Breeding and Health
Health is of uttermost importance for me in my breeding, together with temperament.
Having a dog is a lifestyle, a soulmate, a special and undescribeable bond. Loosing a dog is the hardest thing I've ever experienced and I wish that pain to no one!
While it cannot be prevented - if not from disease, then the dog will pass away from old age - you can, as a breeder, do your uttermost to breed healthy puppies. It is the responsibility of the breeder towards the new families for the puppies - and even more so, it is the responsibily of the breeder to the puppies!
Therefore, a breeder must research the health issues in the breed. The breeder must screen their breeding dogs for the relevant hereditary diseases and research health problems in their breeding lines - and once all knowledge has been acquired - find a suitable stud dog for the bitch.
I am not saying that if there's anything "not perfect" with the breeding dog, it has to be taken out of breeding - there are way too many things to concider. But I have a firm believe that a sick dog should NEVER be bred!
There are always "grey zones" - no dog is perfect and sometimes you may have valid reason to believe that not genetics, but environmental factors, can have caused it (like very rough and irrational excersize) or the health problem may be so minor, compared to a breeds overall genpole and health.
But through knowledge, you can find a proper stud dog for your bitch. Or you, as a future puppy buyer, can research your breeder, and find out if you think she or he is breeding ethically in regards of the specific breed and its struggles. We need to be open and honest about our breeding dogs' health and temperament. The two affect each other - an unthriving temperament causes stress, which inflicts the dogs health. Health problems causes pain and stress and lowers aggression threshold.
See the bar for specific health problems in the Entlebucher and Bernese Mountain Dog (in Danish)
Having a dog is a lifestyle, a soulmate, a special and undescribeable bond. Loosing a dog is the hardest thing I've ever experienced and I wish that pain to no one!
While it cannot be prevented - if not from disease, then the dog will pass away from old age - you can, as a breeder, do your uttermost to breed healthy puppies. It is the responsibility of the breeder towards the new families for the puppies - and even more so, it is the responsibily of the breeder to the puppies!
Therefore, a breeder must research the health issues in the breed. The breeder must screen their breeding dogs for the relevant hereditary diseases and research health problems in their breeding lines - and once all knowledge has been acquired - find a suitable stud dog for the bitch.
I am not saying that if there's anything "not perfect" with the breeding dog, it has to be taken out of breeding - there are way too many things to concider. But I have a firm believe that a sick dog should NEVER be bred!
There are always "grey zones" - no dog is perfect and sometimes you may have valid reason to believe that not genetics, but environmental factors, can have caused it (like very rough and irrational excersize) or the health problem may be so minor, compared to a breeds overall genpole and health.
But through knowledge, you can find a proper stud dog for your bitch. Or you, as a future puppy buyer, can research your breeder, and find out if you think she or he is breeding ethically in regards of the specific breed and its struggles. We need to be open and honest about our breeding dogs' health and temperament. The two affect each other - an unthriving temperament causes stress, which inflicts the dogs health. Health problems causes pain and stress and lowers aggression threshold.
See the bar for specific health problems in the Entlebucher and Bernese Mountain Dog (in Danish)