ISO Female English Springer Spaniel for Breeding

[Man_in_Black]

[QUOTE=Action42;8743831]
I breed, own, and show English Springers in sport as well as conformation. As others have said, there is no reason to allow your to breed your unproven dog to my bitches.

I have spent countless hours and countless dollars researching pedigrees, analyzing structure, training, titling and improving my lines. If your dog isn’t superior in almost every way with titles to prove it, breeding to him would be at least one if not many steps backwards for what I am trying to achieve.

While I have no doubt that he’s a nice dog, going about breeding this way just perpetuates backyard breeding. Having an AKC registration at this time doesn’t mean anything except that his ancestors were registered. Do you see lots of letters before and after his ancestors’ names? Ch, GCH, CGC, CD, CDX, UD, FC, MACH are all good ones to look for. Without them, “well bred” means nothing.

I’d recommend that you find a breeder you admire and get a puppy that way. No sense in producing more mediocre dogs just for one puppy. Many breeders will have nice, officially health tested, pet quality puppies available even from very well bred litters. Not every pup is destined to show!

I’ll be happy to chat more about the breed and help with any advice I can give if you want to PM me.[/QUOTE]

And I COMPLETELY understand this. I’ll have to check and get back to you as far as his ancestry. As much as I would like to breed him, I have considered not because most people want dogs that are proven. I guess in my eyes, well-bred probably means something other than what top quality breeders consider well bred, because my dogs generally do nothing more than be great house/farm dogs, rather than show/gun/agility dogs. And because of the nature of this breed, I do understand that people do not want to breed unless they are proven and titled. And that’s fine, I get it. It’s the same with horses lol

And like I’ve mentioned before, I wouldn’t move forward with a breeding decision until I’m well educated and have taken the necessary steps to ensure quality, healthy pups.

[Brookes]

This sounds like a good friend of mine with a gorgeous doberman bitch, AKC registered, sweetest girl around.

However she was not titled in anything. She wanted to breed her to a nice male.

I made her go to a dog show with me and had her chat with the Doberman folks. They all told her the same thing; nope.

Us breeders work for years and years to guarantee the healthiest pups possible out of each and every breeding. I breed a litter maybe once every two to three years at most. All the pups are sold even before the breeding takes place. I am ready to take back every single pup if the need arises.

The cost of breeding properly and whelping a bitch can be quite high. Puppy raising gets pricey too.

Do your homework. However I think your best bet is to contact Action42 for a referral for a puppy. She obviously knows her stuff and I bet is producing healthy quality pups. If she doesn’t have a litter due then I’m sure she knows someone who may.

[S1969]

[QUOTE=Man in Black;8743865]
I guess in my eyes, well-bred probably means something other than what top quality breeders consider well bred, because my dogs generally do nothing more than be great house/farm dogs, rather than show/gun/agility dogs. [/QUOTE]

Just a final point - most good breeders consider those factors as being highly important, and often more important than the titles. It is going to live in your house, after all!

One of the biggest reasons I decided to breed my male, and may allow him to be used as a stud in the future is not because of his conformation or hunting ability - even though they are really great attributes. But his best quality is his temperament, and it’s not just me that thinks as much. He epitomizes the correct temperament for the breed - friendly, stable and driven, but controllable - and many others are not. My breed could use more temperaments like his, so that’s really what pushed me to reconsider breeding offers.

That said - there definitely are breeders who don’t really care about temperament. Avoid them.

[Action42]

[QUOTE=Man in Black;8743865]
I guess in my eyes, well-bred probably means something other than what top quality breeders consider well bred, because my dogs generally do nothing more than be great house/farm dogs, rather than show/gun/agility dogs…[/QUOTE]

But see, well bred means all of these things! Temperament is incredibly important and if you have that, you have one of the 3 major attributes you need. The other two are structure and drive/natural ability to do the job intended. Conformation evaluates the structure and movement of the dog, which is why it is important. Hunt tests (for our breed) will evaluate the drive/ability to work.

Well bred also means lines that have been proven free of certain diseases and temperament flaws for generations. So while your boy certainly sounds like a nice individual, what you need to have intimate knowledge of are both the good and bad traits of the past generations leading up to him, that way you know what may be lurking in his DNA and you can choose a bitch that will complement him and hopefully help minimize the chances of doubling up on something undesirable.

It sounds like you’re gaining an understanding, please let me know if I can help.

Also, just because I’m obsessed with her…

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y106/ilyrya/Ember%20Concord%20group%203_zpssqrc9dtx.jpg

[Alagirl]

[QUOTE=Man in Black;8743865]
And I COMPLETELY understand this. I’ll have to check and get back to you as far as his ancestry. As much as I would like to breed him, I have considered not because most people want dogs that are proven. I guess in my eyes, well-bred probably means something other than what top quality breeders consider well bred, because my dogs generally do nothing more than be great house/farm dogs, rather than show/gun/agility dogs. And because of the nature of this breed, I do understand that people do not want to breed unless they are proven and titled. And that’s fine, I get it. It’s the same with horses lol

And like I’ve mentioned before, I wouldn’t move forward with a breeding decision until I’m well educated and have taken the necessary steps to ensure quality, healthy pups.[/QUOTE]

Well, it seems that you have taken the first step to become more educated.
Having a really nice dog on your couch does that to you.

Maybe your guy won’t be the one to start your blood line, but seems to be the one to have peaked your interest!
Don’t be discouraged! Speak with a lot of people - in real life - and look at a lot of dogs, ask a lot of questions!

Breeding is a long journey!

[JBD]

My step daughter bought an AKC registered mini dachshund out of a box at a flea market. We took him over at 4 months old and lost him last year at 18 1/2.

He wouldn’t have made a show dog but was a pretty respectable example of the breed. While I never would have considered breeding him, I do understand wanting to replicate a dog you love. Trust me, I’ve tried it with horses and it didn’t work for me. It’s a lot easy to buy what you want rather than try to breed it.