Archive for the tag 'French Bulldog breeding'

Ask the Web Geek - Kennel Blindness?

bullmarketfrogs March 15th, 2008

Kennel Blindness

Hi I’m curious as to what people mean when they say someone is “Kennel Blinded”. I am buying my first show dog after owning a French Bulldog pet for almost four years. When I started calling breeders about a show dog they would ask me where I got my dog from. Someone said to me that the breeder of my pet Frenchie is “Kennel Blind”, and I was too embarassed to ask what this means. I know it wasn’t a compliment by the way she said it! I got the impression she didn’t want to sell me a show dog just because of who I got my pet from.

Why is that, and is kennel blindness so bad that it will make it impossible for me to get a showdog from anyone?

Carol writes -

No one you contact need be afraid that your pet’s breeder has kennel blindness - after all, it’s not catching, although it is quite common among show dog people.

Kennel blindness is a catch all term used to indicate that a breeder is oblivious to the faults of dogs that they themselves have bred - either willfully ignorant, or through sheer inability to separate emotions (I love Suzy, therefore she’s beautiful) from pragmatism (I love Suzy, but you could iron clothes on her back and she moves like she’s on crutches). Oddly enough, some of the most determinedly kennel blind among us can be ruthless critics of other people’s dogs.

It’s natural for us to favour our own offspring, whether two legged or four, but those who choose to breed dogs need to learn that love doesn’t need to be blind, at least not when it comes to show dogs. It’s a lesson that can take time to learn, and you’ll see that some of the best loved pets on a breeder’s couch are often dogs they’d never dream to take in the ring.

I don’t quite understand why anyone you’ve contacted about a show dog should care that your pet Frenchie’s breeder has kennel blindness. Likely, there’s some sort of simmering and long standing resentment there between the two breeders - a situation you’d do best to stay out of, by the way. Feuds between breeders are rarely pretty, and a novice show person doesn’t need to complicate their life any further.

Move on to another breed less resentful of where you got your pet from, and worry about kennel blindness when - and if - you decide to venture into the wild world of breeding.

Carol

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Pied to Pied breedings - any risks?

patpearce March 10th, 2008

Pied to Pied breedings - any risks?

Is there a problem breeding a pied female to a pied male, I love the pied and plan to possibly breed my only pied female one ore time and really want to make sure to have a pied puppy. Is there any problem with this? We bred her last time to a fawn male and all ended up being fawn.

Pat writes -

Well people breed pieds all the time… there are some considerations, as there are with any breeding. You want to make sure that the stud of choice has his health testing, and that he has a good temperament, and has good conformation (as you would with any male you were considering breeding your girl to)

If your girl is pied and you breed her to a pied you WILL get pied pups. The Pied gene is recessive, and in order for it to be evidenced - it has to be the only gene in that area… if you bred a fawn pied to a brindle pied - if he DOES NOT carry the fawn gene you will get brindle pieds (brindle is dominent over fawn) If he does carry fawn the you may get some fawn pied… but the odds are the same on each pup..

I think with pieds the most ideal are double hooded (meaning that both ears and sometimes eyes are within the color patchs on the head) - it creates a more pleasing look and there is less chance of a deaf dog if they have color around their ears. If both parents are double hooded there is a greater chance that the pups will be double hooded - does NOT guarantee that the pups will be double hooded. And it isn’t a big deal.

However - if both the dam and the sire are healthy dogs and the breeding complements your girl and there isn’t anything yucky in the background of the dogs, then there is nothing wrong with mating two pied dogs…

You should ask about other pups that this sire has produced so you can see that he has produced nice pups….

Good luck

Pat

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I’d like to Offer my French Bulldog at Stud

patpearce December 9th, 2007

I’d like to Offer my French Bulldog at Stud

I am a proud owner of a 2 yr old pied Frenchi.

I have recently been asked to breed him with a black brindle female of
the same age. I was hoping to find out what I should charge for a
stud fee and if I should be entitled to pick of the litter or what the
common recompense was.

Please advise, thanks

Pat writes:

There are several questions that should be asked before you decide to breed your dog. First does he meet the French Bulldog standard? Has he been shown? Have you had him tested to see that he hears, has good eyes, has a good spine and has good hips? Does he have a good sound temperament.

You have to ask WHY the other person wants to use your boy at stud. and hopefully the answer is not “just to have puppies”. or ‘my girl is such a sweet girl, I’d like to have one of her puppies”. These are not really good reasons to breed. There is a lot of expense and long term care involved with raising a litter of French Bulldogs. including a carefully timed Cesarean section to bring the pups into the world.

Has the owner of the bitch had her girl tested to see that she is worthy of being bred, and that the two dogs are compatible and will produce puppies as good as or better than they are.

Reputable breeders spend a great deal of time in research and long study to decide exactly which male will the BEST mate for their girl. The hope is the mating will produce puppies that are better than the parents, are healthy, have good temperaments and have good conformation.

As far as the stud fee is concerned a lot of different things determine the stud fee. A dog that is not a finished champion is usually $350.00. A finished champion’s stud fee can be $500.00 to $1500.00 or even more. I personally will not use a stud if the stud owner wants a puppy back as stud fee.

But before you consider breeding your dog you should determine if he is sound and will make a favorable contribution to the breed as a sire.

Pat

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Getting Started as a French Bulldog Breeder

patpearce December 7th, 2007

Getting Started as a Frenchie Breeder

How do I start being a breeder? I think I would be good at it. I love
dogs very much. I have had French bulldogs for almost four years and
know a lot about them. Can you help me?

Pat writes:

If you are serious about being a breeder, the wisest thing for you to is find an established French Bulldog breeder who is willing to mentor you. You can write to breeder on e-lists or go to shows and meet some. When you find someone you respect and who has knowledge and is willing to work with you, even it is long distance and by email & telephone, you can begin.

You will want to find as nice a female as you can possibly afford. And by nice I mean, meets the French Bulldog Standard, passes her health tests, ears, eyes, spine and hips as a minimum… And if at all possible talk with her breeder about the line that she comes from and what traits you should be aware of - both good and not so good. And you want to make sure she has a good temperament.

You want to be very careful not to double up on any undesirable traits in the line (make sure the stud & his line don’t also carry any of the same undesirable traits)

And you need to think about WHY you want to breed. It is not a task to be undertaken lightly. You will want to breed the best you can, try to better the breed with your breeding.

And you have to realize that with the joy of a new litter, there will be a lot of expense, progesterone testing, Artificial Insemination, and a carefully timed Cesarean section. There are nutritional requirements for the bitch before, during and after the pregnancy. And there WILL BE lots of heartache. You will lose puppies - at birth and later for reasons that may or may not make sense. And you can lose your bitch. She can die during the surgery for the section, or from shock or embolism after, or from infection post section. It doesn’t happen often - but can and does. Then you have a litter to hand raise.

And for you personally - it is a great commitment. First if you work you will have to plan to take time from work for the section, and then for at least 10 days to 3 weeks after - depending on things… unless you have a work place where you can safely take mom and babes with you. And sleep will be a rare commodity for the first several days at best and longer if there are complications.

I don’t tell you these things to dissuade you, but to make you fully aware of the consequences of your decision. I believe that many reputable breeders would gladly take a new person to mentor if the new person is truly committed to the breed and is aware of what is involved in the decision to breed your sweet little girl - knowing that your decision may cost her her life.

Pat

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