BREEDING Questions - Page 1

When breedings are done in Germany, do Breed Wardens witness the breeding? Why are AI'S not acceptable by the SV? If a bitch cannot conceive, what happens to her? Spayed? Put down? Sold as a pet? Someone asked me, and I could not answer these questions. Thank you, Dawn

Dawn, normally if they can't be bred naturally, they're sold to unsuspecting buyers in other countries. You'd be amazed at how many females I've seen imported that have strictures and can't be bred without surgery. Not good!

No, breed wardens are not required to witness the breedings. The pups are looked at/checked over by the breed warden 5 times between birth and tattooing at about 8 weeks. DNA is pulled on the pups anyway, and if any of the pups' DNA does not match the parents, the entire litter's registration is cancelled. So, there are not many stupid enough to try to pull the sheep's wool over the Koermeister's eyes. I am not 100% sure why Artificial Insemination is not allowed. Perhaps the SV wants to make sure the male has the ability to breed naturally, and the females, to conceive naturally. If the bitch cannot conceive, it really depends on the dog. Not everyone in Germany who owns a dog "MUST" breed it. There are pets, just as in any other country. If the dog were a breeding female and could not conceive, she would likely be sold or placed in a home, where they could continue to *TRY* to breed her. I hope this helps somewhat.

Dawn 1 - No they don't 2 - Don't know 3 - Depends on the owner, what would you do? Don't worry about people who think every German is a crook.

GOONER, I would spay. Alot of people might not agree with me, but if a bitch cannot breed, than I would think that is Mother Nature's way of saying something is wrong. Dawn

I didn't say every german is a crook, but this is one reason if you're looking for a breeding female, DO YOUR RESEARCH. I have a few people I trust to buy dogs from without getting screwed. You just have to know who you're dealing with. Just like anything else, buyer beware. Research is the best tool.

Dawn The question would be was it the dogs fault rather than the bitches. If it was down to the bitch, why go to the trouble of spaying her. You mention mother nature, maybe she would make it happen on another occasion Best Chris

Gooner (Chris), It takes two parents to make the pedigree, so the fault would be both. Thanks for your input. Dawn

Dawn Can't agree with that. For example a dog may be a proven producer before and after a barren mating with a bitch, or the other way around. Chris

One reason AI is not acceptable is to keep dogs from being bred that cannot naturally be bred. I would not breed a female with a stricture. But... very few females that some overeager vets diagnose with a stricture actually have one. Personally I have never encountered one. If she can tie, she will not have a stricture. Often a male cannot enter and tie properly because the female is not ready, maiden, unexerienced, tense, or has to deal with an inexperienced stud, poor sexual drive in the stud, etc. But we have had several misdiagnoses in the past where it simply was not time yet and an anxious owners had taken a female to the vet who said stricture. Even with proven brood bitches who have already had litters! Rediculous. Few days later problem resolved itself. Reasons for a female not coming up pregnant can be many. Imagine a female being bred 4 times to 4 different males, but never taking. Previous owner did not understand why, she was standing for the stud, always got some good ties, so therefore something must have been wrong with her. New ownership and proper ovulation testing determined that time of breeding for this female was the 27th day, even though she was standing for the male well before then. Bitch has had several litters since. There are other causes why a bitch cannot conceive, often these are hidden and were never noticed before. Bacterial and viral infections, scarring (ie results of an infection or due to small undetected tears after whelping a previous litter), tumors both malignant and benign, hormonal changes, other underlying diseases, etc. Even a proven brood bitch can come up barren suddenly at any time for a whole host of reasons. Just because a female turns up barren at a new owner does not mean the previous owner was aware or purposely wanted to mislead. Often its just nature taken its course. Sometimes bitches loose fertility for a while and then suddenly a breeding takes again at a later time. So giving up on a female too soon may not be the answer either. Why should a perfectly fine female that does not conceive be put down???? Especially a nice titled bitch should make a great companion, for the breeder or someone else. Same as any other retired brood bitch.