Breeding Questions

Julie Stevenson · Jul 14, 2014

Hello Frenchie Lovers.....those of you who breed I need some advice. I have had several people approach me wanting to know if I'm going to breed Batty. He is a beautiful boy and I really had never considered it, but now I'm thinking it would be nice to have one of Batman's babies! So I'm considering it. What advise can you give me? I have never bred dogs before so I'm a complete novice. I would want to make sure that he does not have any defects before I choose to breed. What tests can I do? I also want to know what colors he can produce and what female I should breed to in order to get Pied babies. How old does Batty need to be before we can breed him? What is the best age for him to do this? Is it really something I should consider? I don't know. Thoughts, ideas......I think I would like to do it, but then again I'm not thrilled about having an un-neutered dog especially one that is already humping everything! LOL

MaplesMommy · Jul 14, 2014

Like you said it is really important that he passes all the health tests.
Then I would have suggested showing him and collecting points towards his champion title but since he is a blue you can't show him.
You might have a hard time finding a female to breed him to though,because usually breeders have their own breeding stock or only breed to CKC/AKC shown and approved dogs which represent the breeds standard(and unfortunately the blue colors is not considered 'standard').
There is a website called VetGen or GenVet and they do all kinds of genetic tests including colour gen tests. I am not sure how trustworthy they are and I also dont know a recommend age for a male since I am still quite new to the breeding topic myself

I know with a female you should wait until the 3. Heat which is what I am going to do,which will give me enough time to continue showing her and getting all the tests done

Julie Stevenson · Jul 14, 2014

MaplesMommy said:
Like you said it is really important that he passes all the health tests.
Then I would have suggested showing him and collecting points towards his champion title but since he is a blue you can't show him.
You might have a hard time finding a female to breed him to though,because usually breeders have their own breeding stock or only breed to CKC/AKC shown and approved dogs which represent the breeds standard(and unfortunately the blue colors is not considered 'standard').
There is a website called VetGen or GenVet and they do all kinds of genetic tests including colour gen tests. I am not sure how trustworthy they are and I also dont know a recommend age for a male since I am still quite new to the breeding topic myself I know with a female you should wait until the 3. Heat which is what I am going to do,which will give me enough time to continue showing her and getting all the tests done

I already have two females that are requesting to breed to him. Finding a female is not the issue, plenty of contacts here for that. I'm more concerned with should I do it. You are correct I can't show, never wanted to go into that world. Not my scene. But, I have considered getting into breeding. I'm not concerned with AKC standards. I prefer the rare colors anyway.

But I don't want to breed for the sake of breeding. I want to be sure my boy would produce strong healthy babies. I don't want to breed if he's got any issues that I might not be aware of yet....I need to do more research first.....

lkclark · Jul 14, 2014

Julie Stevenson said:
I already have two females that are requesting to breed to him. Finding a female is not the issue, plenty of contacts here for that. I'm more concerned with should I do it. You are correct I can't show, never wanted to go into that world. Not my scene. But, I have considered getting into breeding. I'm not concerned with AKC standards. I prefer the rare colors anyway. But I don't want to breed for the sake of breeding. I want to be sure my boy would produce strong healthy babies. I don't want to breed if he's got any issues that I might not be aware of yet....I need to do more research first.....

They're requesting to breed with him without knowing his genetic history, health record or even his adult form? Sounds like they're just after the coloring :-/

MaplesMommy · Jul 15, 2014

lkclark said:
They're requesting to breed with him without knowing his genetic history, health record or even his adult form? Sounds like they're just after the coloring :-/

That's exactly what I was thinking.

Also with the breed standards I dont mean the colours only. Its also how your dog is build,his gait and temperament.

Having two dogs mate is not breeding.
Breeding means to produce the best offspring out of the best dogs.

lkclark · Jul 15, 2014

MaplesMommy said:
That's exactly what I was thinking.

Also with the breed standards I dont mean the colours only. Its also how your dog is build,his gait and temperament.

Having two dogs mate is not breeding.
Breeding means to produce the best offspring out of the best dogs.

Does 'extraterrestrial snuggle bug' fit the temperament test? If so, I think Bear wins on that score. Lol.

Julie Stevenson · Jul 15, 2014

lkclark said:
They're requesting to breed with him without knowing his genetic history, health record or even his adult form? Sounds like they're just after the coloring :-/

Yes. I would agree.

Julie Stevenson · Jul 15, 2014

MaplesMommy said:
That's exactly what I was thinking.

Also with the breed standards I dont mean the colours only. Its also how your dog is build,his gait and temperament.

Having two dogs mate is not breeding.
Breeding means to produce the best offspring out of the best dogs.

@ MaplesMommy. I agree with you completely. I won't know if I want or even should breed him until he's grown so I can see his build. He has a wonderful temperament, but there is a ton of other things I would want to look at before I will know if it's right to breed him. Thanks for the info, I truly appreciate it.

MaplesMommy · Jul 15, 2014

You're welcome

I think you are making a wise decision to wait a little before saying Yes or No and I am glad you only want to breed if he is absolutely healthy. Unfortunately there is a trend out there to make a quick buck with expensive dogs and I strongly disagree with these people that breed no matter what. Although Im sure no member on this board is like that.

So keep us posted and maybe in a couple years we will see some batty babies

(And/Or Maple Babies. If everything goes well with our breeding plans)

Julie Stevenson · Jul 15, 2014

MaplesMommy said:
You're welcome
I think you are making a wise decision to wait a little before saying Yes or No and I am glad you only want to breed if he is absolutely healthy. Unfortunately there is a trend out there to make a quick buck with expensive dogs and I strongly disagree with these people that breed no matter what. Although Im sure no member on this board is like that.

So keep us posted and maybe in a couple years we will see some batty babies (And/Or Maple Babies. If everything goes well with our breeding plans)

I totally understand.

FrenchieDante · Jul 15, 2014

I call first dibs on a batty baby!

Julie Stevenson · Jul 15, 2014

FrenchieDante said:
I call first dibs on a batty baby!

You have had Dante less than 2 weeks and you're ready for another.....that's a FRENCHIE lover for you! I knew I wanted a second that quickly too.

IF I choose to breed you all will be the first to know. I'm still doing research and I think if I'm going to do it. I will purchase my own female so I can be sure that the babies are well cared for and I know that both are sound healthy correct frenchies.... Batty has a good solid pedigree. But, I still want to be sure that he grows into the dog I expect him too.

pbois · Jul 15, 2014

Breeding is definitely something I wouldn't take lightly and make sure you have your ducks in a row before jumping into it. Lots of good advice so far, but maybe someone could chime in on what health testing should be done before breeding a Frenchie and making sure you have all those things done before considering it. In Labradors there are a slew of things that need to be tested for before the dog is bred like...... OFA Hips / Elbows (at 2 years of age), Eye certification with ophthalmologist, PRA, EIC, and CNM. After all of those things are done and they come back appropriately then the actual breeding comes next. Not sure what things are most recommended with Frenchies. When I was looking for Bolt the health testing I saw most often were OFA hips, spinal x-rays, and cardiac screens. Not sure if those are the norm or not??

davidh · Jul 17, 2014

Great advise above and yes a spinal x-rays, and cardiac screens are a great idea, plus all the other test mentioned above. I like the idea you are waiting to let him mature a little to see how he looks. I am not in favor of breeding non standard colors, as I do not agree with it, but people are still doing it to make a quick buck. I am a firm believer that champion stock should be breed, with close attention to both sire and dam linage to make sure they are a good match for the best quality pups possible. Even with that, you may still get one that is not healthy, that's just genetics, but when you try to cute all that out, you produce a better pup. The age of a male can be as young as about 8 or 9 months of age. A female we always wait until their third heat cycle to breed. This puts them close to two years of age when they have their pups, some people will wait longer and that's OK too.