I have heard people say "I only take four litters from a bitch" (you can insert any number, depending upon the breeder's opinion!). There are bitches being bred that should not have even one litter, far less four, and there are other bitches where it would be criminal to stop breeding her due to her good health, easy whelping ability and quality puppies she produces. In other words, there are no hard and fast rules, in my opinion. If I were to end a particular breeding career of a bitch or dog, it would be for health reasons or because I felt I had bred something better than her/him to be going on with and that offspring was now older and healthy and able to produce.
I often read comments about giving the poor Studs and bitches a break and retiring them. I don't know about your stud dogs, but mine are VERY happy to breed any bitch they can get their paws on - they don't want a break!! The bitches that I have are also good whelpers and thrilled to have puppies. They do not consider it purgatory. Infact, I am at the moment having a terrible time keeping my 9 yr old spayed female out of the whelping box of her daughter's litter that are only 3 weeks old!! With the CKCSC's Code of Ethics regarding the maximum breeding age of 8 yrs and maximum litters of six litters, the bitches cannot be truly overbred, every season, year after year. Yes, this would run down any bitch. But giving good care to a strong, healthy bitch allows them to be able to whelp six litters in their lifetime easily. Anne Sharon Carroll wrote: > When I was reading this it caused me to wonder if there is an average age at which >most stop breeding a particular bitch or dog....and is it usually for OBGYN health >reasons (aside from the menopausal kind of stuff)or other health reasons? Or, just >to give the poor studs and bitches a break and retire? Doesn't MVD protocol suggest >for them to be heart clear for the first 2 1/2 years so many don't start before that >age? But, are there common practices or standards that you breeders personally >follow in ending a particular breeding program on your particular dogs and bitches >and for what reasons? I know this may be way too open a question to answer.....:) > > Sharon Carroll > San Antonio, TX > > ========================================================= > "Magic Commands": > to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL > to start it up gain click here: > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL > > E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. > Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html > > All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
