Dog breeding - why we do it?
My point of this post is not to scold nor belittle anyone but to raise the awareness of living and working with dogs - an animal that has been with us for over 10,000 years. It is discouraging that we still need such discussion.
And, instead of coming up with a hypothetical example on my own to make a case that we do not know much about dog breeding or, for that matter, to improve the lives and welfare of dogs - below is a verbatim Q & A example from an 'established' company in Malayisa. I have left out the name of the vet who provided the answer and the company where it was hosted. The point here is not to blame any single individual or company, but to educate ourselves - why else would we be participating in this forum?
So, let me ask, can anyone appreciate why we breed? And if so, what factors determine whether we should do it? Is it just the age of the stud dog alone, as the Q & A below suggests?
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Question: Golden Retriever has always been my dream dog. Recently I took up the courage to import a male dog from state and it cost a BOMB. There were many good comment from friends and peoples from the pet industry, a local pet shop even request to use him as a stud dog. He is current 8 months old, dark brown and is very active. What is your opinion and when is the best time to breed him if I wanted to???
Answer:
A young dog barely into puberty produces a low concentration and poor quality of semen. It’s therefore best to wait for a year or two depending on the breed before using him for stud, so that he reached maximum fertility. Conversely, past the age of 8 or 9 years, male may have difficulty mating and often produce semen that is of poorer quality, less concentrated, and with more frequent anomalies in the sperm. This is even more obvious in large breeds, such as mastiffs, which often suffer from a drop in fertility by the age of 5 or 6. Please also take note that a handsome dog may not produce good puppies as the female also play a very important part. I wound recommend you to wait till your GRT is 2 years before you use him as stud. You may like to do a sperm count on him as it give an indication of a dog’s fertility. Although It is not an absolute criteria.
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