costs involved for breeding, finding a stud, transporting and most of all time involved before hand. As much research as possible and perhaps ask an experienced breeder of your breed for their input too.
Thanks for your response I agree completely... I have not made any decisions with this at all and am just looking into different possibilities for the future. I have recently purchased another Cocker as a pet and a friend for my other girl. However, because of the papers, I have been told that I could breed her or train her and work her but as I know nothing about either, I am trying to get as much info as possible about both.
Just becasue you 'could' breed from her doesn't mean that you 'should'. Before even considering breeding you should have your bitch evaluated as to her worthiness. That means either showing her or working her. From what you say it would seem that she is working bred (the two types are quite distinct in Cocker Spaniels). If so, you would have to train her to work, and if she was successful in the field, then you could start to look at her pedigree and take advice as to which stud dog(s) might suit her. TBH I think you would find it difficult to find good homes for working Cocker pups unless you were yourself going out on a shoot regularly. If you bought her as a pet then why not accept her for what she is and enjoy her for that? Breeding is not without risk to the bitch, and can be a very expensive business - I estimate that you need to have around £1000 in the bank for expenses and emergencies - if you get some of that back through the sale of pups then all well and good, but you shouldn't be relying on it.
Train her and work her and if she proves herself as a working dog then look into whether or not you want to breed from her All the health tests and other issues like that have been covered previously so i wont repeat it.
I agree 100% with ceskys' comment. There are so many unwanted dogs in rescue at the moment because owners haven't done the research on the dog they have bought and then are stunned when the little cuddly furball they have suddenly starts tearing the house apart or becomes aggresive simply because they can't or won't give the dog what it needs. The rescue i am involved in regularly takes in dogs from about 6 months old onwards because of this reason. It is heartbreaking. We have adopted 3 young dogs within the last 18 months ourselves. If you do decide to go ahead and breed from your dog then do your research and good luck to you....But always remember, the interests of your dog and its puppies must always come first. Personally, because of what i have experienced through rescue, i would take ceskys' advice and enjoy her as a pet.
I wouldn't breed without having an extremely experienced Mentor to be able to call on for advice/help 24/7! I have bred a couple of litters, I lost one to infection (undiagnosed by my ex-Vet) which was a very low time in my life, so upsetting and depressing to see little lives fade away! I also had a very healthy wonderful litter, which I kept! My Mentor has been invaluable to me. I couldn't have done it without her. Incidentally, that first litter; Vets fees topped £400 and not a single pup survived. A very sick Mama dog which took weeks to get back to her old self (she also was depressed at the loss of her babies - bless her). Unless you have a minimum of £1k in the bank for emergencies and have unlimited time to do all you need to do with regard to caring for the Mum and pups and so on, don't even consider breeding - that's the best advice I can give! If you can do all of that and take into account all the other advice on this thread that has been given, then I wish you luck if you decide to go ahead
