<<<<<<<<<Jeanie would you be willing to answer this question about your own breeding practices I wonder?>>>>>>>>>>>> Sorry to take so long in getting back but I have been doing the things a "breeder:" does - driving to the airport before dawn to pick up visiting bitch from the other side of the country, getting said bitch mated, getting second bitch belonging to friend mated, doing dewclaws, organising with family who are coming to pick up pet puppy on Friday, going to point score show yesterday, etc Yes, I am very willing to answer the question but knowing my experiences with Dave in the past , I fear that he is just fishing to find something disreputable to beat me around the head with -! My apologies to everyone else for this ramble..........Dave doesn't like me and I suspect an ulterior motive in his question. But If I don't answer the question he will say I am trying to hide something. Its just interesting that Daves question is directed at me only, and not to all the breeders on the list
In view of the cultural gulf that sometimes seems to yawn across the Pacific, perhaps a few words of background are in order. There seems to be a culture in America that anyone who breeds more than one litter a year is "commercial" but traditionally, especially in UK, there is no stigma attached to large kennel establishments - in fact many Americans go to these people to get their stock. Its probably a somewhat old fashioned objective now, but when I started I was not trying to breed one or two nice dogs, but to establish a bloodline. I have tried to structure a proper breeding program over the years, following the advice given in many old breed books and from breeders that I have admired. I was very lucky to start "properly" with some wonderful dogs from Caroline Gillies (McGoogans), Molly Coaker (Homerbrent), Barbara Reynolds (Leynsord) and also incorporated the wholecolours brought out by my ex husband who ran a breeding program of his own, mainly wholecolours (McGoogans and Chandlers) Right here I should say that I have never actually "made money" from the dogs -( on that point its the end of the financial year here and today I have to go and pay my $Aust 1990 vets bill that has accumulated over the past few months - so much for making money!) The prime purpose in breeding each litter has been to try and make improvements, I have sold very few dogs here to other people to show - most I have shown myself "owner handled" as you say over there. Many that have gone as "pets" could probably have been successfully shown -sometimes with the anguished realisation when they come back to visit and I realise I have let a good one go! I usually only breed on with what I need to continue lines myself - but the dogs have been good enough to win the NSW Cavalier Club Point Score Trophies Senior 9 times, Junior 9 times, Stud dog 8 times and Brood Bitch 10 times. Our Canine Council monthly journal here publishes registrations (like the breed record supplements in UK)so litters are on the public record each month - over 30 years I have bred 158 litters (of which 8 have been C sections.) This is an average of 5.2 litters per year. BTW you can add to that the two Doberman litters I had before the Cavaliers, and the litters I whelped for the Braganzar Cavaliers and Brussels Griffons. I doubt that I have had any more litters than quite a few of the well known kennels in UK or some kennels in the USA and I know there are people here who breed more than I do. My dogs are not in "kennels" but house dogs and the puppies are house reared. I do not co own, and I whelp and raise all my litters myself. More than the winning show dogs, my greatest satisfaction comes from the many people who come back to me for their second, third or fourth Cavalier, I take this to be the best continuing endorsement of my dogs and my involvement in the breed. The vast majority of the dogs I have bred have been doing their real job as "spaniels gentle and comforters". <<<<<all that" (in my limited one litter first hand experience) is really not "all that bad" or at least not as monumental a chore as some would make it>.>> I am pleased for you that your one litter was trouble free but I wonder if you will still think the same after you have gone through the mill and struggled to save puppies or have lost your bitch and mourned for her. Breeding dogs is joy and heartache compounded - Best regards Jeanie ========================================================= "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.
