In Kennel Training while Pregnant & Whelping Supplies - Page 1

Hi everyone! This is my first post so bear with me while I am learning. =) I have some quick questions.

1st: One of my close friends' are having mini poodle puppies within the next two months. She was just bred last week and my friend is having the female sent away for in kennel dog training for about two to four weeks. I am not sure which trainer she is going to use just yet. My question is this: Will the stress harm the puppies? I know that is a silly question but my friend does not really care about this concern of mine. I am more worried about the mom than anything. She is a sweet silly little dog that needs training ASAP. I did not understand why my friend would not train her first and then breed her, but it happened. As anyone done the in kennel training before? Does it really work? If anyone could explain their experience to me that would be lovely.

2nd: I have a German Shepherd, like many people on this site  do, and I plan on breeding her if her hips/ elbows come back good or excellent. This question deals with whelping supplies. Sadie, my shepherd, will be two in April, and this would be her first litter and also my first. Do first time mom's whelp easily? I know of some supplies I need before and after whelping. Here is a small list off the top of my mind: hips/elbows tested, AKC papers, Up to Date on Shots, Heartworm neg, brucellosis neg, kitty pool (whelping box. I heard that these work.), a good size play pen, tons of newspapers along with trash bags & floor cleaner, blankets, emergency numbers, dog license, puppy bottles and formula...
That's all I can think of right now. For the very experience breeders out there, what whelping supplies do you use the most of during labor? What do I need during labor? I know a camera and video camera to get it all on tape, but there are so many different web sites with different answers. I could not find a web site with whelping supplies for just the German Shepherd.

If anyone has any help with my two questions that would be very much appreciated!
Thanks so much to everyone reading this and anyone that answers!
Nikki

My first question to you would be have you been around this site for any length of time? If so, you are going to find it a bit uncomfortable with asking about breeding because people are going to question why you would breed your female simply because her hips are "good or excellent". What about elbow x-rays? Other health issues? What other attributes does she bring to the breed? What do you know about breeding and bloodlines? What are her bloodlines and what do you know about them? How would you choose a mate?

What have you done with the dog? Does she, for example, have any conformation rating suggesting that she is minimally correct in structure? Does she participate in any kind of formal activities such as obedience, agility or Schutzhund? Has anyone other than yourself or friends ever evaluated the dog for sound temperament?

These are just a few of the concerns that you will raise here. As for your friend with the poodles, you have to be kidding. This suggests someone breeding too for all the wrong reasons, and someone who does not have sense enough to even think the matter over carefully. There are probably lots of people breeding poodles on some other board and maybe you can get the answers you want there.

Thanks Hodie!
To answer your questions. I haven't been around on this site for long. I was told about it and look at dogs all the time on here but sign up a few months back and lost my username/password. Today, I happened to come by the site and remember where I thought I put all that info. Silly me. Thanks for the heads up about being uncomfortable. I plan on bring blocky heads, muscluar bodies, great hips/elbows/hearts/thyroid/etc. She has no other health issues and vet has told me that she is the best German Shepherd he has seen in years. Sadie has a great personality, great colors for a sable, and from what I have read and been told Sadie is fits the breed standard. She has tons of SchH's titles in her background along with her sisters/brothers getting theirs. With Sadie, we wil be getting her CGC soon and then her BH. I plan on doing all the obedience levels for titles, then going into SchH and agility.

I have no idea why my friend is breeding poodles. She has told me that she hates her female but does not want to sell her due to it being her daughter's who is in high school but lives with her father. I have been trying to learn more about poodles to help but my true passion is Shepherds. I promise everyone this though, I will not breed Sadie without her OFA hips and elbows being good or excellent along with the father's also being OFA good or excellent.
Thanks again-Nikki

Personally I would not send a pregnant bitch off to be trained. 

 Nikki,

I would not trust most vets to evaluate a German Shepherd for anything. That being said, if she has such good attributes, why not do first things first. Get busy on that CGC and BH. If you look into it, you will find it is very difficult, not impossible, but difficult, to find enough time to prepare the dog for a BH, let alone a Schutzhund title. By the way, a BH is not a title. Nor is a CGC. YOU need to understand the breed standard, not rely on people who want to please you to tell you the dog fits. Have you shown the dog? Have you taken her out for some Schutzhund eval at a club? Or even an AKC obedience club? What you will find if you choose SchH is that it will take you probably 2 years to title her, and she cannot have completed the breed worthiness test called a breed survey until she has a SchH 1 title or a HGH. She must also have a show rating of G or better, all teeth, minimally good hips and elbows, and have completed a 12 mile endurance test called an Ausdauerprüfung. If you choose to do AKC events, there would be other hoops to jump through. All this should be done before you put the cart before the horse.

I don't know your dog, but just because it has siblings or other dogs in her pedigree who did get SchH titles, does not mean she can. So the first recommendation I would have for you is to decide what it is you want to do with the dog, and then really get started. If she is almost 2, she is already well past the time one should have started on these requirements.

As for your friend, I bet she wants to breed the dog because she thinks it will be great to make some money off a dog she neither gives a damn about or likes. It sounds like you are young. I hope you will reflect on this and make the right decision. There are plenty of GSDs in the world already. Unless OTHER people, who have knowledge and experience have evaluated your dog in every manner, it may not be a wise choice to add to that population. And one final thing.....how will you find homes for the pups? If you are discerning, you will find it difficult to find good homes. Then the pups end up in an organization like mine because no one wanted them after they grew a bit and required some work.

Just a few things to consider...............

Rezkat5-
I wouldn't think it would be good for the mom dog but I am not really sure. That's why I asked.  I just wasn't sure. To me it sounds kind of funny but I am not the owner so I really don't have a say so. I am just very worried about Amy, the poodle. She is one of the sweetest things I have ever meet before.

Hodie-
I know that the CGC and BH are not titles. They are something that I know I want and Sadie can most def. get. I am young and have been learning about titles, bloodlines, pedigrees, papers, tests, etc for the past seven or eight (something like that) years. I know what I know is right and I do really appreciate your inputs. Believe me I want whats best for the breed. The German Shepherd is my passion just like becoming a vet. Two things I have wanted to do since I was in young 3's. Sadie is very smart and quick to catch on. I know she can do it. I can't really explain on the computer her or what I plan on doing with her and getting titles. It was very hard for me to post that first post of mine. I was more scared about what people were going to say about the poodle then about my shepherd.

Please don't worry Hodie. I know what I am doing. I just wanted advice on what to have around during whelping for the poodles and my shepherd. I don't know when I am going to breed Sadie. Maybe this fall or next year. I am not sure. My plan is to get some titles but first her CGC and BH, OFA done and so much more. I really appreciated your deciation to the breed, Hodie. I wish you luck in anything you plan on doing.

Thanks

Sorry about that font being so small.

 Nikki,

If you REALLY care about the breed, you will continue to learn as you say you have been doing. But most importantly, if you REALLY care about the breed, if you have a real passion as you say you do, you will NOT put the cart before the horse. There are people on this site who are legions older than you, who have some fine dogs of both working and show lines, and who rarely breed. If they do breed, they do so with a specific purpose other than to make money and other than to simply produce puppies. Anyone can put a male and female dog together to make pups. So again I say, learn. If you do, you will find that it is not a particularly great idea to even be thinking about breeding now when you have so much to do.

Do you belong to a Schutzhund club or have you ever visited one?

Thanks so much for the important information. Do you know how to delete your account on this site? I guess I have two different accounts by accident. oops.
 

I will never quiet learning about my passions believe me. I am going sometime this week to a club and a breeder's house to learn about her dogs and practices.

May I ask, how old is your female?

Why the hurry to breed her?

And as hodie said, continue to do your research.  Just because you can breed her, doesn't mean that you have to.  

I work for a vet, and have to agree with Hodie, they don't know what the heck they are looking at when it comes to GSD's!  Just because the dog isn't skitzo and not trying to bite them, they probably think it's an awesome dog.  Just from personal experience here!  Sorry, but we see  a few not so nice GSD's, but also a few nice ones too.  Are any of them breeding material? I'd have to say no.