Should this female have been mated - Page 2

In response to Hindmutter's point regarding the number of litters this female has had I think that it is nine.   If I am right then this latest mating will be her tenth!  I think that she has already made her contribution to the breed and the owner's bank balance.

Mackenzie

I have to admit, that still doesn't bother me terribly.  I feel like it should but....well, stud dogs are SO incredibly prolific, but we lose dam lines more easily because their breedings are generally limited.  Once they're dead, they're dead.  No more can come from them.  Stud dogs?  Collect 'em and breed 'em until the vials are gone.  Hundreds of progeny from males as opposed to only a couple dozen from a bitch (if we're lucky) 

Now, I don't know who the bitch is or what is behind her, but I know there are bitches I've seen in my lifetime that I WISH had had more than two litters.

Well Xeph, this female has had more than a couple of dozen progeny to her credit.  I think it is more like six dozen plus.   As it happens this female is a very good female with a very good production level behind her, with of course a little help from the males.  The question is, regardless of how good the level of production has been, is that a good enough reason to breed her to death?


Mackenzie 

There is quite a lot of middle ground between the average two litters
and in cases like this one, nine or ten.  While I completely understand
Xeph's point about getting more progeny from decent bitches,  five or six
litters and up to about  sixty puppies would surely be more appropriate,  
all other things like quality and health being equal;  I am personally  there-
fore inclined to agree with Mackenzie.

I still worry about generalised 'over production' of the breed ...

five or six litters and up to about  sixty puppies would surely be more appropriate

I do not disagree :).  I'm not even really playing devil's advocate here, just kinda thinking out loud.

I won't sit here and judge a dog I have no idea who we're talking about and a breeder I don't know whose motives I have no knowledge of.  Some bitches are really great mothers.  Healthy bitches that bounce back, rear awesome litters with no complications and are fabulous brood bitches.  My dog's mother was born when her mother was over ten years old and I can't say I'm sorry because his granddam was a great dog and having a litter later in life brings in some older blood closer up in his pedigree than only breeding dogs 2-4 years of age and having a gazillion generations between my dog and some really nice blood.  How many times a female should breed, when, to whom, at what age, and for what reasons I'll leave that up to the owner/breeder doing the breeding and if I don't like it then I'm free to purchase my own brood bitch and breed how I see fit.

VKGSDs, it is the principle that is being judged and not the owner or breeder.   Also, what you see in your own dogs may not be seen or wanted by others and, therefore, others may not agree with you.   The other question is "does a litter from an old female make positive contributions towards the betterment of the breed as a whole, or, is it just for the satisfaction or profit of the breeder?

Mackenzie

I know the principle is being judged and that's what I disagree with, trying to set an arbitrary age or number of litters or heat cycles between litters and judge everyone by it.  Not really my thing.

VKGSDs - this post is about seeking opinions and not judging indivduals which is why I have excluded the names.   If anyone with any real knowledge reads the Nachrichten for January they could work out who is involved.   This female has also been used by more than one breeder in recent times.

If we cannot sensibly discuss principles of breeding for the betterment of our breed because it is not "our thing" then why are we breeding at all?

Mackenzie

If you wonder why it was done and know who it was then why not just ask the breeder?  It's fine to discuss it hence why I replied saying that I won't blanket-judge people based on arbitrary numbers.  Everyone else is free to disagree.  If someone had a problem with a breeding I was involved in I'd hope they would come to me and ask me rather than make posts about it.