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10-09-2005, 08:34 PM | #1 |
Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Portland Oregon
Posts: 4,405
| Breeding and Observations of a New Dam I just read this article, its very informative for all new breeders thought it was worth a post and perhaps worth a sticky by admin Breeding and Observations of a New Dam Published Friday, July 15, 2005 The Bitch The best advise I, Lesley Weeks ever received was from one of my best Mentors and International Judge and Breeder of German Shepherds, Mrs. Doris Wilson. (God bless you Doris, I miss you so)! Her words to me were simple and it took me a long time to completely understand her knowledge that she was passing on to me. “Watch over the bitches with a cautious eye and separate such as are going to be proud.” This admonition was Doris’s way of saying that the bitch with something extra is the one that bears closer scrutiny than her less-endowed sisters. Such a bitch has the best chance of being successful as a producer as well as a show winner!! It has always been something of an inequity that great credit is heaped upon successful sires, but fewer accolades are accorded the bitches that bring forth tomorrow’s winners. Stud Dogs known to be superior producers have the potential to cast their influence over a wide segment of a breed’s population. Bitches, however, are limited by their own biology. While a popular stud dog can sire numerous offspring with little stress on himself, his sister must expend tremendous effort to bring a litter into the world. Also, it often takes a very long time for the worth of a given brood matron to become known. Still the dedicated breeder knows, while the influence of a given stud can be far-reaching, the potential of a gifted brood matron can impact the type produced in her own kennel. With any amount of good fortune, her gifts will echo down the generations of her own family, ultimately benefiting the entire breed. One learns very early on in this “Dog Game”, the real worth of quality bitches, and what they can add to a breeding program. For openers, it is not easy to purchase a bitch with the potential to found a family. The proven brood bitch has been called “a pearl of great price”, and she justly deserves this description. The would-be breeder must begin her efforts long before setting out to find her own “pearl.” One must spend long hours studying the breed standard alone, and with truly qualified mentors. Pedigrees, photos and live dogs at ringside also demand study, and if possible kennel visits to observe examples of the breed. And through it all, there must be an interminable stream of questions --and answers. There will always be exceptions but an aspiring breeder is unlikely to find a top-class brood bitch. Why? With all the blood, sweat, and tears that normally accompany the development of superlative breeding animals, most breeders would be skeptical about selling a bitch with top potential to a person who is untried and unproven. If the established breeder feels the aspirant is well motivated, the latter can probably acquire a quality “foundation matron”. However, she should be prepared to breed from her for several generations before producing the dog of her dreams. Not infrequently, the beginning breeder learns that one foundation bitch is not always enough. The gambling fever begins!! I personally searched to find the very best two to three bitches I could lay my hands on. One is not enough because inevitably, they don’t all do as well producing as they might, and the potential of finding one bitch that is nearly perfect is remote. I went to look in person, no ordering by mail. I went top kennels so I could see, photograph, and learn what each breeder had. I searched three different countries and took my vacations searching for knowledge of the breed’s gene pool so I could figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. I went to all kinds of specialties so I could see as many different dogs as possible. I came up with “Darling Ginny of Silberfell” bred by Clair Snetsinger. And I purchased a bitch from Holland and one from the United States. But as luck would have it the “Girl” from Canada with the German gene’s pulled it all together for me. Only two were good enough to appear more than once in a pedigree. Only one won well at specialties or big supported shows, and all were from strong female families that had produced quality in quantity. All three gained their titles. However, I believe the best success that comes to a breeder is the success that comes by having the strongest possible female side of the pedigree. Darling Ginny produced Two Best in Show Winners, and a great daughter who was unbeatable during her time called “Caix’s Bubbling Champagne”. Bubbles went on to produce her own son that earned the honour of “Best in Show”. Together they produced over 18 Champions, seven CD titled dogs, one CDX titled dog, one UDX titled dog and many perfect little “angles” for their children made excellent pets. Hard work? Undoubtedly. Frustrating? There can be little doubt. Expensive? You will never admit to what you spent! My outstanding success offers eloquent testimony to my lasting rewards in producing not just good dogs, but quality that bred on one generation after the other. “Snowshoes, Gusto of Charisma” was a perfect example of that! And so was “Caix’s Café Royal”, know to the world as Roy Boy. My advice to a new breeder: Try to find a top brood bitch that possess a tightly line bred pedigree based upon genetically clean top producers. Look and demand good type, conformation, and have a stable disposition… Bred into her own line to a top producing male should spell success for you. Consider what is behind this bit of advice, a tightly line bred pedigree means that the genotype of such a bitch will not be all over the map. For the new person, this means a certain predictability in what a bitch will produce--especially when bred to a stud from her own family. In dog breeding, as in most other areas, one learns to walk first and run later. There will be plenty of time to experiment after becoming familiar with the breeding side of the sport. Your foundation matron should also be as free as possible of genetic defects, especially those known with the particular breed. It will avail a breeder little if she starts with a gorgeous bitch from a family known to produce health problems. If you would breed from such a background without regard for the outcome, think of the puppies destined to be family companions. This applies even more in the matter of producing good temperament. As dog exhibitors, we may be willing to put up with a beautiful “flake”, but if that flake has siblings that are also flakes, what has been accomplished by breeding from behaviorally unstable stock? “of Good Type” means she should look like her breed. Touching on this point, there is always the question whether a prospective brood bitch should also be capable of finishing her championship. Most experienced breeders would agree that this is desirable, and would not breed without championship! Most great breeders use the term “TAIL FEMALE”! I believe too in breeding “tail Female” to bring about a great bitch line. Tail female is the term given to the bottom line of the pedigree, so it goes from dam to maternal grand-dam, to maternal to the grand-dam’s dam and then her dam…etc This system does have the potential for resulting in a great producing female line, and is a time honored means of establishing an exemplary line of producers. My advise again: When a top-producing foundation bitch of any breed is the result of tail female breeding, her influence will provide many generations of quality off-spring. My breeding philosophy has been totally focused on the production of the female. We apply constant pressure on the ability of the studs used to produce top females. Their success speaks eloquently for the effectiveness of their focus. The males will always go down first in history, but the bitch will live on!! When you have been breeding for many years, you will know the tremendous importance the brood bitch represents to a breeding program. If you are contemplating breeding, or are new to this most intriguing challenge of the dog sport, remember that you must be patient. Overnight success in breeding is a very rare phenomenon, and in most of those instances, the success does not last. The strength of a breeding program is in the producing ability of the bitches. When knowledgeable judges and informed fanciers can recognize your newest homebred as carrying the stamp of your breeding, you have every right to take pride in your own success. My Standard Schnauzers and their offspring and theirs’ in turn are still recognized for their great presence in the ring, their sense of style, movement and the elegance that is so desirable. Their records speak for themselves and that is why their sperm is held in Pottstown, Penn. “Awaiting the perfect bitch”! Test required before breeding your Dam or Stud: Have a veterinary exam to ensure she is healthy enough to carry a litter. Test your bitch for hereditary health problems. Ask for a DNA. Have a veterinary examine the reproductive system to ensure it is healthy. Test for potentially sexually transmitted diseases. Brucellosis can destroy a dog’s breeding future; this disease is not just transmitted thru sexual contact, but also through ingestions of bacteria. Also test for transmissible venereal tumors (warts)! These tumors are most common in tropical populations of free-roaming dogs, but they can occur anywhere. ...More
__________________ Kimberly |
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10-09-2005, 08:36 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Portland Oregon
Posts: 4,405
| here is the next page Breeding Breeding and Observations of a New Dam Published Friday, July 15, 2005 They are spread by sexual contact or by licking affected genitals. They appear as masses around the vulva and vagina and on the inside jacket of the penis. Less commonly on the mucus membranes of the nose or eyes. Your work as a breeder isn’t done when the litter is born! Your work as an animal caregiver has just started! Now is the time your new dam needs your care the most, you must ensure she gets adequate nutrition and that she endures the stress of whelping and nursing her litter. Nursing dams need to eat a lot of high quality food and drink adequate amounts of fresh water in order to make milk for their pups. As the pups grow and demand more milk, she will need to eat and drink even more, usually two to three times her normal intake. She should eat as often as she wishes or be fed three to four times a day. Even then she will probably lose weight. Entice her with whatever it takes so that this does not happen, she should not ever drop below her ideal pre whelping weight. Be vigilant for signs of infections. The new dam’s temperature should be taken daily for the first week or two. A temperature over 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit means a call to your veterinarian. High temperatures can also be a sign of eclampsia. Eclampsia. Also known as puerperal tetany, eclampsia is a life-threatening disorder of calcium metabolism seen mostly in small breed dams that have whelped from one to four weeks earlier. Not every affected dam is small but the smaller the breed the better a chance of suffering from this problem. Nursing the pups depletes the dam’s calcium levels. Because calcium is vital for neural function, this depletion brings on sudden nervousness, shaking, panting, elevated temperature, whining, staggering, stiffness, and tremors. Left untreated, it can progress to collapse, seizures, and death. Eclampsia is a true emergency requiring veterinary attention. Treatment is with intravenous calcium and gradual cooling. Puppies should be removed from her and hand- raised. Eclampsia is best prevented by feeding a balanced diet with a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of 1-to-1 to 1.2-to1. It is believed that calcium supplementation during pregnancy predisposes dams to eclampsia because the excessive calcium levels signal the bitch’s parathyroid glands, which regulate the body’s calcium levels to become inactive. Later, when the dam is nursing and needs more calcium, the parathyroid glands don’t respond as they should, allowing the drop in calcium. Although supplementing with calcium during pregnancy is inadvisable, supplementing during lactation may be beneficial. Metritis. It is normal for the new dam to produce lochia, a greenish black or sometimes brown thick discharge, from her vulva for up to three weeks. However, the discharge should never be bright red, pus-like or odorous. That, along with a raised temperature and general signs of feeling poor, could signal metritis, an inflammation of the uterus. Because placentas or dead puppies can cause metritis, it a good idea to have a veterinary exam following whelping to ensure no puppies or placentas have been retained. Some breeders routinely give an oxytocin injection after the last puppy is born to “Clean out” the dam. However, because the suckling by the newborns naturally stimulates oxytocin secretion by the pituitary gland, the only time such injections are needed is when the dam can’t suckle her offspring. Metritus can also be the result of bacteria introduced into the uterus when the cervix is open during whelping. Left untreated the dam can become severely dehydrated or toxic and may go into shock and possible die. Sub involution of Placental Sites. Normally, the uterine placental sites shrink and stop bleeding soon after whelping, returning completely to normal by two to three months postpartum. Sometimes one or more sites continue to bleed. This usually goes unnoticed until the dam quits producing lochia, at which time a red bloody discharge is noticed. In most cases, it doesn’t affect the dam’s heath or future breeding and the bleeding gradually dissipates by the nest estrus. In rare cases, the blood loss is life threatening and may require transfusion. Mastitis. Mastitis, which is infection of one or more mammary glands, can also cause elevated temperatures and systemic illness. The dam may not allow her pups to nurse because it is too painful. Most acute cases occur within the first two weeks postpartum, although chronic cases can last much longer. Normally milk expressed from the glands at whelping is yellowish to white, turning white soon afterward. Mild from infected glands may look normal, or may be greenish-yellow or reddish-brown. When expressing the glands for inspection, you must use strict hygiene so that you don’t introduce bacteria into them. Infected glands are often hot to the touch and tender. Left untreated, affected glands can become abscessed or gangrenous. Depending on the age of the pups and the condition of the dam, it may be advisable to hand-rear them. Although their suckling does help drainage of the gland, antibiotics to treat her must be selected carefully so they do not harm the pups. It is also possible that the infectious agent could be passed on to the puppies. In chronic mastitis, the dam appears to feel fine, but the pups may not thrive. Examination of milk reveals high levels of white blood cells and bacteria. In these cases, the pups should be removed and hand-reared while the dam is being treated. Galactostasis. Mastitis should not be confused with galactostasis, which is the engorgement of mammary glands because the pups have not sufficiently emptied them. This occurs in small litters or during weaning, especially if the pups are weaned abruptly. This is one reason that pups should be weaned gradually. The affected glands may be hot and tender. Manually expressing the glands may provide temporary relief, but al stimulates further mild production. Cool compresses are another palliative measure. Reducing the dam’s food intake may decrease mild production. If no pups are nursing, medical treatments such as corticosteroids, diuretics and analgesics may be effective in reducing the inflammation, fullness and the pain. Your first obligation is to attend to the welfare of the dam. Know the danger signs, and do not put off acting upon them. Remember, you got her into this and you are fully responsible for her welfare. http://www.pamperedpaws.com/index.ph...egory=Breeding
__________________ Kimberly |
10-10-2005, 03:14 AM | #3 |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Florida
Posts: 8,577
| article Excellent... |
10-10-2005, 05:31 AM | #4 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 603
| Great article It show exactly how important it is to get a healthy beautiful bitch before you begin. I alway did wonder why, if litters weren't quite up to standards, they were always the fault of the stud? The bitch is just as important in producing a beautiful healthy litter. If I had to stud out my male I would always be careful on to whom (bitch) his sperm was being passed to. How do they do this when they ship sperm and AI? Again, this was a great article...
__________________ Theresa & The Boys +1 The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue |
10-10-2005, 06:19 AM | #5 |
YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Canada
Posts: 2,180
| Excellent article . Thank you for sharing . |
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