This One's For draggar

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

I have recently got a purebred black Labrador which I am keeping at my mother in laws house because of the parvo outbreak, he'll stay there until I move house but i'm over there everyday, feeding, walking, playing with him ect.

He's 16 weeks old, had him vaccinated and wormed today and he weighs 15.5kgs, he's a big solid boy, I've named him Boof, cause he's a big boofhead

Anyway, I would like to eventually breed him and have looked into some reputable breeders in my surrounding area and a few in Sydney which is probably where I will go, It's about 10 hour drive away but I don't mind making the journey.

I wanted to know what I should look out for in a breeder, what questions I should ask ect.

I'll get some pics up when I can, he's a gorgeous dog with a beautiful nature and really bloody smart, I've had him a week and already he's learn't to sit and stay, he won't go for his food until I tell him too, awesome dog.

The lady I got him off found him wandering the streets and nearly hit him with her car, she called the owners and they didn't want him back but she has a 7 month old son and she can't keep up with a dog so full of energy and she is also moving house, so I took him.

He had a complete vet check up today and he is in perfect health.

Anything you can tell me would be really helpful, thanks again

[draggar]

First, congratz on the new puppy and it's god that he's vaccinated up. Let the vet know what happened so they can possibly give him more vaccinations for that situation.

Don't pay your vet to worm them, talk to dog people. You can usually get dewormer at a feed store for a fraction of the cost and some of it you can give with food (just don't do it on a day they'll be unsupervised all day - it can have "digestive" issues with them. Maybe put some molasses in their food when you do this (you can get lesser-processed molasses at feed stores - not human quality but just as effective at a fraction of the cost).

I'd also recommend MSM salt in his food - maybe 1/2 tablespoon when he's fully grown (about a year old - maybe even staring with less at 6 months) to help with joints over the long term.

Now as for breeding him - why do you want to breed him? How are you improving the breed? With no paperwork you have no way of verifying that he truly is a purebred lab. Plus, being a "good pet" is really no reason to breed a dog - shelters are overflowing with dogs that would be "good pets".

We can toss his show career out the window but working? Obedience, retrieving, hunting, tracking, etc.. Is he good enough to get titles in those areas? How about his hips (no way of telling how good those are until he is roughly 2), about other genetic issues?

As for being a breeder, first some easy questions (I know he's a he but you still need to consider all aspects since the litter will also be your responsibility):
Do you know how to raise puppies? This includes whelping the litter and knowing what to do and when?

Can you tell signs of distress in the mother?

Do you know how to bring up the puppies? What to feed them and when?

Here's a hard question:
Can you tell a good home? Do you know the right questions to ask potential adopters? Do you know what to look for in their home, their answers etc..?

Are you willing to take back any puppy at any age for any reason?

And here's the hardest question (in the spoiler tag - DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH):
*****
Are you willing to euthanize a puppy yourself?

I don't mean take it to a vet and have them put it to sleep. I mean making the decision yourself (and knowing when to make the decision) and doing the act yourself. Wrapping it in a wet towel, putting it in a zip loc bag and putting it in the freezer for a few hours (yes, that is the most humane way to do it).

Are you willing to do that?
*****

Any truly good breeder will answer "yes" to that question and be willing to do it if and when needed.

Breeding puppies isn't easy and even though you own the potential sire your name will still be on the litter and it will still be your responsibility to make sure they all go to good homes.

I don't want to sound harsh but many people breed their dog without knowing what they're getting into and it's not an easy learning process plus if you mess up the results can be lethal.

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

Thanks draggar, what you said was helpful.

Boof has to go back for more vaccinations in 3 weeks, he was vaccinated not only for parvo but also for coronavirus which is bad in the area aswell.

I normally worm the dogs myself but since he was getting vaccinated she popped a couple of worming tablets in him at the time.

In the next month or so i'm signing up for animal care course with my local Tafe institute and have also asked the local vet if I could do some training with them which they have accepted since they're really swamped at the moment.

Boof is going to obedience training next week.

As for the reason for breeding, Labradors are in high demand in my area to be working dogs, farmers are looking for them, police are looking for them and also just to be an average pet which are great with children and other dogs.

What you discussed in the spoiler tag, have seen this done once, a friend had a litter of 6 pups and one of them had a cleft palate, this was the method he used to euthanize the pup. I understand why it had to be done and would do it if I had too.

I will discuss with my vet when my training starts what I need to do with a birthing mother and what to do if things go wrong.

Thanks for the great advice, I do appreciate it.

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

It looks like we won't be doing anything with Boof, he's got parvo too.

I'm so sick of this shit, i've spent most of the day crying and trying to phone my husband and he hasn't returned any of my calls.

I phoned the vet and she said in order to treat him I need to give them $300 straight up and I can't pay it off, It'll cost around $800 for treatment.

I'm done, no more dogs for me.

[draggar]

At 16 weeks they should have a far better chance to get though parvo with some meds - that's the end of the critical stage (its dependent on when the antibiotics in the mother's milk wear out - usually done before 16 weeks).