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Breeding |
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The majority of dog-breeders are hobbyists. The money they derive from this activity provides sufficient funds for them to pay their not inconsiderable veterinary bills and feeding costs and allows them to pursue the social and sporting side of the business, traveling to shows, exhibiting their stock and meeting other owners with the same interest.
Indeed, the fairy story about breeders making a great deal of money is just that for, despite the high prices which some breeds command (stud fees can in some cases run into three figures) the bitch, while she feeds her pups, should be receiving up to four times her normal feed intake, and the pups themselves, from weaning, will be consuming 5 meals a day.
Add to this the cost of an occasional Caesarean operation or other veterinary treatment and you will realize the expenses that must be deducted before arriving at the true profit figure from a puppy sale.
Whether or not you choose to have your young dog neutered is up to you, but this procedure can help prevent various problems occurring as he or she matures. Male dogs are castrated, while females (bitches) are spayed. It’s a myth that dogs will suffer from not reproducing - what they don’t know they won’t miss.
People who had bought a dog or bitch, then decide that they would like to breed their own stock. If the animal is of top quality they could be on the first rung of the ladder. If, however, the dog, despite its Certificate of Pedigree, is an ordinary, lovable pet which will never win a rosette, they would do best to forget all thought of breeding.
Obviously there is no legal impediment to anyone mating their dog with someone else’s, regardless of breeding, as long as the other agrees. However, planned breeding is best carried out from proven show stock and it is for the progeny of such stock that the high fees, which can dazzle the novice, are obtained.
The responsible owner who does wish to breed in a small, hobbyist way will most likely decide to buy one or two high-class bitches. Having acquired them he! she will endeavor to do a certain amount of winning in the show ring, making them up to champions if possible and, thereafter, mating them to a proven stud dog, preferably a champion. Once the litter is born, the breeder may decide to keep a bitch and so build up the breeding stock in this manner.
It would be utterly foolish for anyone without experience to go out and buy a number of bitches or dogs and bitches with the idea of starting up a breeding establishment. This is not the way in which a reputable kennels is formed. Indeed, it takes years of hard work and of getting known in 'one's breed' before a good reputation as a breeder can be established.
Breeding one's first litter is, of course, tremendously exciting and is an experience that few people will forget. It is supremely satisfying to see the tiny pups develop from fragile mites into boisterous mischievous pups, each with a personality of its own.
Neutering surgery - this is performed under anesthetic. Males have their testicles removed, while bitches have their ovaries, Fallopian tubes arid uterus taken out. Wounds are then closed using stitches. Dogs will usually go home the same day and any discomfort can be controlled with medication.
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