First bird dog was a brittany, then when I was 20 purchased an English Setter. Am on my 2nd Setter so far.
1st Setter I had bred twice. Once when the birds were in somewhat of a downturn in the middle 2000's and I had problems selling the dogs...my parents had bred litters of pups from time to time so I'd been around it growing up.
She had 6 pups, (5 f, 1 m) placed 3 in homes and 3F went to Flint Oak http://www.flintoak.com/
They had a lot of Tamoka line in them (the female I owned had heritage from Troy's kennel - PrairieDrifter) and the stud was a son or grandson of CH True Citizen
I called Flint Oak about 5 or 6 years after they had bought the pups - they still had one female which they stated was a great dog, one was gone out of the kennel before the present dog manager started working there and the other was more of a one owner dog and was adopted by one of the employees but was told she was a great dog.
Bred her a 2nd time - she only had 3 pups (2 died at birth - not sure what went wrong - think it was a tough labor for her) and only one lived - which I kept and have now. 2nd stud didnt have a lot of close field trialing relatives, however I was familiar with other relatives in his kennel and this guy had a GREAT personality and boy could he run like much like his mother.
Anyways My present dog is a GREAT pet, was slow to develop (by my standards) but naturally backed and naturally retrieved. Great house dog and personality as well. It just took me a while to get her "boldness" to come out.
The one negative - she inherited the trait of false pregnancies from her mother. I'm unsure if any of the other females from the 1st litter did the same - never had the feedback.
This is my only health concern in breeding her....I really dont know if this is a trait I should be concerned about - however she is getting old enough I either need to attempt to breed her next heat cycle or have her spayed and plan on purchasing a pup from somewhere else. Would really like to keep the line going.
She ranges quite a bit which I like. She has a soft personality but I think more of it might have to do with being an only pup in her litter. Her being soft forced me to be a more patient and better trainer.
I've hardly ever had to use an Ecollar throughout her life...just been a dream to work with in that regard. I really dont like hard headed dogs.
Is having false pregnancies a health trait to be concerned about? If this helps in giving feedback....her mother (my 1st dog) was so sensitive to being around other pups she would produce milk and take care of them as they were here own....So for example, my parents have had Mini Schnauzers around for quite a # of years and have bred them from time to time - My 1st Setter was 1.5 years old - the schnauzer had a litter and really didnt know how to take care of them and frankly some of them were going to die. This setter produced milk within 2-3 days, and spent more time in the whelping box than the Schnauzer mother did and nursed them far more than the Schnauzer ever did as well. She did this for a second litter that came 2-3 years later as well. She just had a strong mothering instinct.
I about took her to a stud dog last spring however backed out since my son was only 9 mos old at the time. Now that we have the parenting thing down a little better ourselves feel more comfortable handling a pup now.
She's going to be 6 or 7 this March so it's do or die time the next heat cycle which is around the corner if she stays on her near yearly schedule.
1st Setter I had bred twice. Once when the birds were in somewhat of a downturn in the middle 2000's and I had problems selling the dogs...my parents had bred litters of pups from time to time so I'd been around it growing up.
She had 6 pups, (5 f, 1 m) placed 3 in homes and 3F went to Flint Oak http://www.flintoak.com/
They had a lot of Tamoka line in them (the female I owned had heritage from Troy's kennel - PrairieDrifter) and the stud was a son or grandson of CH True Citizen
I called Flint Oak about 5 or 6 years after they had bought the pups - they still had one female which they stated was a great dog, one was gone out of the kennel before the present dog manager started working there and the other was more of a one owner dog and was adopted by one of the employees but was told she was a great dog.
Bred her a 2nd time - she only had 3 pups (2 died at birth - not sure what went wrong - think it was a tough labor for her) and only one lived - which I kept and have now. 2nd stud didnt have a lot of close field trialing relatives, however I was familiar with other relatives in his kennel and this guy had a GREAT personality and boy could he run like much like his mother.
Anyways My present dog is a GREAT pet, was slow to develop (by my standards) but naturally backed and naturally retrieved. Great house dog and personality as well. It just took me a while to get her "boldness" to come out.
The one negative - she inherited the trait of false pregnancies from her mother. I'm unsure if any of the other females from the 1st litter did the same - never had the feedback.
This is my only health concern in breeding her....I really dont know if this is a trait I should be concerned about - however she is getting old enough I either need to attempt to breed her next heat cycle or have her spayed and plan on purchasing a pup from somewhere else. Would really like to keep the line going.
She ranges quite a bit which I like. She has a soft personality but I think more of it might have to do with being an only pup in her litter. Her being soft forced me to be a more patient and better trainer.
I've hardly ever had to use an Ecollar throughout her life...just been a dream to work with in that regard. I really dont like hard headed dogs.
Is having false pregnancies a health trait to be concerned about? If this helps in giving feedback....her mother (my 1st dog) was so sensitive to being around other pups she would produce milk and take care of them as they were here own....So for example, my parents have had Mini Schnauzers around for quite a # of years and have bred them from time to time - My 1st Setter was 1.5 years old - the schnauzer had a litter and really didnt know how to take care of them and frankly some of them were going to die. This setter produced milk within 2-3 days, and spent more time in the whelping box than the Schnauzer mother did and nursed them far more than the Schnauzer ever did as well. She did this for a second litter that came 2-3 years later as well. She just had a strong mothering instinct.
I about took her to a stud dog last spring however backed out since my son was only 9 mos old at the time. Now that we have the parenting thing down a little better ourselves feel more comfortable handling a pup now.
She's going to be 6 or 7 this March so it's do or die time the next heat cycle which is around the corner if she stays on her near yearly schedule.