Breeding

BREEDING YOUR GOLDEN RETRIEVER

Breeding is not for beginners.  It is as hard to do well as it is easy to do. UNTIL you can satisfy the requirements that the serious hobby breeder should meet, (see the section of this booklet entitled “Choosing a Reputable Breeder”), you will be doing the breed an injustice if you have a litter of puppies.       

Consider Your Motives

If you think that:

1.            Having Puppies Would Be Fun

It is also very time consuming and demanding.  By four (4) weeks of age a Golden litter of eight is active, dirty, noisy and potentially destructive.  Illness or death of the dam or puppies can be expensive, emotional ..... and no fun at all.

2.         It Would Be Educational For The Children

So would a litter of mice.  Bitches do not whelp at your convenience, and the children are often in school, or in bed at the time of delivery.  Care of the pregnant bitch, and properly raising and socialising puppies is work for a responsible adult.

3.         It Would Help Us Get Back Our Investment

You may find that the rate of return is very low.  Stud fee, veterinary fees, advertising, and the daily care and feeding of a litter is very expensive.  You may be able to sell three (3) or four (4) puppies out of a litter of ten (10).  Even experienced breeders sometimes have difficulty selling puppies.

4.         It Would Help Fulfill The Dogs Needs

You are anthropomorphising.  While the instinct for procreation is strong, the dog has no conscious knowledge of what it is missing, no regrets and no guilt feelings.  Spaying or neutering will remove the instinct and the problems often associated with the desire to mate, such as wandering and marking.  Pregnancy not only contributes nothing to a bitch's health, but sometimes causes problems.  A spayed bitch cannot be accidentally bred, and will not be subject to the uterine infections that can affect older, intact females.

5.         It Will Improve The Bitches Temperament If She Is Bred

You are wrong.  No animal whose temperament needs improving should be bred in the first place, since temperament is most often the result of hereditary factors.  And while raising a litter will not only not make an improvement in the dam’s temperament, it will also probably result in a litter of unsatisfactory puppies who will be imprinted by their unstable dam.  There is also the possibility that the bitch will be an unsatisfactory mother, necessitating much more work on your part.

Consider Your Resources

Raising a litter is a demanding project.  Do you:

1.         Have The Facilities For Whelping And Raising A Litter Properly?

You need a warm, quiet, secure area, easily cleaned, to properly confine and care for a litter of eight (8) fast growing puppies while they are with their mother, and a similar larger area for use after weaning.

2.         Have The Time To Devote To This Project?

Time to take or send a bitch for breeding, sit up for hours during whelping, and hand raise the litter if the bitch is unable to.  Time to buy and prepare food, feed and clean up four (4) to five (5) times daily.  Time to go to the veterinarian for check ups, inoculations, or with a sick dam or puppy.  Time to individually socialise each puppy daily.  Time to answer phone calls, talk with prospective buyers, and answer the same questions over and over again.  Time for all the paper work required, including typing accurate pedigrees, health records, care instructions, records of sale, and so on.

3.         Have The Money To Put Into The Project?

Can you afford to pay the stud fee, inoculations and veterinary care for the bitch and puppies, as well as other expenses.  What if the bitch has problems which necessitate a Caesarean section?  What if the puppies die?  What if the bitch dies, or cannot raise the puppies?  Can you afford to feed and provide veterinary care for 2 or 3 four (4) month old puppies that didn’t sell?  Can you afford to refund the purchase price on a puppy that proves to be unsound or unsuitable?

Consider Your Dog’s Quality

Is your dog or bitch truly an outstanding representative of the breed?  “Pretty, friendly and smart” is not nearly enough.

1.            Temperament

Your dog/bitch must be absolutely sound and stable, with a personality and disposition appropriate for the breed.  Shyness, aggressiveness, gunshyness, lack of retrieving ability or trainability, and hyperactivity are all reasons not to breed, regardless of other qualities.

2.         Breed Type And Quality

Your dog/bitch must be structurally and functionally sound, with conformation characteristics appropriate for the breed.  An experienced, knowledgeable exhibitor/breeder can assist in the evaluation of your dog’s adherence to the breed standard.

3.            Soundness

Your dog/bitch should be tested free of certain genetic defects, as should the proposed mate.  Knowledge of the status of parents, grandparents, siblings, etc., with regard to genetic testing is also desirable.  Hips and elbows should be properly x‑rayed and submitted for scoring.  Eyes should be examined annually and be free of hereditary cataracts, central progressive retinal atrophy, and any eye anomaly.  The heart should have been examined by a specialist veterinary practitioner and certified free of any abnormality.

4.            Pedigree

A four (4) or five (5) generation pedigree on the proposed litter should be read and interpreted by a person with extensive knowledge of the breed, and of the dogs involved.  Titles alone are no guarantee of genetic value.

5.         Health

A breeding animal must be fully mature, in the prime of health, and in lean muscular condition.  All inoculations should be up to date, and the animal should be free of both internal and external parasites.  Acquired problems such as a narrow birth canal from previous injury, transmissible venereal tumour, anaemia, any disease or infection of the reproductive organs, concurrent diseases of other organ systems, or any contagious diseases are all reasons not to be bred.

Considerations for The Stud Dog Owner

If you are thinking of using your male at stud, you are no less responsible for the quality of the litter than the owner of the brood bitch.  You have an obligation to thoroughly screen every owner that inquires for stud service, and the bitch to be bred, the boarding and caring for the bitch in your care, of effecting the mating, of supplying pedigrees, photos and examination reports, and of keeping meticulous records.  This is all done as circumstances dictate, and not at your convenience - the weekend away you had planned may well be spent at home looking after a visiting bitch instead.

Consider The Current Dog Population

If at this point, you are still considering breeding your dog, visit the local dog pound.  Ask how many dogs are put down monthly, and how many put down in the last month were Golden Retrievers.

CHOOSING A REPUTABLE BREEDER

Choosing a reputable breeder is very important.  Since it is almost impossible for you to know what the puppy you are buying will grow to be physically and emotionally, you must put your faith in the person from whom you are purchasing your puppy.  There are three (3) options open to you in choosing this person.

1.         Pet Shop or Dealer

The worst possible choice.  It is against the RNSW Canine Council’s and the Club’s Codes of Ethics to sell puppies to pet shops or dealers.  As a consequence, puppies sold through such outlets are likely to be poorly bred and raised.  They are merchandise to be sold for a high profit.  The high profit is the result of little thought being given to the breeding or the care of the puppies.  Some may be sickly.  Pet shops rely heavily on impulse buying.  This is not the way to choose an addition to your family.

2.            Backyard Breeder

Also a poor choice.  This is the person who owns a pet Golden and thinks it would be “fun” to have puppies, that it would be a great experience for the children, or that the bitch should be bred once before she is spayed.  Even worse, perhaps the breeding occurred just to make money.  Usually this breeder knows little about the “breed standard” or history of the breed, and still less about care.  The casual breeder does not have annual eye examinations by a veterinary ophthalmologist, and does not submit hip and elbow x‑rays for scoring.  The backyard breeder is not aware of breed problems, and usually doesn't care.  The backyard breeder’s only goal is to produce puppies, and when the “fun” is over, sell them quickly.

3.            Serious Hobby Breeder

The very best choice.  The serious and dedicated hobby breeder regards his/her dogs as even more than a hobby.  The true enthusiast does not expect to make a profit.  When someone is involved in dogs for the enjoyment of each individual animal, for participating in any of the many aspects of “dog sports”, and for the challenge of producing the finest animals possible, the result is superior.  These breeders acknowledge responsibility for each and every puppy produced, and stand behind every dog they have bred.

Unequivocally, your choice should be from the ranks of the serious hobby breeder.  It is an interesting fact that poor quality puppies from pet shops and backyard breeders are often sold for the same price, and sometimes even more, than those purchased from the serious hobby breeder.

HOW DOES ONE RECOGNISE THE SERIOUS HOBBY BREEDER?

Presented below is a list of requirements the breeder should meet before you consider purchasing a puppy.  Don't be afraid to confront the breeder with these requirements.  It is your right, and you can rest assured that the dedicated breeder will respond positively and with pride.

The breeder should:

·         Be involved in showing his/her dogs in the breed ring, the obedience ring, retrieving trials or in a combination of all three.  The reason for this requirement is that it means that the breeder is not breeding in a vacuum.  The breeder who does not participate has no idea how good his/her dogs really are, and is deprived of the opportunity to share information and ideas with others.  Showing dogs provides the competition which encourages breeders to produce better dogs.  The breeder who competes wants to prove how good his/her dogs are and is putting his/her breeding program on the line.  This breeder is not relying on just a pedigree to indicate quality.