[mwfulkerson]

My Father had the opinion that females should go thru two seasons.On her third heat she would be mature enough to be bred.
Males by 8 months old should be put to a female,if they don`t learn to breed young they will have dificulty breeding on their own.
Like most kids I have to try things out my own way.I`ve bred a hound on her first season and seen low birthweight pup`s,lost two pup`s because they were just too weak.(Vet checked all the remaining pup`s and Mother ,healthy no worms,Mom`s milk had come in.He concluded it was just a premature birth,Don`t breed them on their first season.I was thinking every other creature on this planet that comes into heat gets bred in the wild.He explained in medical terms what I had been told from my Dad.Give a female a little time to mature.
Then I raised up a Male pup,showed him to friends they confirmed I should keep him.Didn`t start breeding him until he was about 18 months old.He has been the most dificult Male to breed I`ve seen in a lifetime.Any more litters I get from him will be thru insemination.I`ve been told by friends that I should have listened to my Dad and bred him at an earlier age.
How do you feel on this subject?

 

[Betsy Iole]

I'm largely unqualified to comment, so I'll just make a personal observation. My young bitch, 20 months, has been through 2 seasons and is due to come in again in July-ish. However, she is still maturing, and I would feel uncomfortable breeding her right now, while she herself is still growing.

[ May 15, 2005, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: Betsy Iole ]

 

[Barbara Winters]

I agree with Betsy on waiting until the bitch is mature. At 18 months they're still "teenagers" physically and mentally. Of course it varies with each bitch but I think waiting until 2 years is a good idea.

I'd like to see a male pass genetic screenings for at least bleeding disorders, glaucoma, thyroid, and preferably hip and elbow.Also I think the male should have proven himself in the breed ring or in performance events, including field trials. And some health problems thought to have a genetic component don't appear until the dog is more mature. You might like what you see conformation wise at 6 months but at 12 months the dog could be knuckled over, over standard in size or have other serious faults.

My breeder friends all report that their bassets needed help with mating. I had a male that wasn't used until he was 3 and he had no problem with wanting or knowing what to do but his breeders assisted, with the wife holding the female and the husband supporting Toby.

I recall we had this discussion previously and some even used "breeding racks." Toby's breeders were often called upon by others to help accomplish the breeding.

I'm sure the experienced breeders on this list will have some helpful advice.

 

[Soundtrack]

I haven't done a lot of breeding with my males, and what was done was usually with help or AI or was done by someone else, so I can't really comment there. I have heard the theory that you should breed a male young once and then let him grow up, but I haven't done it.

Then again, Kermit did his first breeding at two years of age and managed just fine all by himself. Broke the bitch out of her crate, too..... left them in the car for 10-15 minutes and came back to find them tied. :roll:

Now, not like I'm a wildlife expert or anything, but I believe that it's only the top female in a wolf pack that's allowed to breed. In that case, I'd expect she'd be fairly mature to have earned this place. Certainly I won't breed one of my girls before they're two. They certainly seem immature, mentally and physically, before that. To me breeding them younger is like young teens having babies, possible but not a good idea.

[ May 15, 2005, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: Soundtrack ]

 

[elize]

my basset is now one year and 5 months old. we are getting a male basset for her any day soon. is it wise to put them 2 together? the owner of the male said that he made babies in the past so there is no problem. it is not that i realy want to breed with them but I am just going to put them together and if she gets pregnant... well thats it then. is it okay to do that? am i going to put nandi in danger?

 

[adnste]

Unless you really want to have puppies, and both the dogs are excellent representatives of the basset breed, don't breed them, or risk pregnancy. Have your bitch spayed. My understanding is that she is too young yet to risk having pups. Don't bring pups into the world without seriously considering all the implications - additional food and care for the mother as well as the cost of caring for a litter for the first three months of their lives, with associated vet costs. I'm sure others will have advice for you too.

 

[Barbara Winters]

Yes, you would be putting your bitch in danger. I know of bitches who have died of infection, uterine torsion and bleeding. Maybe you should think about this a bit before just sticking two dogs together.

I notice you're in high school so do you really have time to be a "breeder"?

[ August 08, 2005, 10:02 AM: Message edited by: Barbara Winters ]

 

[Soundtrack]

Yes, unsupervised matings between awkward dogs like bassets can easily result in injury to one or both, especially when one of them is inexperienced. And your bitch is way too young to be bred.

Also, pregancy, even for humans, is still a very risky business. There is the potential for pyometra (life-threatening uterine infection), stuck puppies (need a c-section, if you're not there the mom and pups will die), inertia (no contractions, again needs a c-section or the pups will die and decompose and make the mother sick), eclampsia (calcium deficiency, can result in seizures, brain damage and death), mastitis (breast infection) and other risks. I've dealt with all of these except the eclampsia, fortunately I was with them 24/7 from before whelping until the pups were 5 weeks old so I was albe to rush them to the vet right away.

And you need to be prepared for the possibility of losing puppies, sometimes the mom sits on them, sometimes they're born defective, sometimes they get sick. It is heartbreaking to lose a pup because the mom sat on it, or to put a puppy to sleep because of a cleft palate or other defect that it can't live with.

If you want to experience the "miracle of life" make sure you're prepared for the "miracle of death".

 

[gunnerman]

Are you all breeding for show dogs or some1s companion? Is it really that hard to raise a liter of bassets? I mean I figured pups are pups I have had liters of bird dogs but never bassets please help me know the difference

 

[Soundtrack]

Show dogs AND companions. But I'm not sure I understand the question. Bassets are definitely a unique breed, but certainly trying to raise a litter of pups to be as healthy and well-adjusted as possible is a lot of work and expense, no matter what the breed I would expect.

 

[gunnerman]

So what do you feel the appropriate age for a female to breed? I have an 8 month old male and I would like to breed. Im gettin a female pup in a week or two. But at what age would be appropriate to breed her? I feel second heat cycle but not sure if bassets are mature enough. When I do breed its just goin to be for friends that have been askin for pups from my male since i got him. But im just tring to find out what age female would be ideal.

 

[Soundtrack]

Minimum two years of age. I have two girls that are about to turn one, they are still obviously immature compared to the adults here, both mentally and physically. This IS a slow maturing breed.

 

[gunnerman]

So is the main concern health of puppies do to the females inmaturity? Or the females ability to take cate of the pups?

 

[Soundtrack]

Also the health of the female herself. It would be like a young girl having a baby - possible but not a good idea. What's the rush? Why not let the dog finish growing up?

 

[gunnerman]

Im not rushing a thing. I was just tring to figure appropriate age is all.

 

[Herzo]

You know what I said when people I knew asked me if I was going to have puppies with my female basset. "I can give you the name of where I got my pup" then when I got her sister from the next litter I said the same thing.

Sorry to sound like a .... well you know what, I just had my cousin ask me if I knew of any one with a female Dachshund they might want to breed. I said oh you want another........ no he say's I just think it is about time these dogs pay for them selves :0 what the ----.

I give up.

Just make sure your dogs are of quality please, pretty please with sugar on top. And your many friends are GOOD dog owners.

 

[TeazelsMum]

FWIW and I just spotted this thread, I believe that a Basset bitch should have 3 seasons before being bred, or be over 2. On the other hand, I don't believe in taking a first litter from a Basset of older than 4 years. And for sure, if you happen to have to have a Section, that's it. If you breed from a young bitch, it's not just about immaturity, but more to do with her giving her all to her litter, maybe at the risk of her own development.

As for males, yes, many breeders do tend to like to use a young dog of around a year, on one of their own suitable bitches, usually a kind experienced one for his first time p) not only to see what he can throw, but to give him the experience. After that you'd concentrate on his show career putting him away until he's at least 18 months, if not older. However, some Bassets can help themselves (we had one who mated his first bitch when he was barely over 8 months - it was planned, but on her next season!) although I'd suggest that most need some assistance. I'd never allow mine to be used at stud outside my kennel (and even then only to 'approved bitches') until they had been proven on one of my own - or at least on a bitch with compatible bloodlines owned by friends!

We only bred for our next generation and in truth, I wish I could have kept ALL the puppies (impractical !) - selling them was the worst part of breeding, for me! And for sure, if possible, I tried to get a Championship on all my Bassets, much as coming back to the UK, that was far harder than it was in Canada.

 

[Mikey T]

I just spotted this thread,

that because it is a revived thread over 5 year old!

 

[Scully]

Well since this ancient thread is already up here, I have a question I've been wondering about regarding breeding age. Is there an approximate age at which a male should be retired from being used for breeding? If, for example, a 10 or 11-year-old male sired a litter, would there be some kind of increased risk of health issues/defects with the puppies, or no?

 

[Soundtrack]

Not as far as I can tell. As long as the male is healthy, there is no reason not to breed him. One of my litters was sired by an 11 year old dog.