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THE
BROOD BITCH.
All
the best books and all the best breeders will tell you without any
hesitation that the most valuable asset any kennel which is striving
to breed winning stock can have is a good brood bitch.
This
basic concept cannot be doubted. What makes a good brood bitch?
Basically
all of the general things which the previous chapters of this booklet
have touched upon. Namely, health, well adjusted in temperament,
freedom from hereditary disease and of good quality. Mostly it will
be the ability of the bitch to mate normally, conceive easily and
deliver without undue fuss a healthy, good-sized litter and then,
equally without fuss, raise the entire litter to weaning age.
For
purposes of producing show dogs, even more is required. She will
have a good pedigree. Not merely the three to four generation paper
which is the normal attachment to all pure bred dogs, but one which
perhaps hails a line of notable pillars of her particular breed.
She should exhibit the special traits of the family concerned. She
will have attained the standard height and expected weight set down
in her breed standard and she will not depart from any breed requirement
to any degree which could be considered of a serious nature.
Most
of all, she will have the ability to pass on the desired features
to her offspring and she will have the temperament to transmit to
her brood, by example, that all is well with the world.
The
temperament and disposition of the brood bitch is of paramount importance.
Until the pups leave home they will learn from, and mimic, their
mother – both good and bad! It is virtually impossible to breed
mentally sound and stable puppies from a bitch with bad temperament.
Her
puppies will, as a result, have the best possible start in life.
They will be well formed, well fed, healthy and well adjusted.
The
bitch that panics easily, is a fussy feeder, and has a history of
ill health cannot do these things for her puppies, or for you, no
matter how beautiful she may be. She is best avoided as a prospect
for the whelping box. Avoid also the orphaned or hand reared female,
unless you can be absolutely sure that the reasons for the artificial
rearing were accidental and not familial degeneration of the ability
to procreate normally and without help.
A
future of misery is in store for the breeder who insists on veterinary
intervention when his bitch is reluctant to breed normally. Such
bitches will generally follow through into expensive caesarian deliveries,
be reluctant mothers, leaving their overwrought owners to supplement
or completely hand rear the puppies. Without natural sustenance
it is rare for puppies to fulfill potential as 100% healthy adults.
These litters almost always run their owners into financial loss
and, worse, it is often the female puppies from such unfortunate
ventures that perpetuate the family woes.
A
truly good brood bitch is beyond price, but if it is your aim to
become a noted breeder, no price is too much to pay for such a gem,
if indeed one were to become available.
Since
we have opted to be custodians of our breed, as breeders, it is
our responsibility to the future gene pool to see that poor natural
breeders are not perpetuated – no matter how good looking we perceive
them to be. By simply not breeding from them is far less harsh than
nature’s means of culling.
In
short, we aim to produce puppies which are sound both mentally and
physically
.
THERE
IS MORE TO BREEDING DOGS THAN PRODUCING PRETTY LOOKING SPECIMENS.
THE BROOD BITCH IS THE KEY TO THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE BECAUSE SHE HAS
TOO MUCH INFLUENCE ON HER PUPPIES BEYOND HER CONTRIBUTION TO THEIR
GENETIC MAKE UP.
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