Dog pregnancy and Insurance

chook_2

Before you decided to breed - you need to do lots of reading,
its not easy to raise a litter of pups, no matter if they look cute or adorable - its hard work, you house ends up stinking, because the second you have cleaned up one mess, theres lots more,
you dont have any time to yourself, because if its not cleaning, its feeding - if your not feeding, your running round after pups that have escaped their pen, then you have the task of finding homes for them.

This is only if everything as gone according to plan, with the preganancy and birth - what if the !!!!! ends up with mastitus
and can no longer feed the pups, your looking at a bill of at least a grand, to sort the !!!!! out, then on top of that, all the feeding stuff to feed the pups, pups need to be fed at least every two hours, even during the night - do you have the time for that?


Breeding shouldnt be taken lightly or done for just life experance,
it should be done to better a breed, as its a mutt you are thinking of breeding from, how are you going to better that breed?

bouncydog1

And looking at the worst case scenario, what if your poor pet dies in the process? I know that you will say there are lots of dogs that have puppies, but as others have said there are far too many unwanted pups around at the moment. Once you have re-homed yours (if you can) you have no control over what happens to them.

Both our cockers had PRA (inherited eye condition) and one eventually went blind. My last cocker had to be PTS because of a malignant liver tumour.

Please don't breed your dog - whilst a cockerpoo (cross between a cocker spaniel and a poodle) are a craze at the moment, next week it will be something else. Think how the craze for dogs in handbags has taken off, all because some celebrity had one and silly girls with no minds of their own then get one because "it's fashionable". What happens when the fashionistas replace them with something else - those dogs will end up being rehomed or PTS.

foreign_correspondent

This thing about it being a 'life experience' - it's ultimately a selfish one, isnt it?

I had a lovely little terrier, she was the smartest dog going, I rescued her from a friend's neighbour's garden where she was abandoned. She was incredibly loyal, gentle, good fun and very, very smart. She had been worked in the past, and she was a little star.

She had a litter before I got her... so I knew she was physically capable of giving birth to healthy pups.. I loved that dog so much that I often used to wish I could find another one like her, as she was such a little smasher. I knew how much I would miss her when she was gone, and would have liked another just the same.

Of course, breeding her could have been an option.... and, you know what.... if I lived in a parallel universe, where there wasn't a dog pound in every town crammed with unwanted dogs, where gentle, loving and friendly dogs who just needed a home were not being taken for that final injection at a rate of 26 a day, I may have done so. However, knowing the state of the problem that exists, and that those dogs are added to every day by people having 'just one litter' I could not consider it.

I do not believe that people who breed dogs like yours are at all ill-intentioned, but I do think they must be ignorant of the extent of the problem, and how their actions impact on it. I doubt anyone breeds dogs thinking when they wave their cute little pups off that 'this one will end up in the pound' or 'this one will end up being put to sleep, unwanted' - but sadly, that is the ultimate fate of throusands of dogs every year.

If you want to experience life, why not volunteer to help at your local rescue? It is a real life experience, and will open your eyes to many things.

p.s. when my dog died, at the age of about 16-17, everyone said to me 'you will never find another dog like her, she was one in a million' - they were right, I didn't find another one like her, but I did find another lovely little dog who needed a home (it is not hard, there are so many) - and she is here with me now. Now, I think I will never find another dog like her when she goes - and I won't, but I will find another dog who needs a home, that is for sure!

longtermlurker_2

I have to say I agree with the others. A cockerpoo is a mongrel. I pointed this out to a friend who was gushing about how her cockerpoo had an excellent pedigree and he would be in large demand as a stud dog. She paid £800 for him:eek:
Why can't people just enjoy their dogs without causing complications.

OP why do you say quite a number will die/be ill etc. I don't know much about dog breeding but I do know someone who breeds cats and she very rarely loses any. Even when she does it's only usually one in a litter.

gettingready

I have a Cockapoo

Exactly as others said - it is a mongrel.

Nothing wrong with mongrels but a lot wrong with some people being taken for a ride and thinking they got "something special".

Every dog is special of course but - this is just mad, crossing 2 pedigree dogs does NOT make pedigree pups.

Wake up....what to hell is the point?

gettingready

I have a Cockapoo

Exactly as others said - it is a mongrel.

Nothing wrong with mongrels but a lot wrong with some people being taken for a ride and thinking they got "something special".

Every dog is special of course but - this is just mad, crossing 2 pedigree dogs does NOT make pedigree pups.

Wake up....what to hell is the point?

Kimberley

If you go ahead and I think you will even though people on here have advised against it then you are very irresponsible. A life experience? I guess your dog has no choice in this matter eh? yeah just force her to have pups, great Your selfish even to think about it.

thorsoak

Can I please suggest that you look at the following website :-
http://www.dogstuff.info/to_breed_or_not.html

I would also suggest that you look at the Champdogs Forum - www.champdogsforum.co.uk - there are loads of very experienced breeders there who can give you the benefit of their experience. However, I can tell you straight away that the advice that you will be given will be unanimous ant it will be DON'T DO IT!

For a start, you will not be able to get breeder insurance at an economic price - even if you would find an insurance company prepared to accept cover on a non-pedigree dog.

Secondly, as your dog is the result of the breedeing two different breeds, you cannot gurantee type or temperament of any resulting puppies should you go ahead. There are differing health problems in both breeds, and your !!!!! should be tested for problems of both breeds - are you prepared for this? And I don't mean getting checked over by the vet - I mean hip scoring and eye testing - see here :- http://www.thecockerspanielclub.co.uk/health.htm and http://www.poodleclubofamerica.org/health.htm - so as you see, it's not as straight-forward as you might think!

Unfortunately, Jemima Harrison's notorious programme about pedigree dogs led the general public to the inaccurate feeling that pedigree dogs are unhealthy dogs. This is incorrect. Genunine breeders of pedigree dogs breed for the good of the breed, and litters are carefully planned - matching not only the pedigree but also using dogs that complement each other - to produce puppies that are fit for purpose, healthy and as genetically free from disease as is possible.

You also need to have long pockets when you consider breeding - if you have carried out all the health tests successfully and after choosing the best stud possible and paying the stud fee (in most breeds the equivalent price of a puppy plus) your !!!!! will need additional good feeding. Wormers from day 42 of pregnancy do not come cheap. And do you have a suitable place for your !!!!! to have her puppies that is quiet, where she will not be disturbed with her puppies - and ideally is big enough to take a camp bed - because you should be sleeping beside her (or not sleeping for the first three or four days at least) . You should be able to arrange to be with your !!!!! 24/7 for the first week AT LEAST in order to give your !!!!! reassurance, to be able to put any tiny puppy back on a teat, to stop the !!!!! crushing a puppy if she flops down on it.

What about a problem ceasarian? Have you costed out what your vet might charge for an out of hours C-section? Ask - it could shock you - could be as much as £1,000, might be as little as £300.

How much knowledge do you have of a whelping? Could you rely upon a reliable mentor?

So, suppose you have a litter - how are you going to sell your puppies? You should have a lifetime commitment to your puppies - the responsibility does not finish when you hand a puppy over to the new owner and collect the cash - you should have a lifetime commitment of support to each and every puppy- a good breeder is prepared to take back a puppy at any time during its life - so you could have someone phoning up in 10 years time, to say that Mum bought a puppy from you 10 years ago, but now Mum isn't able to look after her 10 year old cockerpoo - so can she bring him back tomorrow? Had you thought about this scenario?

I know you have said that you only want one litter, and you're not a breeder - but you WILL BE A BREEDER!

Please think seriously about your plans - and decide against it.

Sucker_for_sweeties

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

I had a lovely little terrier, she was the smartest dog going, I rescued her from a friend's neighbour's garden where she was abandoned. She was incredibly loyal, gentle, good fun and very, very smart. She had been worked in the past, and she was a little star.

Sorry a bit OT, but this sounds EXACTLY like our wee Curtis (girl with a boy's name). She charms every single person she meets, and she still works (on a consultancy basis) as she visits the school nursery every year to introduce kids (especially the scared ones) to dogs. She's 16/17 (rescue so no-one knows for sure)

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

She had a litter before I got her... so I knew she was physically capable of giving birth to healthy pups.. I loved that dog so much that I often used to wish I could find another one like her, as she was such a little smasher. I knew how much I would miss her when she was gone, and would have liked another just the same.

I'm holding out for the cloning option !

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

If you want to experience life, why not volunteer to help at your local rescue? It is a real life experience, and will open your eyes to many things.

Have to agree OP, please spend a bit of time seeing how it can all end up before you decide for sure.

callywally

Before you do this, take a trip to your local rescue centre and see how many unwanted pups are already around.
If you do this its not for your dogs benefit or the puppies its for your own selfish reasons.
The puppies will be mongrels, you are putting your dogs health at risk and bringing more unwanted dogs in to the world.
Think about it.