wanted -information about breeding a cavalier king charles spaniel
Sally Cain
I am considering breeding my young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Bitch next
summer. When she will be 14 months old. I want as much useful information
as possible.
PErcoli
I think 14months is too young. She should be at least two and have passed all
her health checks, especially eyes, heart , thyroid, patellas, hips. She should
be a finished champion and be of meritable quality with something to pass on to
improve the breed. On the other hand, you will need to be responsible for the
litter until thier last dying day and be there for their owners all the time.
You will need to be prepared to put out money for a Cesarian section, proper
whelping conditions, shots and vet exams. You will need to furnish contracts
and guarantees. Breeding and raising pups if done properly and responsiblie is
alot of work and if you go by the book, money is rarely made. Raising good dogs
and being reputable is not profitable but done out of love and to improve upon
the breed. If more people out their were educated enough to realize that dog
breeding isn't a piece of cake and profitable, there would be alot less dogs in
shelters and rescue and probably alot more genetically sound dogs too. Anyone
else out there want to add your too cents to educate and not to legislate,
please be my guest.
Paula
Howard Perry
Sally Cain (S.C...@btinternet.com) wrote:
: I am considering breeding my young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Bitch next
: summer. When she will be 14 months old. I want as much useful information
: as possible.
One snippet of useful information you might want is to consider waiting
until your bitch is a minimum of two years old before breeding her.
She'll be old enough for OFA to evaluate x-rays of her hips and knees in
order to determine if you might be breeding a litter of displastic pups
or pups with crippling slipped stifles or not. Of course, you would also
want the OFA evaluation on any sire you might use for your bitch, as well.
I'm sure you would not want to intentionally create heartbreak for your
puppy owners by not getting all the appropriate health tests done on your
bitch - or worse yet, add to the already over burdened Cavalier rescue
network.
Another useful piece of information you might want to consider is
something that lies within you - and that's the reason(s) you think you
might want to breed your bitch. Only you can answer that question.
Perhaps it would be useful for you to consult with the Cavalier breed
club in your area, or the national breed organization, to assess your
personal reasons in light of potential areas that you, a breeder, can
contribute to improve this wonderful breed.
Also, read books! I can recommend some excellent books on breeding that
you might find really useful, as long as you're looking for useful
information. It might just scare the hell out of you, especially when
you read about all the things that can go wrong with a breeding,
especially if you've never bred a litter before and don't know what to
expect.
Best,
Howard Perry
TLS Keeshonden
--
--------
Support Bacterium - It's the only culture some people have.
Lori
Sally,
It is most often recommended to wait till a bitch is past two years old
before breeding. Just as a 13 year old "woman" shouldn't have a baby just
because she can, neither should a bitch be bred too young. Most genetic
testing, such as OFA for her hips, are not valid till the dog is two years
old.
This means you have lots of time to study up. There is a *LOT* to know
before you even consider breeding her. Go to my web site (below) and
choose the "Rest of my Den" links, and from there choose "Should I Breed My
Dog?" There are links and information there that might be helpful. Also,
see Diane Blackman's site at http://www.dog-play.com/ethics.htm. Great
information there!
What does your bitch's breeder think of her as a brood bitch? Have you
done any showing with her, or have you done any obedience, agility or other
competition with her? Look at these things as building her a resume, as
folks with quality stud dogs are going to expect her to have something to
her credit. The Cav needs clearances in OFA (hips), CERF (eyes) and heart.
A good stud dog's owner will require you show proof of testing and passing
results in all of these. (and you should expect the same of them!)
Ask yourself, honestly, why you want to breed her. If you think you will
make any money at all on it, think again, and if it is your primary reason,
forget it. If you give her the care and training she needs, do the genetic
testing, go through the pregnancy and whelping, puppy care, training,
socialization, shots, placement, etc... you will almost certainly lose
money. And that is if there are no complications! If you think she needs
to have a litter, that is incorrect. If you think kids would learn from
seeing the miracle of birth....nope. Also, try to line up a waiting list
of homes *before* breeding. Too many folks find out how hard it is to
place pups in good homes, and end up putting them in questionable places,
or leaving them at a pound or giving them up to rescue.
Take your time, head to the library, go to some dog shows in your area and
talk to Cavalier breeders, honestly evaluate your bitch...and if
*everything* doesn't measure up, have her spayed.
Good luck,
Lori
--
Ripley's Retrieve-It-Or-Not
http://www.geocities.com/~goldendog
The Official Virginia Lanier Mystery Page
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/1442/vlanier.htm
^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^v^
"All knowledge, the totality of all questions
and answers, is contained in the dog."
---Franz Kafka
"Investigations of a Dog"
Sally Cain <S.C...@btinternet.com> wrote in article
<01bd13de$537cd7c0$LocalHost@default>...
Daisy
"Sally Cain" <S.C...@btinternet.com> wrote:
>I am considering breeding my young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Bitch next
>summer. When she will be 14 months old. I want as much useful information
>as possible.
The two other replies I saw were great, and I didn't see this
metioned in my quick reading of them, so here it is: You should
be involved with your nearest Cavalier Breed Club. They can help
you to find out if your bitch should even be bred. The goal of
breeding should be to improve the breed, and before you think
about breeding you'll need expert help to decide if your bitch is
likely to produce offspring that would improve the breed. And
you'll need help learning about how to show, and you'll need help
selecting the best stud to compliment your bitch. Not to
mention, small breeds often have very complicated whelpings; you
will want to be present at several whelpings before you attempt
your own. You might lose your bitch in the process, which is
something you should be prepared for, emotionally.
take care,
Daisy
Nancy E.Holmes or R. Nelson Ruffin
to the other excellent and thoughtful replies I add that you MUST make sure
you check your dog for heart defects - its a problem as far as I know in
the breed and could make it fatal to your dog for her to be bred! Its a
risk anyway breeding toy breeds - sometimes no matter how careful you are
the dam dies!
There was an excellent Cavalier puppy for sale post on this list today and
I suggest you contact that breeder for information on the breeding and care
of Cavaliers and what health tests you need to do before you risk breeding!
Try dejanews and search for cavalier.
Nancy
Sally Cain <S.C...@btinternet.com> wrote in article
<01bd13de$537cd7c0$LocalHost@default>...
Adult Ave
In article <01bd13de$537cd7c0$LocalHost@default>, S.C...@btinternet.com says...
>
>I am considering breeding my young Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Bitch next
>summer. When she will be 14 months old. I want as much useful information
>as possible.
>
I just wanted you to know that breeding Cavaliers isn't fun, profitable, and is
very risky to the mother if you don't know what you are doing when she delivers
her puppies. Cavalier puppies always get stuck in the birth canal and if you
can't turn the puppy, (which is usually way up inside, trying to make it
through the birth canal with a shoulder hooked on the pelvis) then you will not
only lose the puppy, but you will lose the mom and all the rest of the babies.
Puppies usually are born in the middle of the night when there isn't anybody to
call to help!! I am telling you this not to scare you but to educate you on
the risks of breeding.
I know that there isn't a REPUTABLE breeder out there that would let you breed
you girl to their stud dog unless she has been cleared of any hereditary
defects which include the heart problem that exists in the breed. Every breed
has some kind of health problem to look out for and with Cavaliers, it is the
heart. It usually doesn't show up until the bitch/dog is about 4 years old and
you need to have knowledge of how long the Cavaliers that go at least 3
generations back have lived. This heart problem, if not carefully bred out of
the Cavaliers can cause them to die at a very young age.
I'm sure that you could find someone with a male Cavalier that would let you
breed your girl to him. But this person is only interested in the stud fee of
750.00, then you have to consider the possibility of a C-section, add 400.00,
not to mention having to travel or ship your bitch to the dog, add another 200
or more if you have to travel with her to the dog. So if you are breeding to
get another Cavalier, you would be better off to buy one!!!!
Reputable breeders know the life span of all the dogs in their pedigrees and
will offer a health guarantee along with your new puppy. If you need more
information, please feel free to contact me at:
cava...@biztool.com or
http://www.wekiva.com/sailin
I will be happy to answer any questions that you may have!!
Regards,
Karen Glicken
Sailin' Cavaliers
Member of the CKCSC, USA and The Mid Florida Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Club; Health Committee Chairman
