08/03/2022
🐾💕🐾💕Thank you Kath Scholtes for giving me permission to share your beautifully written article. 💕🐾💕🐾
The Breeding Process ©2022 Kath Williamson, Austrax ACDs
Did you know the process to breed a registered litter (with papers) can take 6-7 months?
The last litter I bred (April 2021) are all settled in their new homes but my role as a breeder continues. At the time of writing (end of August 2021) I am checking email daily for DNA parentage results. Until received I cannot lodge the litter registration and so people are yet to receive their pups ANKC papers.
It seemed timely to share what happens in the background so anyone who is thinking of getting a puppy in the future may understand the process better.
Every breed has a breed standard that lists the ideal specimen of that breed, along with faults and acceptable colours. They can be found on the ANKC website. So if Grandma is talking about spending $5000 on a "rare colour" purebred liver and tan French Bulldog, you can easily check and see that colour is not acceptable and advise Grandma to find another, more reputable breeder.
Breeders have lives OUTSIDE of dog activities. They have jobs, children at school, family commitments, sometimes spouses who travel a lot. They need to go to appointments, run households, pay bills & do their tax, and attend to the same daily humdrum that you do. They are not generally sitting by the phone or computer but are cleaning up dog manure, maintaining dog yards, training their dogs or maybe nursing a sick or injured dog.
So my first point would be to consider the TIME that you contact your chosen breeder and don't expect a response immediately. If you phone at dinner time, you may be asked to call back, or have your call go to voicemail. If you think it's ok to phone at 9pm, stop first to think that your breeder might get up at 4am to get chores done before going to work for the day. And if you have scheduled a time to ring your breeder, don't forget to call. Similarly with emails - your breeder may not reply for a few days for a myriad of reasons.
A litter of say, seven puppies, means the breeder has the same conversation at least seven times but more likely double that, as they talk to multiple prospective owners. It is a time consuming process and if you have an order for a puppy but you have since acquired a dog, it gets slowed down even further. So please if you have got a dog in the meantime, please take a minute to send an email if you have ordered a puppy from a breeder.
The process for every litter is about 6 MONTHS, for you to get your 8 week old puppy, and that doesn't include identifying prospective studs for bi***es, and any health testing that might need checking prior to breeding. Or any puppy that may be travelling overseas and so cannot leave for some further 4-8 weeks. let's presume for the purpose of this review that the bitch cycle starts on 1 January. So the female is bred around 12 January and 9 weeks later pups are born, hopefully with no complications along the way. It is now 15 March. That first week is spent making sure the pups are mothered up well and gaining weight via daily weighing. Bookings are scheduled for 6 week BAER testing and vaccinations. Hopefully there are no extremes of weather as very young pups cannot regulate their temperature.
Pups are weighed daily, have their nails clipped weekly and then at +/- 3weeks introducing milk and then solids starts. They are wormed fortnightly. In between there is ongoing contact with prospective owners, and assessments of type and temperament as the pups eyes open and they develop. Photos are taken often, to track development and share with new owners.
Paperwork is being collated to go with each puppy and includes diet / care notes, and a copy of the breed standard along with other health paperwork. Don't forget that's SEVEN copies of everything.
By now I am buying a LOT of food. Meat, fruit, vegetables, kibble, bones, chicken necks, and treats. Toys are being replaced, or cleaned, and rotated.
At 6 weeks (26 April in our hypothetical litter) the pups are vaccinated, health checked, microchipped and BAER tested. Also DNA swabs are collected, scrupulously identified and sealed for posting. This process takes about 4 hours, excluding travel. Any issues that may have arisen are documented and this can impact on what puppy is available to a new owner. For example, a puppy identified as having unilateral hearing will not be able to be sold as a breeding prospect. So if that particular pup has been shortlisted for sale to another breeder, it will be withdrawn and offered as a companion or competition prospect. Alternatively if a pup is ascertained to be a carrier for PLL, it cannot be exported to the UK, as their Kennel Club prohibits it. Evaluations are also done around this age to determine type and temperament.
Quotes are obtained for pups flying to their new homes, and travel bookings made. Pups going overseas may require extra veterinary treatment for rabies or other testing and cannot leave the country before 12 weeks minimum. Rabies treatment means they will not be able to leave until at least 4 months of age.
By 7 weeks the pups are gaining lots of exposure to various stimuli and enrichment opportunities and are keen for as much attention as they can get. They have some bladder control and house training is underway. They are getting matched with their new families who all want to know about feeding, routines and schedule collection times. Payments are coming in and concise receipts need to be sent.
At 8 weeks they start leaving home. It is now 10 May, some four and a half months since 1 January. Owners provide their details and name choices for the ANKC registration papers. Once EVERY pup has these details sorted and the DNA parentage results have been returned I can submit the paperwork and pay for the litter registration. Checkins will be done, to ensure pups are settling into their new homes and no questions have come up.
A few weeks later I will receive the pups ANKC registration papers in the mail, check them and then if all is in order post them to their new owners. With the hypothetical breeding that started on 1 January, it is now most likely the end of June. I'll file all my paperwork and spend some much needed time with my family and dogs.
