How often do you breed from a bitch?

Bitches are individuals and vary in the frequency they come into season, how easily they whelp puppies and how quickly they recover. If a bitch has no complications and naturally will not whelp twice within 18 months, then we will breed her every season, if required, allowing her to have a total of 5 litters. Some bitches come in more frequently and in that case we try to mate them every second season, as long as they are fit and able, for a total of 5 litters. Note that not all bitches have 5 litters but with the 2 breeding bitches we have at the moment, they ae both producing outstanding quality pups so we will allow them to contribute further to the breed.

 

What happens to the bitch after 5 litters or if she is a difficult breeder?

Once a bitch has finised being bred from, for whichever reason, she will be desexed. We make every effort to keep the bitches as our own pets for the simple fact that we love them dearly, but on occasion a bitch may be pet homed to someone already in the Kilgarrin family who is looking for an older Lowchen to keep their other Lowchen company. Bitches are usually between 6 and 8 years old when they have finised breeding. Any bitch who doesn't enjoy maternal duties or had a difficult time whelping is either put back on the show team or desexed. We want our bitches to have an easy and enjoyable time as a mother and won't place them under uneccessary duress.

 

Some breeders don't breed from bitches that much, why do you?

When we purchase or retain a bitch, we want them to eventually enter the breeding program. The are shown and then bred from, some bitches go back into the show ring after pups, some don't. We are very selective about the quality of the bitches that we have in our breeding program, as well as testing for health and ensureing a successful show career. We only breed from bitches that we have purchased or retained for the purpose of breeding. We don't place bitches out on breeders terms and we don't request litters back from bitches placed in show homes either. Our main reason comes down to integrity, we are happy to sell our stock to other breeders, as we have done previously, but once sold they have exited out of the Kilgarrin breeding program. Because we don't have a large pool of bitches like some breeders do (due largely to bitches being "out on terms"), we ensure that the dogs that stay with us for the entirety of their lives produce successful progeny, have fufilling careers in the show ring and have extensive health testing throughout their lives.

 

What's the difference between line-breeding and in-breeding?

This is actually a little complex and there is some controvesy about the benefits and issues associated with line breeding and in-breeding. In-breeding is when you do a first degree mating, these are father to daughter, mother to son and full brother to full sister. First degree matings are not allowed to be registered in Australia. Line breeding is when you purposely breed to multiply the amount of times a certain dog appears in the pedigree. This can range from second degree matings (half brother half sister, grandparent to grandchild) to breeding cousins together or even further decendents. Usually line breeding is done to try to achieve a certain type or quality, or because that dog was known to be clear of health issues.

 

Is my puppy guarenteed to be free of heritable defects?

Kilgarrin give the standard 14 day guarentee on all puppies and we provide lifetime support and help to all puppy buyers, but we do not guarentee they will be free from heritable defects. The simple reason is, that while every effort is made to ensure that the dogs we breed from are physically examined and we make educated and smart breeding choices, there are no DNA tests available to inform us which dogs carry heritable diseases and which don't. No breeder should guarentee this and no breeder can claim that their animals are either "Clear By Parentage" or "DNA Clear".  Kilgarrin have never bred a PRA or HC affected puppy as of date.

 

How often do you allow your stud dogs to be used?

Frequently, across many breeds, you will find that a stud dog becomes fashionable to use. This can be for many reasons, often to do wih the dog being successful in the show ring. The result is often that the dog places a permanent stamp on the breed, either through health or traits passed on to the progeny. This can make it very difficult to breed out undesirable results that come out generations later. We try not to breed from any of our dogs excessively and closely monitor the frequency of stud work they provide to try to control the amount of their offspring entering breeding programs. If a stud dog is found to be producing an undesirable trait or we believe has been used sufficiently, he will be desexed and removed from all breeding programs. We haven't placed a diffinative number on what we believe to be 'enough' or 'sufficient' progeny numbers, but needless to say we would know if we had reached it. None of our dogs have been used more than 10 times thus far.

 

Is it ever ok to breed from an affected dog?

This is one of those questions that often divides breeders. My personal belief is that this needs to be measured on a case by case basis. Dogs affected with Hereditary Cataracts are usually more easily identified as the detection can be made when the dog is younger, PRA often isn't detected until an age where the dog has been bred from. If a dog is discovered to be affected at a young age and there is an alternative option in breeding, it would be best to avoid using the affected dog. Dogs that are believed to be clear at a young age need to be tested throughout their lives up until death for these diseases. In some cases an affected dog may have been bred from without the breeder even knowing the disease exists in the dog due to lack of testing. 

 

Breeding from affected dogs creates a slippery slope for breeders and while the practice isn't condemned if the breeder makes educated choices and conducts themselves with honesty and integrity, it does increase the pool of carriers in the breed.

 

What is involved in an eye exam?

An eye exam or test is conducted by a canine ophthalmologist. The dog is given drops to dilate the pupils so the ophthalmologist can check the eyes efficiently. Once the drops are in effect, the dog is taken into an examination room with the owner and the examination begins. The ophthalmologist checks the lens, the cornea and the retina of any disease, determination or abnormalities, specifically checking for Hereditary Cataracts and PRA. This is a non-invasive test and the dogs are relaxed and comfortable through the whole ordeal.