[Universal]

Currently, my Dad and I were condering breeding my Golden Retriever, called Bubbly. Bubby is a 9-year-old male, and a certified purebred. But I'm still unsure if he would be able to breed.

He is very healthy as far as I can tell - he never suffered from a hip problem or cancer, which are common illnesses for Goldens. But he did have an ear infection recently, but I took him to the vet and now he seems perfectly OK. And while at the vet, the vet said he is very healthy.

But Bubbly was never properly trained. I mean, he was never put in those dog shows, and I never taught him to do all those tricks you see those dog show dogs do. While Bubbly does come when I call him, and knows what not to do, he has never had much training beyond that.

Also, I'm slightly concerned about his age. Is 9-years too old for a male? His age has made him less energetic - he sleeps more than he use to. But isn't that not natural for his age? And will the cause a problem when trying to breed?

As for his temperment; well I admit he probably isn't the poster dog for how a Golden Retriever are meant to behave. He was never very playful, though he loves lots of affection through rubs and scratches. I never once saw his agressive - not to another dog, adult, child or stranger. Not that he is timid either. I would just say that he is a calm, serious, steady-minded sort of dog. While this is a good temperment, it isn't the Golden Retriever temperment you see advertised.

So my end question is: does this sound like a dog good enough to breed? Would anyone with a bitch accept a dog with not a lot of training, quite old, and perhaps a slightly unusual temperment for a Golden?

Any opinions would be appreciated! Thanks

[cigwyllt]

Hi there - good to have someone else from the British Isles - I'm in West Wales.

If you are thinking of breeding your dog there are lots of things to consider. Firstly, why do you want to breed? I don't know if you are in North or Southern Ireland but the South certainly is overrun with dogs in rescue. So many beautiful pedigree dogs thrown out and abandoned. Chances are that if you use your dog as a stud then you will be adding to the problem, directly or indirectly.

If that isn't enough to make you think twice (and many people have good and valid reasons for breeding) then think about the following:

Is he of excellent quality? The only way people will know that he is of good enough quality to breed with their bitch is if he has been shown and placed at reputable dog shows. Anything else will just be pet quality and there are thousands of high quality, expensive pedigree dogs given up each year so your pet quality pups will hardly fare any better.

Has he been hip scored? Has he had any other health screening?
• BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme
• BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme
• BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme

It's not good enough to say he has never had a day's illness - a responsible stud owner will have their dog genetically tested.

Have you considered the risks involved in breeding? Have you or your father had experience of breeding dogs of any breed in the past? Will you know how to recognise that the bitch is ready to stand? Will you be prepared to hold her steady while she is mounted and through the tie - even if she tries to bite and snap? You need to hold her steady and monitor the mating in case she turns on your dog - especially during the tie - and he could be fatally injured. Are you prepared for that risk?

Are you prepared for the change in character that could arise after mating? Now he knows what his equipment is for - many dogs then become obsessed with reaching a bitch to mate with. You may have no idea that there is a bitch in season but he will be able to smell it within a mile/2 mile radius and may try and escape to be with her. He may become more aggressive and dominant. You say he hasn't had any formal training - would you be able to control him if he suddenly became aggressive towards other dogs?

I am not a breeder, never have been, never will be. But I am a dog lover and I would not want a pup from a breeder who had not carried out the relevant tests on their bitch and mated her with an equally high quality, health screened dog. I think at the age of 9 your dog should be allowed to enjoy his life as he heads towards old age without the stress of testing, mating and all the complications that can come with it.

[Universal]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Hi there - good to have someone else from the British Isles - I'm in West Wales.

If you are thinking of breeding your dog there are lots of things to consider. Firstly, why do you want to breed? I don't know if you are in North or Southern Ireland but the South certainly is overrun with dogs in rescue. So many beautiful pedigree dogs thrown out and abandoned. Chances are that if you use your dog as a stud then you will be adding to the problem, directly or indirectly.

If that isn't enough to make you think twice (and many people have good and valid reasons for breeding) then think about the following:

Is he of excellent quality? The only way people will know that he is of good enough quality to breed with their bitch is if he has been shown and placed at reputable dog shows. Anything else will just be pet quality and there are thousands of high quality, expensive pedigree dogs given up each year so your pet quality pups will hardly fare any better.

Has he been hip scored? Has he had any other health screening?
• BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme
• BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme
• BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme

It's not good enough to say he has never had a day's illness - a responsible stud owner will have their dog genetically tested.

Have you considered the risks involved in breeding? Have you or your father had experience of breeding dogs of any breed in the past? Will you know how to recognise that the bitch is ready to stand? Will you be prepared to hold her steady while she is mounted and through the tie - even if she tries to bite and snap? You need to hold her steady and monitor the mating in case she turns on your dog - especially during the tie - and he could be fatally injured. Are you prepared for that risk?

Are you prepared for the change in character that could arise after mating? Now he knows what his equipment is for - many dogs then become obsessed with reaching a bitch to mate with. You may have no idea that there is a bitch in season but he will be able to smell it within a mile/2 mile radius and may try and escape to be with her. He may become more aggressive and dominant. You say he hasn't had any formal training - would you be able to control him if he suddenly became aggressive towards other dogs?

I am not a breeder, never have been, never will be. But I am a dog lover and I would not want a pup from a breeder who had not carried out the relevant tests on their bitch and mated her with an equally high quality, health screened dog. I think at the age of 9 your dog should be allowed to enjoy his life as he heads towards old age without the stress of testing, mating and all the complications that can come with it.

Hmm... your reply has really made me consider about breeding my dog again.

I can assure you that if my dog did sire any puppies, I would make it my job to make sure those puppies are healthy and would go to the best people I could find. I can also safely say that my dog does come from excellent stock. While I may have never trained him to be in shows, his parents were, and my dog was probably bred in the idea that he would become a show dog.

However, your other points about the testing, my lack of knowlege of breeding dogs, and how my dog's temperment could suffer, has made me stop and think. I love my dog and I would hate to upset him or make him aggressive.

Thanks for your reply. I'm going to talk to my Dad about this again, and I'll bring up your points.

Thanks again

[Todd]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

Hi there - good to have someone else from the British Isles - I'm in West Wales.

If you are thinking of breeding your dog there are lots of things to consider. Firstly, why do you want to breed? I don't know if you are in North or Southern Ireland but the South certainly is overrun with dogs in rescue. So many beautiful pedigree dogs thrown out and abandoned. Chances are that if you use your dog as a stud then you will be adding to the problem, directly or indirectly.

If that isn't enough to make you think twice (and many people have good and valid reasons for breeding) then think about the following:

Is he of excellent quality? The only way people will know that he is of good enough quality to breed with their bitch is if he has been shown and placed at reputable dog shows. Anything else will just be pet quality and there are thousands of high quality, expensive pedigree dogs given up each year so your pet quality pups will hardly fare any better.

Has he been hip scored? Has he had any other health screening?
• BVA/KC Hip Dysplasia Scheme
• BVA/KC Elbow Dysplasia Scheme
• BVA/KC/ISDS Eye Scheme

It's not good enough to say he has never had a day's illness - a responsible stud owner will have their dog genetically tested.

Have you considered the risks involved in breeding? Have you or your father had experience of breeding dogs of any breed in the past? Will you know how to recognise that the bitch is ready to stand? Will you be prepared to hold her steady while she is mounted and through the tie - even if she tries to bite and snap? You need to hold her steady and monitor the mating in case she turns on your dog - especially during the tie - and he could be fatally injured. Are you prepared for that risk?

Are you prepared for the change in character that could arise after mating? Now he knows what his equipment is for - many dogs then become obsessed with reaching a bitch to mate with. You may have no idea that there is a bitch in season but he will be able to smell it within a mile/2 mile radius and may try and escape to be with her. He may become more aggressive and dominant. You say he hasn't had any formal training - would you be able to control him if he suddenly became aggressive towards other dogs?

I am not a breeder, never have been, never will be. But I am a dog lover and I would not want a pup from a breeder who had not carried out the relevant tests on their bitch and mated her with an equally high quality, health screened dog. I think at the age of 9 your dog should be allowed to enjoy his life as he heads towards old age without the stress of testing, mating and all the complications that can come with it.

Couldn't have said it better myself. All these tests need to be done. Make sure if you breed it's something you REALLY, REALLY want to do and do yuor research for quite a while before beginning. This may not be the boy you'll want to breed. Once you become educated on breeding you might as well wait until the old dog passes then possibly breed with another. But again, make sure you REALLY, REALLY want to breed because there are SO, SO many dogs out there without homes. There is a major dog population problem. Maybe consider fostering dogs from shelters instead?

[Universal]

Originally Posted by Todd

Couldn't have said it better myself. All these tests need to be done. Make sure if you breed it's something you REALLY, REALLY want to do and do yuor research for quite a while before beginning. This may not be the boy you'll want to breed. Once you become educated on breeding you might as well wait until the old dog passes then possibly breed with another. But again, make sure you REALLY, REALLY want to breed because there are SO, SO many dogs out there without homes. There is a major dog population problem. Maybe consider fostering dogs from shelters instead?

I think I will carry out the tests, but just to make sure my dog is healthy and there's no problems. After reading over cigwyllt's reply, and doing some research on my own, I think I concluded that my poor dog deserves a peaceful old-age.

I'm still interested in breeding however, but I think I will do that sometime years and years in the future, where I can properly train a puppy to be a show dog, and then maybe I'll breed.

I hope everyone doesn't think I'm breeding just for the sake of having a litter of adorable puppies. If I breed it will be to improve the breed and for dog-shows.

But thanks Todd and cigwyllt for your replies

[cigwyllt]

If only everyone had your attitude!!!! I hope I'm not wrong in assuming you are a teenager/student (simply because you said you were going to discuss the whole thing with your dad) Obviously in an ideal world there would be no dog in a shelter and every pup born would be placed in a home for life but that isn't going to happen.

But if breeding is only done by people like yourself who will be breeding the best according to a breed standard and it is done ethically and properly things would be a lot better than they are now.

Take your time and choose your breed and your dog. Try and find someone who can mentor you - who will let you sit in on matings and whelping perhaps - that really is the best way to learn. You are making the best choice for your dog right now and hopefully with the research you are going to do you will make the best decision for any other dog you might own in the future. Well done.

[Universal]

Originally Posted by cigwyllt

If only everyone had your attitude!!!! I hope I'm not wrong in assuming you are a teenager/student (simply because you said you were going to discuss the whole thing with your dad) Obviously in an ideal world there would be no dog in a shelter and every pup born would be placed in a home for life but that isn't going to happen.

But if breeding is only done by people like yourself who will be breeding the best according to a breed standard and it is done ethically and properly things would be a lot better than they are now.

Take your time and choose your breed and your dog. Try and find someone who can mentor you - who will let you sit in on matings and whelping perhaps - that really is the best way to learn. You are making the best choice for your dog right now and hopefully with the research you are going to do you will make the best decision for any other dog you might own in the future. Well done.

Thanks for your advice
I'll now start lurking around breeders homes! (Joke)

Yep, I'm a college student. Though the dogs are mine, they live in my Dad's house still, so it's only right that he has a say in the dogs welfare. Thanks again!