[erin1107w]

I am new to this website and to the whole breeding process. We are looking to breed our dog. She'll be a year next month so it won't be for a little while yet (How old are they when they typically start breeding?). I've been doing reading on the subject, but any advice anyone could give would be greatly appreciated. My biggest concern is finding a dog to breed her with. We live in Montana and I don't know of anyone in my immediate area who even has one of these dogs. Does anyone know of anyone in Montana with a male? If not, how would I go about finding one?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Erin

 

[bubbad]

First, look at your basset ,then look at the AKC Standard for the Basset Hound. Does she have the attributes a well bred basset should have? If she was aquired from a pet store,probably not. Was her breeder into showing their bassets? If so then that is who you should look to for information. I assume the breeder does not show,so your bitch is unlikely breeding quality. But be that as it may some insist on breeding anyway. Are you going to have her tested for hereditary diseases,so she doesn't pass them on to her puppies? If that comes out ok,are you going to keep her updated on all vaccinations so the puppies have good immunity? Every aspect of breeding cost money,be sure you are financially ready for a c-section if she should need one.Once the puppies are born the first two weeks mom takes care of pretty much but be prepared to take as many as 2 or 3 days off work to be with the Dam and puppies 24hrs a day for the first few days after birth, So mom doesn't step or roll on them. Then you must wean the pups onto regular dog food. Your dog food bill will sky rocket,puppies need fed at least three to four times daily till they leave your house. A check-up at the Vets is in order before the pups leave plus their first set of vaccinations as well. You will be cleaning up dirty papers for the next eight weeks,three times a day or more. Hopefully none of the pups get sick or more Vet bills. The stud dog should be tested for several things before being bred. Breeding is not just something you do to have puppies, it is a great responsabilty,the only reason to breed is to improve this breed. If you cannot improve ,please don't breed. Will puppies be placed with spay/castration contracts? Do you offer to take a dog you have bred back into your home if the owners are not able to keep it ,no matter what age it is? I have not said all this to be snotty or mean I'm giving you an idea of what you would be in for ,so think seriously before breeding.

 

[Aruuuu]

Are you showing your bitch to ascertain her breedability? We all think our dogs are lovely, but good, objective opinions, by people who are educated to judge such things, are needed if you are going to breed. And the health issues are tremendous. Bubbad offers some good, sound advice. Please listen to him. Breeding is not a game, nor should it be taken lightly. It isn't something to do so your children can see the birthing process (I wonder why people use their animals for this. If you think it's that important for your children to understand -- have another baby!!!). And it certainly is not something to be done to make some money. In fact, if done properly, you should probably wind up losing a little money. And no self-respecting breeder, breeding to improve the breed, will stud his/her dog to a bitch of indeterminant breeding.

At any rate, your girl is still a pup herself, way too young to breed.....

 

[Nicole510]

Good for you for doing research before you try breeding your dog, Erin, many people don't! Aruuu has said it all. The point of breeding any dog is to better the breed. Your girl should have a good show history in her background, look for champions, as should the stud. Both dogs should pass all genetic health testing and you should also do some research on a proper puppy contract. Also remember, a breeder makes just about no money when it's all said and done, the puppies 'pay for' all the testing of the dam and sire as well as any costs incurred at the vet. Good luck if it's something you decide to pursue!!

 

[falco]

Actually Erin the reasons for breeding are personal. Some of the best dogs available are cross breed which are not shown and do not contribute to any breed. You may or may not make money. Probably not, but that is probably OK. To say that only show dogs are worthy of breeding is flat out wrong. Some of the desired traits that certain breeds are known for have actually been hurt by only breeding for conformation and not performance. Chesapeakes come to mind. There are already plenty of pups and dogs in the world without another litter, but if you want to have a litter and will be responsible with the litter's health and placement, then the rest of the reasons are up to you, nobody else.

Good Luck,
Falco

 

[Aruuuu]

Falco,

Are you a breeder of quality dogs of any kind? While pups are bred for conformation, those who will not make it into the show ring are often used in field trials, doing what I believe bassets were originally bred to do. To say that breeding for conformation is NOT breeding toward the breed's intended use is a completely false statement. In the dog breeding world, the expression 'Form FOLLOWS function' is tantamount to everything. No one should breed their dog/bitch without keeping that in mind.

A 'personal' choice? Maybe. Do you have the time and resources to breed? Can you afford the health testing, the puppy immunizations, any treatment for those emergencies that may arise? Are you willing to take back a ten-year-old dog when their loving owners can no longer keep them? Those are the personal issues that need to be thought out.

Someone breeding 'just because' should not be breeding at all.....

[ February 20, 2005, 09:08 AM: Message edited by: Aruuuu ]

 

[Mikey T]

To say that breeding for conformation is NOT breeding toward the breed's intended use is a completely false statement. In the dog breeding world, the expression 'Form FOLLOWS function' is tantamount to everything. No one should breed their dog/bitch without keeping that in mind.

If that were 100% true there would not be the dispartity seen between field beagle ands show beagle, field labs and show labs, Show springers an field springers etc. many so called breed traits do not effect function While the disparitity is not as great in bassets as some other breeds or as great as it was a number of years ago it still exists. Just because a dog looks like it can does not mean other equally important traits that can be judge by conformation like temerment, drive and instinct arn't lacking and just because a field dog has these in abundance in a few generation it can still do the job but looks like something totally different and ideal breeding program need to strive for both aspects and test and compete in both.

 

[falco]

Originally posted by Aruuuu:
Falco,

Are you a breeder of quality dogs of any kind? While pups are bred for conformation, those who will not make it into the show ring are often used in field trials, doing what I believe bassets were originally bred to do. To say that breeding for conformation is NOT breeding toward the breed's intended use is a completely false statement. In the dog breeding world, the expression 'Form FOLLOWS function' is tantamount to everything. No one should breed their dog/bitch without keeping that in mind.

A 'personal' choice? Maybe. Do you have the time and resources to breed? Can you afford the health testing, the puppy immunizations, any treatment for those emergencies that may arise? Are you willing to take back a ten-year-old dog when their loving owners can no longer keep them? Those are the personal issues that need to be thought out.

Someone breeding 'just because' should not be breeding at all.....

I'm not discounting all your statements. You do bring up some very good points.
However, as you stated, "those who do not make it in the ring, are often used in field trials." This may be true, but that doesn't mean that they are the best suited for this. For some field trials having a "show dog" with great conformation but without having bred the genetics necessary to perform with the best trial dogs would be pointless. A Lab, Chessy, or Golden from proven field trial champions would likely have much better success then a bench dog that was bred for confromation, while ignoring the other traits.
Now lets talk about real life. How about the duck hunter who wants a dog for the 10 times a year he goes out but also needs a pet. Odds are he'll opt for a dog that has some intinct, some conformation, but really wants a great family dog for the other 355 days a year. For a guy like this trainability and disposition is everything. A trial dog would be too much. A bench dog may not be enough or could be too much or maybe just right.
I doubt you and I would agree the term quality dogs. However, when I have chosen to have a litter, I have always bred dogs that had health guarantees, had bloodlines consistent with traits I hoped the pups would have, and have raised healthy pups with veterinarian checks, and placed in what I believed to be good homes. To me thats good enough. If not for you then great. My point is the bench isn't the final say when choosing to have a litter.

Regards,
Falco

[ February 22, 2005, 12:45 AM: Message edited by: falco ]

 

[joanr]

It seems to me the bassets that do well in the show ring and tracking are the ones being bred. By responsible people that is. They have been judged and proven worthy by people in several areas. Just look at some of the titles following the dog's name, these animals are out there doing it all. The owners devote so much time and energy not to mention money to prove the dogs top quality. I could be way off, but that is the impression I get.

Joan

 

[Betsy Iole]

Hi, falco! Since dogs can't be used to hunt rabbits in Utah, I'm curious to know how you evaluate your bassets' hunting or field trialing potential?

 

[falco]

What makes you believe that dogs cannot be used for rabbit hunting in Utah. It is not a traditional way of hunting them here, but there are no laws against it. In fact for Jack Rabbits there are now laws regarding them at all, as they are a non-game species. But for Cottontails, which is what I'm interested in chasing, as long as they are in season where you are hunting you can use a dog.

Falco.

Just as a disclaimer. This is my first basset and I am learning a lot about the breed. I have had more experience with bird dogs and some of my comments are based on this. Perhaps bench and field bassets are closure to having both form and function then other types I am familiar with.

 

[Betsy Iole]

My understanding is that there are laws against using dogs to hunt rabbit, and that's why there aren't field trialers in Utah. I could be mistaken, but a longtime Utahn and basset owner is the source of that info. Maybe we both need to double check.

What other breeds do you breed?

 

[Betsy Iole]

There are several DC bassets in the Pacific Northwest, and if one is truly interested in producing quality specimens, making contact with those field trialers would be a must. In Colorado, the basset club offers hunt tests, and this would be another source of information for someone with a goal of producing working Bassets. In Bassets, it's entirely possible for representatives of the breed to do what the breed was intended to do and to look like nice specimens.

 

[falco]

Actually Betsy I did check. Your post got me thinking maybe I had missed something. I checked the 2005 Upland Game Proclamation. Page 12 states that a dog may be used for locating and retrieving upland game. In the cottontail sections there are no restrictions on dog use. I think they would specifically state it it there was a prohibition. Maybe this is an un-tapped market Anyway thanks for the comments, I hope to take Chloe out in the next week or two. If for nothing else just to let here run and sniff. If we stumble across a rabbit, then thats a bonus.
She is now 12 weeks old. She is starting to pick up on the house training thing. She now goes to the door, and if I'm quick enough she waits to go outside. Sometime her early warning system is still a bit slow. Patience is a NECESSARY virtue.

Falco

 

[Betsy Iole]

Great! Maybe we can look to you to introduce basset field trials or hunt tests to Utah?