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breeding chihuahuas
Question:
DOES ANYONE HAVE, OR KNOW WHERE I CAN GET INFO ON BREEDING MY CHIHUAHUA? ANYINFO WOULD BE APPRECIATED
Sure, there is quite a bit of great information out there. Most people who breed don’t do a good job simply because they don’t take the time to learn how. Now obviously you are trying to learn how. That’s more than *I* did 20 years ago when I made mistakes I will forever regret. So I’m very much encouraged that you seriuosly want to do things right. But before we start down that road let me ask you to consider why it is you want to breed. What I’m getting at is whether this is a kind of casual "gee, I’d sure like to breed my dog" idea, or "I really like this breed and I want to breed better (healthier) dogs and improve (something, like temperament)." The thing is that if you want to do a good job its going to take a lot of time and effort on your part. Most people aren’t prepared for that. Yet when you do invest the time and effort the results are something you can truly be proud of. Good breeding takes a lot of guts because it can cost you the life of the dog you love. The emotional and financial investment is significant. Many of us decide to leave the breeding to people with more resources. Breeding is definetly in that category of "if its worth doing, its worth doing well." Are you nodding your head up and down thinking "She’s babbling"? Well I am sort of. Just trying to prepare you a bit for what it takes to be a good breeder. First step is to give yourself a basic education in canine genetics. You can’t make a good decision in selecting a breeding pair unless you have a basic understanding of genetics. Take advantage of my experience and the experience of others. We made BAD mistakes just by not knowing. It isn’t lack of caring, but lack of knowledge that results in dead and crippled dogs. You can avoid that. Try "Control of Canine Genetic Disease" by G. Padgett. and "Genetics for Dog Breeders" by Malcolm Willis Although this website is about human genetics and testing I find it provides good information on the basics. http://www.acad.swarthmore.edu/bio5/tong/Gene%20Basics/gene_basicmain… The next step is to learn the difference in your chosen breed between a well put together dog and a poorly put together dog. While I’m among those not having very much respect for conformation showing I do concede that it has its good points. One of those is that structure and health are related. I am convinced of that. Learning about movement, and how structure influences it, and how the various parts of the dog put together influence agility, strength, and soundness over time, are all critical to breeding healthy long lived dogs. The video and the accompanying book "Dog Steps" is a good introduction and I think the best place to start, but hardly adequate to teach you what you need to know. Still, it convinced me that it was important to look at strucuture and movement; I bet it convinces you too. From there you will need to start going to shows so you can start comparing, and learning about how to see structure and how to evaluate movement. Of course you could be like the average clueless breeder and skip this step but you won’t be doing dogs any favors. Our dogs need breeders who know how to select for structure and movement that leads to long term health. Please don’t leave those qualities up to luck. As you will learn in the basic genetics books above if you don’t breed "for" a quality you will lose it. To do a good job of breeding you need to know what you are looking for. Keep in mind that I’m NOT saying you should necessarily like what you see in the show ring. You should learn enough to have an educated opinion enough to hold a rational discussion about whether you do or do not want to follow the trend you see there. You don’t have to *like* the show ring, just learn from it. While you are going to shows and learning to identify good structure and movement you need also to learn about pedigree research. Not all genetic problems can be identified by tests. Reducing the risks of any genetic problem depends upon knowing the dogs in the background. Want dogs with a nice temperament? Then find out what the parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins are like. You will want to learn about the genetic problems common in the breed. For example, two common health problems affecting the breed are heart disease and defects and luxating patella. The first is deadly, the second is painful and crippling. You will need to know what is known about the mode of inheriteance, how the level of risk is identified in the lines you select, how to screen potential breeding stock for the problem. Finally you will want to makes sure you understand the mechanics and what can go wrong. It may be rare but dogs have actually died because of mistakes made during the act of breeding. This will be useful: "Successful Dog Breeding" by Walkowicz and Wilcox "Canine Reproduction: A Breeder’s Guide" by Phyllis Holst, DVM. "Dogs and How to Breed Them" by Hilary Hamar At this point you are now going to have a good chance to do the kind of breeding that makes dog lovers smile. You will have been introduced to how to avoid genetic problems, you will likely have gained some experience in the steps to placing your breed in the home most likely to be permanent, and you will have learned how to keep your dogs out of shelters and rescue. Good quality breeding is not necessarily related to dogs prancing around a show ring. It is simply having enough information that one can take steps to reduce risks of problems and improve the quallty of the lives of the dogs they bring into this world. Our dogs don’t ask so much of us. We can at least offer them our efforts in doing our best to make their lives long, healthy and pain free. Here is a place to start: http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Park/3905/chihuahuadiseases.html Good luck Diane Blackman
Response:
DOES ANYONE HAVE, OR KNOW WHERE I CAN GET INFO ON BREEDING MY CHIHUAHUA? ANYINFO WOULD BE APPRECIATED
Response:
Have you tried asking the breeder that you got your chihuahua from? That’s usually the best source of information. They can also help you determine if your dog is of breeding quality. This is, of course, only after you’ve decided if making a few bucks is worth risking the life of your dog. — Lori Reynolds in Peoria, IL with the Sighthound Six-Pack http://www.geocities.com/reynoldsfamily_2000
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