Saint Breeding Information
We love to help people get started RIGHT in
Saints
and do right by the breed.
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This is quite lengthy, but we wanted to get you lots of information!
It sounds like you would like to begin a breeding program and want
to breed your first litter.
The first step is to gather as much information about the breed as you
possibly can through a) The Saint Bernard Standard b) the Saint E-mail List c)
The Saint Bernard Fancier (the publication of the Saint Bernard club of America)
d) Saint Bernard Breed Clubs in your area e) Dog shows and other breeders f) AKC
Gazette g) the Saint Bernard Illustrated Commentary.
PLEASE, JOIN THE SAINT E-MAIL LIST! - They will be able to help you
through this time. The directions on how to join
can be found at: http://www.alaska.net/~iceworm/saints-l/
GO TO A MEETING OF A LOCAL SAINT BERNARD CLUB- the geographic listing of the
clubs can be found at
http://clubs.akc.org/saints/
Click on Local Clubs to find one near you.
The Saint Bernard Standard is a written document, stating what each dog in
the breed should be like (ie the standard that breeders are striving for.). Each
breed has its own standard. Do you have a copy of the Standard? You can find it
at http://clubs.akc.org/saints/general.info.htm
Portions of the Illustrated Commentary can be found at: http://clubs.akc.org/saints/ic/index.html
As I am sure you know, Saint Bernards have many potential physical problems
that need to be considered. (hip dysplasia, entropia, ectropia, epilepsy
etc.). What are your health guarantees? Are you x-raying your
breeding stock? If yes, OFA registry or Penn Hip? Hip Dysplasia is a major
problem in our breed. We have personally had a puppy we purchased lame by
6 months with the prospect of putting her down or spending $2,500 per hip to
have her hips replaced. Unfortunately, that is not as uncommon as we would
hope.
Are the animals you are breeding compatible in type and temperament?
What are the faults? What are their strengths? How do they compare to the
standard? You need to have lists and lists about what you are
trying to improve and why. No dog is perfect, but don't let yourself be
kennel blind and produce unsound dogs that are not better than both parents.
Have you looked at their pedigrees? Are you familiar with the breeder
and the lines you are breeding too? Many lines are producing dogs that
carry the epileptic genes even though they don't show it in the individual dogs.
What will you do if you have produced 180 pound dogs out there with
epilepsy and it bites someone? Your name goes on as the breeder.....how do you
handle that? How do you handle the liability?
Has your dog been evaluated by reputable breeders? Has your dog been
shown and evaluated by judges? What are you going to do if a family can't
keep your puppy they bought (bothered by slobber or size or whatever.)
What if your puppy's have bad temperaments? Typical Saint Bernard
litters run from 6 to 15 puppies. What will you do if you can't find homes?
Make sure you have written up your guarantees (your contract) before breeding
your bitch, so you know what you expect from your buyers and they know what to
expect from you. For example, say you sell a puppy and at 2 years
old the owners decide to move and they don't want it anymore....they take it to
the pound and have it put down. What is your recourse? A reputable
breeder is responsible for the lives of the puppies he or she produces.
You NEED to have a written contract and YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY DOG YOU
PRODUCE FOR AS LONG AS THEY LIVE. You are also responsible for offsprings if you
sell to a home without a spay/neuter contract.
Consider the age of your bitch. Saint Bernard Bitches should not be
bred until they are 2 years old and stopped when they are 5-6 (depending on her
condition). They should not be bred every season. Deviations from that can
seriously endanger the life of the bitch as well as the litter. -
Typically C-Sections cost around $2,000 if the bitch needs one (many do) and
a litter (just shots, dewclaws, health checks etc) can easily run up to $1,000.
Due to the size of the Bitch and the smallness of the puppies, they typically
need 24 hour per day care for the first 2 to 3 weeks as the momma will accidentally
roll over or step on the puppies and kill them. It's pretty tough to get
that much time off of your job if you work.
You need to be considering these questions, the cost, and what it is
what are you going to do with these puppies? These are questions that the
informed buyers are going to be asking you. There are a lot of dogs going to
rescue....are you ready to help
the rescue organizations?
Here is a general philosophy breeding purebred dogs that someone sent the
other day:
GOLDEN RULES FOR BREEDING
1.The only reason to be breeding purebred dogs is to preserve the best
qualities of the breed. Breeding to supply any market is not a justification.
2.You need to do all of your breeding with the best interests of the breed in
mind. Never your pocket book.
3.For this you need to be a serious student of the breed and devote years of
your life to it. Not "in one day, out the other".
4.As a beginner you need to engross yourself in the breed as much as possible
and ideally find a suitable mentor.
5.In order to be a serious breeder, you must show and compete.
6.You need to keep track of all puppies you produce, whether pet or show, to
know how your breeding program is working.
7.All pet dogs need to go on a spay/neuter contracts.
8. All show puppies need to go on a contract that will not allow breeding
unless the dog lives up to the quality intended and passes all health checks and
certification necessary for that breed. If a prospective breeder does not want
to do this, then I am sorry but they will have to mess with someone else's dogs
not mine!!
Co-ownerships allow you a certain amount of control in this regard because
they require your signature in order that puppies be registered. The latest news
from the AKC is that there is a pending change to the rules that will not allow
registration unless all papers are properly signed. If you have a difference
with your co-owner it will need to be settled in court before the AKC will
register litters or puppies. This is new and still pending, but a step in the
right direction.
9.Every breeder owes to the breed and to themselves to be involved with
rescue.
10.Every breeder should be prepared to take any dog back for whatever reason.
If they do not have the space, then they need to be prepared to make other
arrangements. But take them back they must!
What we find is that there was a lot more to breeding dogs than met the eye.
We got into breeding to produce a quality type & temperament. We
would love to talk Saints with you, send me your phone number and a good
time to call and I would be happy to visit with you on the telephone or
e-mail me. Our phone is 541-592-6529.
west coast time....
Hope to see you on the Saint E-mail List or talk to you soon!
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