Responsible Breeding

Tuesday February 08, 2011 06:01pm

Responsible Breeding

If you decide to breed your dog you take on a lot of responsibility!  Not just in raising the puppies, but WAY before that.  It all starts when you pick your puppy that will be the future breeding stock.  I did this a year and a half ago...her name is "Hemi."  I picked Hemi for many reasons.  She had a GREAT pedigree, she is EIC clear and CNM clear by parentage, and her parents had their hip, eye, and elbow clearances.  She was also really cute and LOVED to retrieve!

Hemi so far has done GREAT in her retriever training and is a lot of fun to have around the house.  She recently came in season, but she is too young to breed at this time.  The reasons for that are: one she isn't mature enough, two she cannot get her hip and elbow clearances until she is 2 years old and three I would like to get a few titles on her before breeding.

Because Hemi was just in season I thought that she was having a false pregnancy.  She also needed a Rabies vaccine so I decided to take her to the vet.  As the vet was giving Hemi her exam she listened to Hemi's heart.  The vet took an extra long time doing this and I knew something was wrong!  When the vet was done listening to Hemi's heart she told me that she could hear a heart murmur but she wanted to ask one of the other vets to listen.  So, they took Hemi to the back (which Hemi thought was fun because they had cookies) and again the other vet heard the murmur.  It was suggested to me that if I wanted to breed Hemi I needed to have the heart murmur checked out by a cardiologist.  But, it was Saturday and we would have to wait till Monday to talk to one.  So after stressing all weekend (ask my boyfriend) about the fate of Hemi, my vet talked to the cardiologist and he said that heart disease in labs is very common, which to be honest I did not know.  We field dog people test our labs for all kinds of genetic defects, but heart disease is not a common test we do.  So my vet set up an appointment for Hemi for Tuesday, which gave me another day to STRESS!

On Tuesday, I took Hemi and my check book to the cardiologist and thought about what a bummer it would be if I could not breed her.  Hemi  is such a GREAT dog with EXCELLENT traits to pass on, but if I couldn't breed her we would love her just the same...if not more.  So after meeting Dr Wood at Northwest Cardiology, he listened to Hemi's heart, which she thought was very fun since again they had cookies!  After listening to Hemi's heart, Dr. Wood immediately said that the genetic heart defect that you hear in Labradors was in the opposite side of the heart as Hemi's murmur.  So with my fingers crossed and my check book in hand I sent Hemi to the back room again This time to have an echocardiogram gram (a heart ultrasound).  I was hopeful that Hemi would be ok and also would be able to be bred.  After waiting for Hemi for what seemed like forever and hearing the vet techs talk about why Hemi must be named Hemi they finally came to get me (after the engine). 

This time I was taken to the back to see the ultrasound of Hemi's heart.  I acted like I knew what Dr Wood was talking about when he pointed out things in Hemi's heart, but to be honest I had no idea, that is why I am a professional dog trainer and not a vet.  Anyway, the bottom line is Hemi's heart is just fine!  The reason she has a murmur is because her heart pushes the blood out faster then other hearts, which if you ever saw Hemi run it is very fitting!  So after spending $525.00 I was able to find out that Hemi was just fine and get an OFA clearance on her heart.  Three clearances down (EIC, HEART, and CNM), four clearance to go (Eyes, Hips, Elbow,and PRA) and I have to pick a suitable mate for Hemi.  To think some people just throw their two dogs in the back yard and see what happens!!!

If you would like to have your dogs heart OFA certified at a cheaper rate got to one of Dr Wood's clinic's.

Or if you are looking for an eye cerf clinic call Parkdale Kennels is haveing one the end of February.

Comments

On Feb 10, 2011 08:57pm, Carey Blake said:

Speaking as a vet tech of 20+ years, I can honestly say that I wish there were more responsible breeders like Adrienne out there. I also wish folks would quit spending $1000+ on 'designer' dogs (mutts). The shelters are full of them. I know this forum is read by mostly informed responsible dog owners, just venting my 'pet' peeve. I am so relieved to hear Hemi's heart is okay. I asked the 4 veterinarians in our practice if anyone of them has seen PRA. Nope. That is a good thing. We are seeing more and more cancers. So make sure to have that growth checked out, or have that limp radiographed. Hey Adrienne, I know someone with a Puggle that is available for stud service for Hemi! Would that be a Puggledor? ; )

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