farmboy807 Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 Hello just looking for abit of advice please I’m looking at putting my cocker bitch into pup with another friends cocker main reason is to keep one of the litter to bring along side her mum as she’s such a great personality softy and works well on shoot days i don’t have a clue on dog breeding I have a list of people who have said they would love a pup of her but if I do need to advertise should I get any help checks etc done or even before breeding so any advice/help before hand much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weihrauch17 Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 Mate the bitch 9 or 10 days after she comes in season, they need to tie for a period. No need for health checks, they are not like Labs with Hip Scores etc? Things will be quiet for the first three weeks or so but then a lot of hard work for the next 5. Ideally you should have somewhere secure to keep the pups that doesn't involve them trashing your house and let's them have some freedom to play and discover new things. I have bred 3 litters, needed a new kitchen after the first, the next two were kept out of the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmboy807 Posted January 4 Author Report Share Posted January 4 2 minutes ago, Weihrauch17 said: Mate the bitch 9 or 10 days after she comes in season, they need to tie for a period. No need for health checks, they are not like Labs with Hip Scores etc? Things will be quiet for the first three weeks or so but then a lot of hard work for the next 5. Ideally you should have somewhere secure to keep the pups that doesn't involve them trashing your house and let's them have some freedom to play and discover new things. I have bred 3 litters, needed a new kitchen after the first, the next two were kept out of the house! Much appreciated thank you my worst worry was health’s checks etc she’s just turned 4 would that be an ideal age or wait and yes I’ve heard a lot of hard work which I fear the most along with the kitchen wear they will be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weihrauch17 Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 (edited) 1 hour ago, farmboy807 said: Much appreciated thank you my worst worry was health’s checks etc she’s just turned 4 would that be an ideal age or wait and yes I’ve heard a lot of hard work which I fear the most along with the kitchen wear they will be Four is a good age to take a litter, no need to wait. Hard work but very rewarding, can you not keep them somewhere that they can't trash? Edited January 4 by Weihrauch17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmboy807 Posted January 4 Author Report Share Posted January 4 8 minutes ago, Weihrauch17 said: Four is a good age to take a litter, no need to wait. Hard work but very rewarding, can you not keep them somewhere that they can't trash? Well the idea was to wait until we move but with everything how it is that won’t be happening for another year or two so don’t want to wait to long It’s the kitchen which is got a door and stair gate to get little one who’s 3 this year away or it’s the garage which is attached to the house with light and electric but cold not sure if she would settle in there being a house dog she’s very needy for a cocker 😂 But I could build a pen and have a heater in there maybe but rather them in the house with me I think 🙈 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weihrauch17 Posted January 4 Report Share Posted January 4 (edited) 57 minutes ago, farmboy807 said: Well the idea was to wait until we move but with everything how it is that won’t be happening for another year or two so don’t want to wait to long It’s the kitchen which is got a door and stair gate to get little one who’s 3 this year away or it’s the garage which is attached to the house with light and electric but cold not sure if she would settle in there being a house dog she’s very needy for a cocker 😂 But I could build a pen and have a heater in there maybe but rather them in the house with me I think 🙈 Depends on the time of year, my last two litters were outside in a kennel and run but it was summer and they were fine. When they are weaning and on solids at 5 - 6 weeks the pups need to be off the mum some of the time or they will drive her mad. First three weeks or so fine in the house in a whelping box but then the Garage is the best idea with as big a pen as you can build as long as they are secure and warm, they will chew everything and anything they can. Edited January 4 by Weihrauch17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshAndy Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 (edited) Don’t worry about health testes? You mad? Do you know how closely they are bred? COI inbreeding score? Are you happy to help if a pup gets stuck? A bag doesn’t open? Help feed the pups if the dam hasn’t produced enough milk? Pups always come at night when the vets are closed… not my last litter but the one before the dam had an emergency c section because a pup was stuck - do you have a grand ready to pay for that? Possible losing all the pups? Will you dock and dew claw? Do you have a vets that will do the procedure within the first 3 days? Yes pups are easy for the first few weeks, once weaned they are a nightmare poop and pee machines! You need a secure place for them. Sorry to sound all doom and gloom but realistically breeding is a nightmare! What if you don’t sell them? I’ve got a waiting list but can guarantee when I phone people to say I have pups they’ll say ‘oh sorry not this time’ Please look into breeding. what is her Kc name? And the chosen sire? On 04/01/2024 at 19:42, farmboy807 said: Hello just looking for abit of advice please I’m looking at putting my cocker bitch into pup with another friends cocker main reason is to keep one of the litter to bring along side her mum as she’s such a great personality softy and works well on shoot days i don’t have a clue on dog breeding I have a list of people who have said they would love a pup of her but if I do need to advertise should I get any help checks etc done or even before breeding so any advice/help before hand much appreciated Edited January 9 by WelshAndy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 3 minutes ago, WelshAndy said: Don’t worry about health testes? You mad? Do you know how closely they are bred? COI inbreeding score? Are you happy to help if a pup gets stuck? A bag doesn’t open? Help feed the pups if the dam hasn’t produced enough milk? Pups always come at night when the vets are closed… not my last litter but the one before the dam had an emergency c section because a pup was stuck - do you have a grand ready to pay for that? Possible losing all the pups? Will you dock and dew claw? Do you have a vets that will do the procedure within the first 3 days? Yes pups are easy for the first few weeks, once weaned they are a nightmare poop and pee machines! You need a secure place for them. Sorry to sound all doom and gloom but realistically breeding is a nightmare! What if you don’t sell them? I’ve got a waiting list but can guarantee when I phone people to say I have pups they’ll say ‘oh sorry not this time’ Please look into breeding. what is her Kc name? And the chosen sire? This is good advice from Andy, First step is I would strongly consider, is your bitch a great example of the breed that warrants breeding? Or would you be better off avoiding all the risk/cost and bother and just buying yourself a pup similarly bred pup in? Does your bitch have any faults as outlined in the breed standard? Only them would I consider health testing as there’s no point spending money on health tests for a dog that holds a major fault (as it shouldn’t be bred!). Absolutely get the bitch health tested if all sound, it’s around £150 or less to do the DNA testing for the inherited conditions from pet genetics lab. You also then need to choose a stud dog that compliments your bitch, as Andy said COI, lines matching or out crossing etc, or are you simply just using your mates dog cos you know him and he’s nearby? Is his dog a worthy stud dog and proven without fault? Is the dog clean of any health issues? As Andy said consider if things go wrong, you could lose your bitch or incur major vet bills (The springer bitch that won the champs last year died whilst in pup so it’s not just myths, although unlikely to be fair). Add to that, if all goes well and you have the pups, that list of people who would love a pup will declare “ah what a shame, we’ve just booked a holiday” or “now isn’t the right time… maybe next year”. Add again to that that we are in a cost of living crisis, take a look on the various dog selling sites and see the high number of pups for sale, and note that many of them are well older than 8 weeks old when they should of been long gone. Not many people buying dogs / pets atm and record numbers are being given up each week to rescues due to the cost. Make sure you have a plan for them as you may have them for quite some time. Then you have the cost of docking (and currently it is a major pain for many people finding a vet that will even do it). It is critical that this is done in the first few days. Few claws, jabs, worming, etc. Then consider that cockers usually don’t have big litters, it’s a substantial cost and don’t expect to be making money out of it. Again, not trying to be doom and gloom, just make sure you go into it with your eyes open fully aware of the potential issues you could face. Best of luck if you go ahead, PM and I will send you the link for the health lab I used if you’d like to look it up 👍🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmboy807 Posted January 9 Author Report Share Posted January 9 Thanks for all you great feedback like I said I have no idea on breeding and understand there’s a lot to lot hence why I’m asking So i can look into it all before I even think about doing it this year or maybe next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokingdragon Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 When we were deciding to either spay or breed from our 2, we looked on Pets4Homes to see how many Springers were on there and how long the's been there and there were literaly hundreds being advertised. When we were looking for a pup pre lockdown there very few - typical. Also I was also worried about where the pups would go - if you had them still at 12 weeks, you might be becoming not so choosy 😞 Both our bitches, who come from good lines, we got spayed in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twelsh Posted January 17 Report Share Posted January 17 On 09/01/2024 at 19:31, WelshAndy said: Don’t worry about health testes? You mad? Do you know how closely they are bred? COI inbreeding score? Are you happy to help if a pup gets stuck? A bag doesn’t open? Help feed the pups if the dam hasn’t produced enough milk? Pups always come at night when the vets are closed… not my last litter but the one before the dam had an emergency c section because a pup was stuck - do you have a grand ready to pay for that? Possible losing all the pups? Will you dock and dew claw? Do you have a vets that will do the procedure within the first 3 days? Yes pups are easy for the first few weeks, once weaned they are a nightmare poop and pee machines! You need a secure place for them. Sorry to sound all doom and gloom but realistically breeding is a nightmare! What if you don’t sell them? I’ve got a waiting list but can guarantee when I phone people to say I have pups they’ll say ‘oh sorry not this time’ Please look into breeding. what is her Kc name? And the chosen sire? Just had emergency c -section for my french bulldog £1500 in and out within a hour n half with 7 day course of antibiotics mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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