The Liberty Run Philosophy On Breeding
Breeding dogs is a pretty incredible responsibility. It isn't easy, and it isn't for the faint of heart. Information learned today tells us whether the decisions we made three years ago were good or not so good, and often requires us to make some hard decisions. There are always risks involved. Bitches can die, puppies may not be viable, and certainly the whole thing can be a financially draining experience. Not every puppy produced turns out exactly how we planned, and no breeder can guarantee that bad things won’t happen to wonderful puppies. In the words of an old breeder, you never really know until you try it whether a breeding decision was a darn good idea or a very noble experiment.
That being said, why do we do it? Why face the risk, the heartache and the ever tight finances?
We have a true love for dogs, the spirit of competition, and love for complexity. We have the knowledge, the desire, the ability to breed dogs the right way, and the responsibility to share that knowledge with others. To top it off, there is absolutely nothing more precious than the kisses of a puppy. Puppy breath? No sweeter smell. The dogs bring more sanity than any psychiatrist ever could.
Preservation Breeding
Here at Liberty Run, we are Preservation Breeders. The goal of preservation breeding is to preserve both bloodlines and breeds, and promote the breeding of high quality, healthy dogs. We choose to work primarily with rare breeds that are great family pets. We sell most of our puppies as pets, to families that are strictly looking for great companions. We also work with other breeders, with intentions of broadening everyone's gene pool. We are also happy to mentor new breeders that are interested in developing a quality breeding program.
Spotting Quality Conditions at a Breeding Facility (What to look for…)
Quality breeding facilities are located coast to coast, state to state and are literally all over the country. Many show and compete with their dogs in conformation and/or other dog sports, but there are also many that don't. Regardless of whether they show or don't show, dogs should still be evaluated for quality and adherence to standard, and only quality dogs that represent their standards well should be bred. Breeding is way more than she's female and there is a male, let's make puppies. Many top notch breeders are small hobby facilities operating out of their house, but others have a large enough program to warrant operation out of a kennel facility. Some breeders take it a step further and turn their hobby into a breeding business. Any of these facilities are good places to look for your next family dog. The number of dogs a quality breeder maintains is not what you need to worry about, rather you need to consider the conditions in which the dogs live and the standards the breeder uses to determine what dogs are bred. Whether the dogs live in the home or in a kennel facility, the dog areas must be clean and in good repair. Dogs should have plenty of room to run and play and should not spend the majority of their time in crates. Dogs that spend the majority of their time crated in the house are not better off than dogs that have kennel runs in a separate building.
Before you breed, these are important questions.
1.Do you have (and have you read) at least one good book on your breed and one good book about whelping?
2.What are the most common health concerns that occur in your breed?
3.Which of these health concerns can be tested for?
4.What do OFA and CERF stand for and of what importance are they?
5.What are the disqualifying faults and serious conformation faults in your breed?
6.What is your dog’s pedigree, where do you get it, and what can you learn from it?
7.What other information do you need about your dog’s pedigree that is not on the written paper? Can I obtain the needed information?
8.How old should your bitch be before she is bred?
9.How long is a bitch’s cycle and when is she most fertile?
10.How do you find a stud dog and how do you decide if he is
appropriate?
11.When should the two dogs be together and can you just let them do what doggies do?
12.What problems can occur during the breeding process?
13.What is AI and who should do it?
14.What diseases can a dog get when bred?
15.What precautions should be taken with a bitch in season?
16.Can a litter have more that one father?
17.How long is gestation and what special diet should the bitch be fed?
18.What are the signs a bitch is in labor?
19.What arrangements need to be made for whelping?
20.What type of a whelping area do you need?
21.Which vets will you use in case of emergency?
22.What are the signs that whelping is going well? Developing problems?
23.When should a c-section be performed and is it common in your breed?
24.When should the vet be called for help?
25.What is oxytocin?
26.How long does whelping take?
27.What does green fluid mean?
28.What do you do if the bitch does not clean and stimulate the puppies?
29.What is the incidence of puppy deaths in each litter?
30.What is the ultimate cost and ultimate risk in breeding?
31.What is a breach birth, how often does it happen, and is this a problem?
32.What happens if a puppy is born without the sac?
33.How do you resuscitate a dead puppy?
34.How do you clear fluid from a puppy’s lungs?
35.How do you check for cleft palate and what do you do with deformed puppies?
36.What is mastitis? Eclampsia? What do you do?
37.How do you bottle feed a puppy and what can you feed them?
38.How do you know if the puppies are progressing well?
39.What if they don’t nurse?
40.When do you start feeding the puppies real food?
41.When should puppies be vaccinated? Dewormed? Visit the vet?
42.When do puppies have their dewclaws removed?
43.How do you find puppy buyers and how do you know if they will be good?
44.How do you match the right puppy with the right family?
45.When should the puppies be weaned?
46.How do you socialize puppies?
47.How soon can the puppies go to their new homes?
48.How do you temperament test puppies?
49.What information do you need to give the new owners?
50.When do you start training puppies?
51.How do you housetrain and what do you need to do to make housetraining easier for the new owner?