[Ottoreni]

Anybody have experience breeding dogs?

I have a male Boston Terrier. My vet just notified me that a client of his has a female in heat. What kind of fee can I charge for stud services. Is it monetary or can I pick a puppy?

Any help appreciated. This is my first time doing this.

 

[CdaleTony]

Your doing this , or your dog
I believe you get pick of litter....Then again anything can be negotiated beforehand.....
It's really going to be up to both parties to discuss...
CDT

 

[Ottoreni]

I knew someone...

I knew someone make remark .

He is AKC registered. I would really like to get pick of the litter, but I don't want to sound off base. Still, I don't want to be jerked around because of my inexperiece.

 

[formica]

you might want to check breeding guidelines for you breed. It's not just a matter of AKC to AKC, but you should check for the breed strengths and weaknesses that each dog would bring into the mix. A reputable experieced breeder could help you here. Breeding without looking into these things is how you get purebred dogs that have temperament problems, hip displaysia, eye problems and so on depending on the breed.

 

[Cary]

I'm going to second what formica said. AKC papers are good for wiping your rear and basically nothing else. All they do is track that two registered dogs were mated. They tell you nothing about the quaility of the animals that were bred, their temperment, or the specific genetic issues of the line.

Unless you are breeding for certain charicteristics, accounting for tempermant, making sure that you are properly line and/or cross breading to minimize potential genetic defects, you shouldn't be undertaking this endevor. The fact that you can make two dogs hump, doesn't mean you should breed them. Given that Boston Terriers already suffer from considerable breathing and circultory problems you need to breed to minimize this. What about other genetic issues? Hips, seizures, mylopathy, etc., I don't know what other specific issues run with Boston Terriers but are you making sure that both lines don't have a history of these issues that breeding the two would continue these traits?

 

[Neen]

I agree with what Formica and CDCA said. And have one more thing to add, you might want to take a walk through your local humane society/dog pound before you decide to go ahead and breed your dog. Or heck, just do a search on Petfinder.com for boston terriers to see how many homeless ones are out there already. Dogs are people too!!

Neen -- HUGE advocate for animal rescue

 

[formica]

there are three kinds of breeders: puppy mills, backyard breeders, and reputable breeders. What you are proposing falls into the second category. Well intentioned but ill informed. I'm of the stance that any dog that is not part of a reputable, educated breeders' scenario should just be fixed.

this link from the humane society has a good check list on how to find a good breeder, you could use it for how to BE a good breeder.
http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/Good_breeder.pdf

 

[scubaklook]

If both dogs have health clearances (OFA, CERF etc) and you are contributing something to the breed then take pick of the litter or what a pup is worth. However that is not what this sounds like. As a responsible stud owner your dog needs to bring something to the table other than just being purebred. Does your dog have a bench championship or is he close? How about the female? Have the pedigrees been compared to find out if this is a good match? "Good" breedings are planned well before the female comes into heat to find a stud that matches the female's conformation and tempermant the best, sometimes a year or more in advance. Think first, the female will always come into heat again so no need to rush into anything before you know what you are doing.

May I suggest "The Whelping and Rearing of Puppies" by Muriel Lee for both you and the female's owner to read.
Also keep in mind the ethical responsibilty you hold if all the pups are not placed. Are there already deposits down on pups? Vague promises of relatives that they would like a pup are not enough. If you dont know enough about the other owner and the steps that she has taken then you should not breed to that dog. What will you do when she calls you saying there are 4 pups left and she has been unable to place them and they will be sent to the shelter? Can you ethically just walk away?


PS I have been hanging out on the retriever forums too much when I am suprised b**ch is getting bleeped.