It seems that very few breeders finish their females and get clearances and just breed. - Page 1

I have posted in many places and asked the same question but get no answers. Why are there so many breeders that just breed and don't get any clearances. I have gone thru all the right chanels and done all that should be required of a GOOD BREEDER should and so many that don't. I feel it is the right thing to do as a breeder to create the best pup possible. Why don't many others due this?

That's probably very true. As a whole a lot of people get an American bulldog and think she is a cash cow. There is not a strong culture of working, showing, titleing and testing in the breed. And i think the worse offenders are the "Johnson/Bully" owners. Followed by the newbies and lastly by the working standard breeders. There are many people i have met in the south that do train, title, work, hunt, test health, and much more. But they are in the minority. I read the Johnson Boards and it's litter after littler of puppy announcements and we'd be lucky to see the dog with so much as a CGC and maybe a OFA?
The Performance boards rarely post any litters but those dog that do get bred are titled and tested.
I currently have a female that is OFA Good, Eye Cretified clear, CGC, ATTs, BH, LAT, Pointed in both UKC and International kennel club, Has legs in both Obedience and Agility, Trains in IPO. And my plan after all this work is to spay her. Because i don't think she is really breeding material.
The only wat to better the breed is to work to educate those you meet, to do more, work harder and get the best dog possiable. And to admit that sometimes that $1500 dog is not breed worthy just because you dropped a load of cash to get it.
Best of luck
Fry

Fry, why do you say, "Because i don't think she is really breeding material"

I do not know much about your breed, I am a breeder of GSD's and Labrador Retrievers.
I do all the health testing possible on my dogs, but sometimes one thing doesn't pass the
health check, but the dog has some great qualities in another department to pass on, so I breed that dog to another
that does not have the same faults.

I am curious, your girl seems to have great temperament and work ability, and looks pretty darn cute to me....
are you saying she doesn't meet the standard of an American Bulldog?

I am confused, after all you say she is "Pointed in both UKC and International kennel club"

The goal of a breeder is to breed a dog that will produce better than itself.

 

Hey Mirasmom, i'll lay a couple of point as to why i don't intend to breed my dog.
First, She is small for the breed, and her head is lacking in some of the finer points that are desireable. Her pedigree is good, but considering the dog she comes from she kinda fell short of the mark.
Her Termerament is good, but sometimes she is a little too sharp. While that seems to be mellowing out as she gets older. It does increase my level of managment with her out in public. ( Actually we just did out second State Fair as a Demo dog and General Public petting dog. And she did super)
I'm showing her in conformation mostly for fun (Or to toss my money away) Conformation wise she is good but not great.
I got her as a performance dog and there she is excelling, and showing me great stuff.
But i never planned to bred her from the start. I've had a bad litter experience in the past, no one is clammering for Payne puppies and i'm a real stickler as to who my puppies go to.
Also if i was to seriously consider breeding i should have her tested for NCL and Itchiosis because some dogs in the background have been carriers of these dieases.
At this point my plan is to get a male puppy in the next year or two and go with just 2 dogs. Let someone else do the dirty work and let me have the fun of raising a new 8 week old pup.
If you have more question please ask.
Fry
 

Thank you. Fry!
If everybody out there would be as picky as you are, the quality of the single breeds would be much better!

You are right to worry where your pups would go.
I try to make it easier for me to place my pups by not shipping them and meeting 
their new owners, but even that can go wrong....

Sorry to hear you have had a bad litter experience, I've had some bad stuff happen and could
only think that if that had been my very first litter I would have thrown in the towel, breeding
is not for everyone, and definately not to have your children experience the miricle of birth.

That's great she is a Demo-Dog!

Enjoy your next pup, at least you know enough about your breed to do the proper research,

         Paula

 

Thanks guys. The bitch i bred for my last litter (Ivy) produced some very pretty and well mannered puppies, but she herself clearly didn't approve of the whole making puppies and careing for them thing. She rejected them as soon as all were in the whelping box. Hid on my bed with a sueaky toy. Finally she submitted to her hormones and got in the box with her pups, but she really didn't like them all over her, sucking on her. She didn't like cleaning them. Finally when they were 2 weeks old she killed the biggest male in a fit of anger. After that the only time she got near them was when i muzzled her to nurse them. Then as soon as i could see her starting to freak out i took the pups away and kenneled her again. i had them weaned at 4 weeks. By 7 weeks she quit hating them, and wanted tp play. But i stil never really truested her with them unsupervised.
That litter would not have done as well as it did if i didn't have my parents, sister and a family friend all staying at the house for the holidays because they all took turns helping with the puppies.
Once the pups were finally placed (Some took as long as 6 months because they had owners who backed out) I had Ivy spayed. And i had to take back 2 of my pups. One the owner claimed was dysplastic. She was not she had a dislocated hip, but ended up OFA good. Spayed her too. The other one i got back was becausee the owners got divorced and she turned out really nice. Placed her with a friend who was a breeder and that pup produced at least 3 champions and several hog hunting dogs.
And honestly o work too much, and don't have the money to breed another littler. That first litter after everything was said and done i only "Sold" one puppy and ended up $800 in the hole to my vey for puppy cost.
Fry

OMG...that is something I also will worry about when it's the dams first litter, so far I've had some good wanna be moms!
My Tessie girl though, would always want to stop letting the pups nurse at about 4 weeks, that is till her last litter, then
it was like she knew it was her last and was an exceptional mom.


I have taken dogs back over the years, my Theo I had taken back when he was 7 months old, the people were 
getting divorced, and when I got him back I could see that he was an abused dog, afraid of everything, now
Theo is turning 9 years old in September, and I have kept 3 great offspring from Theo, everyone that meets him
wants to take him home with them, there is nothing Theo can't do, I started late into Schutzhund, so for Theo's
bucket list he got his AD and BH, he's retired and I can now train his son.

 I had another dog that was returned to me at about 2 1/2 years old, the lady never owned a GSD and wanted to
just put him down, she was an animal control officer, so she probably could have done it herself, so I made it a 
point to get him back fast.
  After I got him I needed to retrain his brain, and after re-homing him 4 times with "Dog professionals" he
kept getting returned back to me, so I had gotten his CGC and Therapy Dog thinking he
was just going to stay with my for the rest of his life, until the fifth home, that was the perfect fit, ex-Marine K9 trainer/firefighter,
he told me it was as though the dog had always lived with him.

Just rehomed a five year old that went to live with twin 9 year old boys, one has downs syndrome, she sticks close
to him and watches over him, she was brought back because of a divorce, in her previous home she lived with kids and
rode around in a mini van, so it was funny that the new family had a mini van.

Our last litter of Labrador Retrievers paid for themselves, the mom needed two life saving operations and it cost
over 5 thousand dollars, but she recovered very well and went to live with my obedience trainer and will be going
to the Lab specialty this spring, the trainer had met her before she was to have her last litter..(second litter) and I 
told him he could have her if he wanted, it was love at first site for both her and my trainer.  I think of it as her going
away to college, I will get to see her again at training 

If you put your heart and soul into raising pups/dogs, you don't walk away with pockets full of cash..

Thanks for sharing your story Fry, I didn't mean to hijack your post, but I understand were you are coming from,
   Paula




 

While i agree with the OP on their post it isn't just American Bulldogs who have this problem. Lets think about this for just a moment. How many female shepherds, rotties, and any other breed you wish to think of actually go all the way and get top titles and billing? I saw someone anounce that their female got a CGC and a BH and was being retired to breeding?!!!!! WTF
You barely got her started?! I know there are a few dedicate folks that will show their female dogs to the top percent of their breed. But they are so few and far between comapired to the males. Yet we rely on the females to creat the next generation. So why undercut the girls?
I know heats are a major pain to deal with, and a litter of puppies will set your female back 4-6 months just to a her back in working shape. And puppy buyers almost always want males.
But the girls need to be worked to see what we are really creating.
Fry
 

While i agree with the OP on their post it isn't just American Bulldogs who have this problem. Lets think about this for just a moment. How many female shepherds, rotties, and any other breed you wish to think of actually go all the way and get top titles and billing? I saw someone anounce that their female got a CGC and a BH and was being retired to breeding?!!!!! WTF
You barely got her started?! I know there are a few dedicate folks that will show their female dogs to the top percent of their breed. But they are so few and far between comapired to the males. Yet we rely on the females to creat the next generation. So why undercut the girls?
I know heats are a major pain to deal with, and a litter of puppies will set your female back 4-6 months just to a her back in working shape. And puppy buyers almost always want males.
But the girls need to be worked to see what we are really creating.
Fry