5pringer wrote:I bought Jess last November from a well known Spaniel trainer in S.Wales ,he'd only had her a few months ,he bought her he said because he liked her breeding and had a similar bitch which produced FTCH's in the past. He planned to have a litter from her but for some reason ( too many dogs ) he changed his mind and decided to sell her.
I liked the look of her as soon as I saw her and she bonded with me instantly.
She's 4 next month and had hardly anything done with her ,at first I thought she was gun shy,I'd been assured she wasn't, has she closed down the first drive I took her on as we got closer to the guns . I persevered with her taking her closer and closer to a clay shoot each week until she was quite happy hunting her rabbit ball and accepting food .
We were able to do several drives together right at the end of the season , she kept close to me and hunted well.
She's still quite a nervous girl but I'm exposing her to as much socialisation as I can.
I would like a pup from her , I thought she had been bred from before as her undercarriage is quite loose. This afternoon I contacted someone who I thought may know more about her breeding and history ,he advised me to check with the Kennel Club.
I eventually found how to navigate to the progeny section and was dismayed to find she had 3 litters between 4/6/13 and 18/7/14! , no wonder she was very thin when I bought her home.
Disregarding the over use of this bitch as a breeding machine / cash point. Why should you think her worthy of breeding in any way yourself even if it was her first litter?
kent wrote:
Disregarding the over use of this bitch as a breeding machine / cash point. Why should you think her worthy of breeding in any way yourself even if it was her first litter?
She has no faults , has a lovely temperament and a very kind eye , is a perfect size and has excellent conformation and is very biddable. I hope that answers your question.
Rothievale wrote:That's what gets me about this forum, it's all cloak and dagger and PMs. I would be stating exactly who these two guys are! So that maybe more people have their eyes opened to the money making business that is Gundogs. There's people out there with stud dogs that are undershot, produce hernias, have had entropian, have damaged game, you name it! And they are well respected gundog trainers and breeders, makes my blood boil, they aren't interested in the breed, just making a pound or two.
Well said. It doesn't help when it's the 'role models' who are setting up this kind of example for others to follow/ape!
I may have misunderstood the op but if this bitch is 4 years old and has 'had hardly anything done with her', presumably she has neither been fully trained nor 'tested' in the field.
I was looking at stud dogs a while back and as part of my research was seeing what they'd produced, how much they'd been used etc.
There was one stud who was of no real interest to me but was heavily advertised etc. Upon checking MyKC I discovered he had covered the same bitch 4 times in just over 2 years. She was clearly been bred on consecutive seaosns. It is totally possible for a bitch to have her allowed 4 registerable litters in about 2 years. There were several other bitches as well that from the dates would appear to have had litters by him on consecutive seasons.
IMO it's a disgusting practice but one that it would appear is perfectly acceptable by some (bitch owners and stud owners) and indeed allowed by the KC. I really do wish they had more powers and the manpower to police their systems.
The more I see the more I am dismayed by some of the 'big' gundog breeders in this country. I heard of one giving advice to someone starting out and they were told to get 'rid' of breeding bitches before they were 4 . That advice was given and reflected how much you could make from your breeding bitches before they become a cash drain rather than a cash maker. Pretty ruthless in my view and very , very sad that the dogs are seen as money makers above all else.
It is not just confined to the bitches either . I am aware of one stud dog that has and continues to sire dogs that have a predisposition to Elbow Dysplasia ( this is a condition that is not easily managed). That dog has 25% of its progeny on average with ED .. the stud dog owner knows about this and still uses him . Add to that another owner who has a dog sired by him and had his sister ( had ED as did 2 others out of that litter which are known about ) and he happily uses his dog at stud knowing that there is every likelihood that his dog will sire dogs with ED or it will come out in further generations. I could not sleep at night doing that .. The desire for money seems to bring out the worst in people at times.
Sounds like this little dog has now found someone that care's
Well said. It doesn't help when it's the 'role models' who are setting up this kind of example for others to follow/ape!