Learning

- you need to be open to learning. If you already think you know everything, then you are wasting your time reading this page.

Most people, however, are smart enough to know that learning is a never ending process.

Mentoring

You need to find a mentor. A mentor is a person who has several years experience in the breed you want to specialise in. It is preferable that you have 2-3 mentors in your breed. Additionally, it is also good if you can get a mentor in another breed who can provide you with complementary information.

This is basically known as "serving your apprenticeship". You need to soak up every bit of knowledge the mentors provide you with, and critically evaluate the knowledge they provide. Sometimes the information won't be correct, and so you need to ensure you are open to hearing contradictory information. In fact you should speak to people who may not necessarily tell you what you want to hear.

I recommend you spend at least 2 years under the wing of a good mentor, and during this period you assist with preparing dogs for the ring, handling dogs, and assist in the whelping of 3 litters of pups, and preferably have experience helping a bitch with whelping problems.

Ensure you learn how to bottle feed pups, tube feed pups, check for mastisis, keep pups warm, appropriate placement of dam and pups, etc. In fact, check this site for the page on questions for the many points you need to learn.

You should also help the breeder raise the pups. It is important you follow the pups over the first few months of their lives. Start learning how to judge the quality of dogs. Ensure you have a copy of the breed standard, and get the breeder to help you learn to develop your eye for a good dog. This takes time and practice.

Like a leader, a good breeder is made, not born.

Watch dogs grow

Once you start to develop an eye for dogs that you like and dislike as adults, get pictures of them. Write down what you like and dislike about each of them. It is critical you can find something good in every dog you find, as it is easy to find faults. Any ditz can find a fault in a dog. You need to be able to find the good points as well. This is critical for your development.

Now, once you have distinguished between the dogs you like and those you don't like, get pictures of them as youngsters if you possibly can.

From these, you can learn what the pups looked like at an early age. This will help you learn to develop your eye to pick a dog that is going to be good, and one that is not.

As you learn, be prepared to change your mind if you find improved information. For example: you may think a particular boxer head is awful because one of your mentors was clueless as to the correct look for the boxer head. Along comes a guru in the breed that spends the time teaching you better, and in turn your opinions are modified. Be prepared to learn - and watch out for the politics - never ever back stab a dog person to another dog person. They will always find out.

Learn Pedigrees

As you learn more about your breed of dog, it is important you start understanding the pedigrees. ie: who were the sire and dam. Also look for litter mates. See if you can learn how to pick family traits and similarities.

As you get more experienced you should be able to look at a dog and say, "hmmm... that looks like it might have come from such and such a dog, and was bred by what's her name."

Learning the lines and types in your breed will then help you to select the dog you ultimately use as your first stud dog.

Education

Many of the canine control bodies will offer short courses on learning to be a breeder. Attend these whenever possible.

Also attend any breed lectures available.

Sometimes different bodies will run lecture nights on a range of different subjects. These can be good to attend - but beware the ones run by companies whose agenda is to sell you dog food and/or vaccinations. While being effective salespeople, what they offer is not necessarily at all good for your dog. You will learn over time who are the snake oil sellers!

Books

Be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars buying some good books on the following subjects:

  anatomy, first aid, genetics, feeding dogs, breeding, showing, whelping, and specialist books on your breed.

As a rule of thumb, try and build your library over 4 years to collect in excess of 15 books. These are a wise investment. Many of the on-line book retailers offer competitive prices, but make sure you shop around.

Additionally, I recommend people subscribe to magazines featuring general dog show themes, and their own breed specialty magazines.

Clubs and Associations

I recommend you join your country's canine association. Every country has one, and in order to have registered pups, you will need to be a member and abide by their rules and ethics.

Additionally, where possible, join a breed specialist club, and a general dog club. If you have the chance, join a club that runs dog shows as these provide wonderful learning opportunities.

Email lists At a minimum, you should join at least 5 email lists. There are several different providers of free email list services, such as Yahoogroups and Smartgroups. Visit those sites and search for lists of your breed, and other associated topics.

If you need guidance, I'd suggest joining the dogmentor list, the list on feeding breeding dogs, and the list on general feeding of dogs.

Apart from learning about a range of subjects, with the appropriate learning style, you can also learn a great deal about tact, diplomacy, and may even have the chance to run a list.

Helping others - there is an old saying, "to teach is to learn twice". When you are starting to gain confidence in your knowledge and skills, it is an important part of your own learning process to teach others.

Not only that, but teaching others means they can learn from your mistakes, and be better at breeding, doing the best by our canine companions.

Setting yourself up right

  What does dog conformation refer to?

  How can you test if my dog has the correct conformation?

  What important points should be considered on a dog's pedigree?

  How many championships should be listed in a pedigree prior to breeding?

The beginning of the season

  When will a bitch first come into season?

  Should a bitch be bred on her first season?

  How old should a bitch be before breeding commences?

  On what grounds should a bitch not be bred from?

  On what days is a bitch fertile?

  How long is a bitch's season?

Breeding the dogs

  On what day's should a bitch be bred?

  What is a studmaster and when should they be used?

  On what attributes is a stud dog selected?

  What health testing should both the dam and dog have prior to breeding?

  How old should a dog be before he is used at stud?

  What are the responsibilities of a stud dog owner?

  What are the important contract items to have in a breeding contract?

  On what grounds should a dog be neutered?

  What diseases can a dog get while being bred?

  When should a dog be allowed near an in season bitch?

  How does the breeding actually take place?

  Does there need to be a tie for a breeding to have taken place?

  What is AI and when should it be conducted?

  Who should conduct the AI and what specific precautions should be taken?

  Why is the stud dog turned during a breeding?

  How many times should a bitch be bred?

  Can a litter have more than one father?

  Where must a bitch be kept while she is in season?

Gestation

  How long is a bitch's gestation?

  What special diet should the bitch be fed while in season, and while pregnant?

  Under what special circumstances should additional calcium be fed to a pregnant bitch?

Whelping

  What are the signs that a bitch is going into labour?

  What is the best type of whelping box arrangements?

  Where should the bitch be when she whelps?

  What are the signs that the whelping is going well?

  What are the signs that there are problems developing?

  When should a c-section be performed?

  What is primary inertia and the implications?

  What is secondary inertia and the implications?

  What is oxytocin?

  When should the vet be called for help?

  Should calcium be administered during whelping?

  What does green fluid indicate?

  How long should it take for a bitch to whelp?

  What is the incidence of puppy deaths in each litter?

  What is a breach birth, how often does it happen, and what are the problems that can result?

  What are the implications for a pup born out of the sac?

  How do you ensure that each placenta is accounted for, and what do you do if they are not?

  What should be done with the placenta?

  How do you resuscitate a dead puppy?

  How do you clear fluid from a puppy's lungs?

  How many extra set of hands should you have at a c-section?

  When should oxygen be administered to puppies?

  When should puppies first fed from the dam?

  How do you check for cleft palate?

  How are puppies who are deformed managed?

Caring for the mother

  What should the dam be fed while she is looking after puppies?

  What are the signs of infection in the bitch?

Caring for puppies

  What are the signs that the puppies are progressing well?

  What are the signs that the puppies are in trouble?

  What is mastisis and how is it treated?

  What do you do if the dam's milk does not come in?

  How do you bottle feed a puppy, and what do you use?

  How do you tube feed a puppy?

  How can you tell if a puppy is feeding well?

  How can you tell if a pup has received enough milk?

  How can you check to see if a pup is dehydrated?

  What is fading puppy syndrome and how do you rescue a puppy from it?

  What are the common problems to be aware of when raising the puppies?

  When do you introduce "real food" to puppies?

  Why should puppies never be given "baby food"?

  Why should puppies not be given grains to eat?

  Should puppies be vaccinated?

  Should puppies be wormed?

  Under what conditions should a puppy be culled and how?

  Under what conditions should a puppy be wormed and/or vaccinated?

Placing puppies

  How do you choose puppy buyers?

  What responsibilities do you have as a breeder for those pups?

  What sort of guarantees are you going to offer the buyers?

  How do you ensure your puppy buyers are going to look after the puppies?

  When and how do you temperament test puppies?

  How do you match the right puppy with the right person?

  When do you remove the dam from the puppies?

  When should the puppies be totally weaned?

  How are puppies house trained?

  When are puppies first socialised and how?

  What sort of puppy pack information are you going to provide to the buyers?

  When do you start training the puppies?

  What breeder support are you offering once the puppies have gone?

A Checklist to Breeding Your Dog

by Jane Johnson.

with the help of lots of other people.

These are the points that you should be able to check off with a tick. This is a quick guide for what you should look for before you breed, and is not all inclusive. Further input is welcome:

Is your bitch:

1. show quality
2. a champion
3. have both parents and grand parents that are champions
4. free from hereditary disease
5. parents and grand parents tested and free from hip dysplasia
6. mature enough to breed

7. tested today as free from brucellosis

Is your dog:

1. show quality
2. a champion
3. have both parents and grand parents that are champions
4. free from hereditary disease
5. parents and grand parents tested and free from hip dysplasia
6. mature enough to breed

7. tested today as free from brucellosis

And you need to meet ALL of the following criteria:

1. you are have homes already for all pups - before the mating
2. you have found a dog that meets all the points in the section above relating to the requirements of the bitch
3. you are prepared to offer a lifetime guarantee (or at least two years) for the health of the pups
4. if, during the lifetime of the pups, any need to be returned for whatever reason, you take that pup (now adult dog) back and find a home for him/her.
5. all non-show quality pups are sold with a spay/neuter agreement
6. all prospective buyers have been fully screened by you
7. you are going to offer support and advice to your puppy buyers for the life of the pup
8. you have the money to cover a stud fee, possible c-section and complications, vaccinations, and still get no income from the sale of any pups.
9. have you consented with the breeder of your bitch/dog and sought their advice?

Now that's just a starting point. If you can't or won't meet these criteria, perhaps breeding at this time is not the best thing for you or your dog.

http://www.geocities.com/learntobreed/checklist.html