Another really difficult thing to do that only applies if you are a dog breeder is balancing when you are able/ready to breed a litter with when you really "need" to do it. Now you should never do it if you don't have the space or finances to keep them all if it came to that, even though that is rarely the case in today's economy you really don't know. Sometimes you have the space and $$ but it is so much work and so emotionally draining that you aren't up to it and sometimes you have to make yourself be up to it. Why? There's a dog or a bitch you "need" to use for whatever reason that is of an age that to wait makes it marginal either that they will be fertile or that it will be safe to try ( mostly with a bitch). A friend of mine was in that position this year with bitches all getting older so she bred them and luck smiled on her with one litter being quite small, the other one completely spoken for and two of a moderate size with a lot of interested folks. This year is sort of the same thing for me, I had a 5 year old bitch I bred absolutely lovely puppies all spoken for quickly now if their mother only grows some hair back she can go out and look for her finishing major. That was the easy one. There's also an 8 year old very healthy beautiful girl from one of my earlier litters everyone loves her curvy, broad muscular and pretty from a litter strong for prey drive and good bites and dentition. Two of her sisters have had a litter. One of them bred to a nice dog but not the dog for her (my opinion and I get to have one as the unwitting cobreeder) as he shared her same faults and strengths so to my taste the litter was like the parents and just sort of plain but sound. The other sister was bred to a dog very different from her but related and produced a spectacularly good litter both in the ring and field ( field as in open field). I didn't keep anything from that first litter and the one I had from the second litter was lost sadly at a young age (3) which makes me a little more "hungry" to breed their sister. Another breeder tried to buy her years ago ( but she had actually just been sold to a novice who later returned her for being the "wrong color" as though that was something that had changed? ) and yet another leased her to try for a litter when she was a two or three year old but she is BIG and they were unable to get a live cover, the AI didn't take and I don't think they ever had a litter sired by the dog they wished to use with her. As usual I digress. Anyway, her owner and I may just bite the bullet this year and try one last time. This is one of those breedings that as a breeder you truly do for yourself because nothing else would make it worth the worry. I am pretty nervous about that though due to her age and I may just schedule a C section for her, I don't know.
Of course she isn't the only girl whose born on date is getting older and older. Another
dear friend of mine has a bitch I bred who is over 6 years old pictured to the left here. My friend has only bred 2 litters in 30 years of being in the breed although she has cobred 3 other litters whelped here and enjoyed puppies from those litters. She does a lot of local mixed breed rescue and has been dedicated to that forever so it is rare that she has the time and energy ( she also is a teacher ) to even consider a litter but she has also had bad experiences with some litters in the past she tried to breed with older bitches so she decided this year she was going to breed her girl if she passed her health testing ( which she did). She sent her over here and I AI'd her with a younger male (2 year old) who just passed his health testing and conformationally is a great match for her. Time will tell if she is pregnant or not. She went back home the weekend after her AI's and I imagine I'll exercise my option to take a puppy from the litter and to cobreed it since both parents are of my breeding and I had input on it. Fortuneately there are several folks/friends and breeders who already want a puppy from that litter so I hope to be able to help her place them. Her pedigree has two of the most dynamic performance males in the breed close up and the sire while unrelated has two more truly talented males very close up. I think he himself has the potential to be a powerful sire for those wanting to breed performance dogs that they can show.
Hope is really all we have when it is all said and done now isn't it? After the hard work and thought that goes into anything that is.
dear friend of mine has a bitch I bred who is over 6 years old pictured to the left here. My friend has only bred 2 litters in 30 years of being in the breed although she has cobred 3 other litters whelped here and enjoyed puppies from those litters. She does a lot of local mixed breed rescue and has been dedicated to that forever so it is rare that she has the time and energy ( she also is a teacher ) to even consider a litter but she has also had bad experiences with some litters in the past she tried to breed with older bitches so she decided this year she was going to breed her girl if she passed her health testing ( which she did). She sent her over here and I AI'd her with a younger male (2 year old) who just passed his health testing and conformationally is a great match for her. Time will tell if she is pregnant or not. She went back home the weekend after her AI's and I imagine I'll exercise my option to take a puppy from the litter and to cobreed it since both parents are of my breeding and I had input on it. Fortuneately there are several folks/friends and breeders who already want a puppy from that litter so I hope to be able to help her place them. Her pedigree has two of the most dynamic performance males in the breed close up and the sire while unrelated has two more truly talented males very close up. I think he himself has the potential to be a powerful sire for those wanting to breed performance dogs that they can show.
The little Z's are just a bit over 7 weeks old and they are just way too cute, so why not just share the overload of cute?
Zia (short for Zia Eclipse ) would not want anyone to think his sister is cuter than he is. If he only spoke really good English he would be really excited to think he is going to live in New Mexico, the land of high desert, endless vistas, terrific food and festivals and most interesting of all Mr. Jackrabbit!
