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Journal of a First Time Breeder

18K views 178 replies 22 participants last post by  ECIN 
#1 ·
So, you want to breed dobermans, eh?

Inspired by Gretchen_Red's thread series from her perspective as a stud owner, I'd like to present an educational thread on breeding from the perspective of a bitch owner. Much has already been said in many other threads and elsewhere on the internet about whether or not one should breed their dogs. Hopefully this thread will shed a light onto why you don't want to :grin2: and why only the truly committed and passionate should even attempt it. So much more can go wrong than right! Not just in the lead up to the actual mating, or in the resulting offspring but also when it comes to the health of your bitch, and the puppies. Consider also the psychological stress of being in heat, being bred, being pregnant. Consider your bitch's temperament and how she might live with all this.

Before you even start, or venture into it, even with a mentor... be mentally prepared to fail. And in particular if you are trying to think outside of the box and take a different approach than most, understand that in the beginning you are, in effect, "experimenting". Unless your bitch has full sisters that have already bred, and will be breeding on similar nicks to you, then you don't have any idea what she is gonna produce. Be prepared for your first litter to be such a failure you may not be able to retain any of the resulting offspring for breeding. Be prepared that you may even have to start from scratch completely and start over with a new foundation bitch. Be prepared to admit these things to yourself - it is not about your ego, or your bitch - your bitch doesn't gaf that her offspring are champions or topping podiums. This about the good of the doberman breed. And keep in mind that his 'experiment' results in living, sentient beings who, if not destined for a breeding program will be someone's pet or active/sport companion, a probable member of their family, and weigh very carefully what this means.

We ask prospective puppy buyers this question all the time, especially for those wanting work/show/performance prospects (especially important in SD prospects). "What will you do if the dog doesn't work out as x?" I think it's fair to ask yourself as a breeder the same question. What will you do if this litter doesn't work out as x/to further your breeding program? What thoughtful breeding decisions are you doing to ensure these pups will have a safe, loving home their whole lives? And if it is not possible for them to have such a thing either because their temperaments were a spectacular failure or they are so poorly in health that they can't have a quality of life, will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror and say you did everything to stack the odds in their favour? (Because yes sometimes you do everything right and lady luck was moody when she rolled the dice that day, it happens. But you have to be sufficiently honest with yourself and use hindsight if necessary, and be capable of applicable of saying - well I could have done this differently, or should have. Breeding is at once a science and an art form and as with any science or any art, that means constantly questioning and re-evaluating yourself and what you're doing. Can you do that?)

If you are just starting out, the first step before anything else of course, is having your bitch proven objectively, whether that's by titling, getting judge's evaluations, or having the bitch actively working in a relevant venue (for instance if this were a border collie, she could be actively working as a herding dog/every day farm dog).
And then there's health testing. Before anything else, she should be health tested, as this will cut considerable time once you set out to search for a stud. For stud owners you will come across as more professional and serious, rather than risk coming across as a tire kicker. I know most people on this forum already are familiar but for newbies, it bears repeating

At the absolute bare bones minimum I think any stud owner would want to know:
An up to date Echo and Holter
Hips should be certified
Elbows should be certified
A full thyroid panel
vWD status

A few will also want to know the dilution status of your bitch, if their stud carries dilution or is a dilute themselves. Some people don't want to produce any dilution whatsoever.

Also consider:
Eye certfication
Patellar certification (which many vets will throw in for free if you get elbows and hips done at the same time)
DINGS (Doberman vesticular deafness) status
DCM1/PDK4 status
DCM2/TTN status
Liver + Kidney panel
Allergy status
DM Status
MDR1 status

And anything else you can think of. More information is always better, to help decision making. Also, doing your health testing prior to seeking out a prospective mate will save you a lot of heartache, time and money if something comes back too poorly or substandard for breeding. Better than getting your hopes up, getting excited, dreaming of a specific pairing only for something like this to come up and shatter your dreams. There are already many more things that can go wrong before the mating even occurs, as we will see very soon, so better stack the odds in your favour.
 
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#175 ·
10 week stacks for the ladies

Siren






Elsa








Anna




Anna has suddenly become all legs LOL but still lovely. I adore Elsa even if she is a bit overstretched in some of these pictures. Siren's front is looking better and so is her rear angulation!
 
#177 ·
The 10 week pictures of the girls are great--these puppies have remained very consistent in their overall appearance right along and continue to do so,

I still like your little blue girl, Siren a lot. And I had to laugh about Anna and all that leg.

I often see puppies when I'm teaching their new owner how to post ears when the puppies are going through remarkable changes in proportions. One of the consistent ones it that at some point or other (and often several times in the first six months) they grow enough leg to look like a spider and often end up very high in the rear at the same time.

I ignore stuff like this but I once referred to a male puppy I was growing out for a breeder as "Little Fat Boy" and the woman who was there to get her puppy bitch posted asked me why I called him that--I looked at him more carefully and realized he was smack in the middle of a full blown growth period and looked more like a giraffe than a Doberman puppy. I swear only the day before he was a little blobby short legged guy.

I love what you've done with this trip down puppy lane--Five little puppies and how they grew.

dobebug
 
#178 ·
Bug, it's funny because when I was stacking them I thought to myself that Siren has a bit of an old fashioned look overall to her somehow. I was also thinking of you this week when I took her to the states to her forever home as we took her collar off at some point and goodness she has a long, gorgeous swan-like neck.

Speaking of which, I thought you all might like to know, I flew into Boston earlier this week with Siren and Anna in tow. Anna's (now Polly) new owner met me directly at the airport from where she flew back to Raleigh, NC. Siren's new owner my cousin picked me up at the airport and we drove back to Cape Cod for two days together.

Siren and Anna impressed me so much! They slept in the crate on their way to the aiport and once at the airport were perfectly calm. Only time they made a peep was when I gave them bullysticks while waiting and Anna got ahold of both of them, Siren complained. They charmed the pants off the airport staff and flight staff, and then happily went back in the crate. Nana couldn't help but worry a little as I saw them being carried off to get loaded into the hold but I had to trust they'd be ok, and it was only an hour long flight so it shouldn't be too bad.

Upon arrival I was expecting to find scared or worried puppies... jokes on ME! Both girls looked perfectly fine, and seemed to have spent an enjoyable flight. They were relaxed in their crate when I got to them, and both happily and curiously bounced out when the door was opened. At one point while waiting for my cousin, Siren even asked me to reopen the crate door so she could climb back in and chew her bully stick.

Both girls loved their new moms at first sight, and both moms are enamoured and so impressed with them. As a new breeder it was really gratifiying and somewhat of a special experience to be able to spend Siren's first three days with her new family and watch her bond and adapt to a new environment.

On Polly's end the flights home went very well. Her new mom was impressed with her little nose since she found one tiny piece of kibble she must have dropped the day prior outside. Then she took her to see the chickens and fully expected her to be afraid... I received a GLORIOUS action shot of Polly in full chase of two birds. Think they'll have to be confined for a while. Yesterday morning she started her introduction to tracking. I also got asked if we had a roomba or robovaccum and I said no... Polly's new mom told me she had one and she had zero reaction. She was also good for getting her ears posted. And she said it was very obvious I had worked with her on focus and attention as she was already offering eye contact and focused behaviour for food. She should be meeting Leslie Carpenter (Treasure Seeker Dobermans) and the rest of the Raleigh Schutzhund Association very soon!



With Siren - car ride home was also very nice as she sat on my lap. It was her first time riding in a car like this rather than in a crate so I was expecting more wiggliness but she mostly either sat to watch the world go by, slept, or chewed her bullystick. We stopped to get food at a Panera and while my cousin took her out she met a new person and was good. Once I got my food I took her, sat down at one of the outside tables and did focus work with people coming and going and she was really fantastic. As a matter of fact a few days prior I had been working on focus and attention and she offered a bait refusal when I dropped a piece of kibble by accident. She watched it bounce out of my hand and a few inches from her, but returned her attention to me immediately.
Still, while we were waiting she started offering behaviours that you'd want to see in a well-mannered service dog, quietly laying down right behind my chair, partly underneath it so I began reinforcing that. We got her new mom working on the focus and attention as well.




Later that night she was out to potty and coyotes started howling, fireworks went off... mom says she never turned a hair and wasn't even bothered. Her new dad is completely gaga for her as well. It was such a wonderful experience watching them fall in love with her, and watch her fall in love with them, and so gratifying to hear how impressed they were with her temperament and her quick learning (recall, focus, heeling). I think these two are successful placements!

Meanwhile during my short stay away from home I got a message from my girlfriend saying that Elsa decided she did not want to be alone outside and should be joining her in the kitchen. Elsa proceeded to spot a small hole (maybe 3-4 fingers wide by 2-3 fingers) in the screen on the door's window, decided it would be no problem and managed jump up and climb through it, thereby leaving an Elsa shaped hole in the bottom of the screen. Still not sure how she managed to do that and my girlfriend and grandmother both say it happened incredibly fast too all they could do there was look on helplessly as this wild child hopped into the kitchen tail wagging and looking proud of herself.



I am thinking she is going to keep me on my toes!

Back in Quebec, Nøkk's family is in love with him and they tell me he is exactly as I described. He had his first Puppy K class and was good with bicycles, rollerskates, skateboards and the other dogs. Otis is proving to be more challenging to his new dad than his new dad anticipated (although he admits I did warn him!) and is having a gas with his new Husky sibling.



(Didn't get any new/updated pictures of Nøkk!)

And thus concludes my updates for my experience with the Frozen litter. Elsa will get her own thread and I will start up a new thread for the rest of the litter when I get pictures, title updates etc. I'll keep this thread strictly for "breeder" related things: i.e. dealing with issues if they come up, how this first experience will impact my decisions and way of doing things going forward etc.
 
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