Originally Posted by
caithgal
There are also GOOD breeders who breed to get their line back to the correct standard and to AVOID health issues however i guess you just cannot see that. No health issue or behaviour issue can be avoided completely however by breeding correctly you can begin to eliminate issues
That is why I'm breeding from my bitch with a 'slightly' higher hipscore than the breed 'AVERAGE', remember it's just an average, it's not a line that musn't be crossed. The whole point of her breeding is to keep the standard and conformation and the Labrador features. Why throw all that away and breed to a dog that has a score lower than the average and loose some of the features that make it a Lab. I wouldn't have bred from her if her breeder and the stud dog owner (both who have many more years of experience than the rest of us) didn't think she was worth it or it would be detrimental to her line. There are no guarantees and you can have a dog with a low hipscore have problems in later life, my girl has had no problems what so ever and neither did my other girl with a higher score. I've sent off the DNA swabs of my other Labs to the Animal Health Trust as they are taking part in the survey they are doing to try and find the gene to blood test for HD rather than having to x-ray them. It isn't an exact science and just because there is a number it doesn't mean that some dogs should be ruled out from breeding. Experience must come into it and I'm listening to those that have it.
I'll also add that I haven't made a penny from this breeding. You could say I've made some money in that I now have a bitch for myself whom I could possibly breed from later on. My vet bill was over £400, stud fee was £500, petrol to stud dog was £100. I haven't even added up what it has cost to have the washing machine on every day for vet bed and dogs bedding, the extra feeding of the bitch and the puppies, what is the point as I'm not interested in what I've spent or what I'm gaining financially, it's never been about that. Most breeders sell their pups for at the least the price of the stud fee but I'm not, one, because not everyone that can give a dog a fantastic home can afford some of the prices that the pups are selling for (check out www.champdogs.co.uk) and two, it's a market and if all the prices rise, its going to keep rising and I don't want that either. I know I've got really good quality puppies and I would not sell them for less, they are worth every penny.
Last edited by crustyroll; 22-Jul-11 at 11:51.
"I ask forgiveness continuously for I know he knows, somethings just have to be experienced"
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