I am fairly new here, so I do not know the full story with the OP, so I am not trying to defend her... and I am not trying to attack her either, as I do not know the full story of her breeding practices, however I thought I would reply to a few of these posts that caught my attention...
First.. I do breed. I have been owning/showing Collies for 15 yrs (started showing in 1994 at the age of 12). I didn't breed my first litter until 2003. After finding the type and family I liked, and purchased a couple dogs to really start showing and for future breeding plans...
Actually, it matters greatly.
Any bitch, assuming she has healthy litters, should only have a maximum of three litters in her lifetime. To have several litters a year, a breeder should have many bitches - which means that you're looking at a kennel operation, not dogs who are raised in the home. Dogs do not receive near as much individual attention, because it is simply impossible.
The alternative is that each bitch is having many litters, which is arguably worse. There is really no way to have many litters a year and maintain "reputable breeder" status.
Most reputable breeders will have one litter every year, IF that. Many only have a litter every two or three years, when the pairing that would be best for the breed, health testing and titles included, present themselves.
I'm not really following how one would think a maximum amount of litters a bitch should have in her life time is 3?? How did you come up with that number? What if she only has 1 or 2 puppies in each litter? I think as long as the bitch isn't being bred every season, and is in excellent condition, healthy, happy, and a good representation of the breed, someone who breeds a bitch more than 3 times in her lifetime should not be considered a BYB breeder.
I have 7 Collies right now, all of them are bitches as a matter of fact. I've only had 1 litter this year (May 2009 -- it was a singleton litter).. Yes I do have a "Kennel" for the dogs, however my dogs are raised in the house and spend a lot of time in the house. I try to leave them outside much of the day (weather permitting) as they love to be outside, but they are also great house dogs, and I usually have a few sleeping on the bed each night, as well as others sleeping in other parts of the house -- couch, dog beds etc...
Though, as long as the dogs are happy, well taken care of, socialized and you spend time with them, I have no problem with people keeping dogs in a kennel. When did having a kennel for your dogs become a bad thing? I know many many reputable breeders who have various kennel setups.
As far as the number of litters a year go, I've never had more than 1-2 litters a year, and I prefer to keep it that way, but I'm not going to say I'll never have more than a litter or two a year..... but I work for professional handlers, handlers who have bred/owned/handled BIS winning shelties, as well as ASSA futurity winners, who have 5-6 litters last year. They co-own most of their dogs, and get them back for litters at various times. I've whelped many of their litters for them, while they were off at shows, others were whelped/raised by the co-owners. They haven't had even 1 litter this year. They found stud dogs they felt fit their bitches and they bred them. It doesn't make them less reputable because they had more than one litter last year. It doesn't make the litters less planned.
I don't wait for a stud dog that would work with one of my bitches, to present himself. Every time I go to a dog show I watch the other entries, looking at the other males... looking for the next stud dog that I felt would work with this bitch, or that bitch...
Ummm, no, not always a kennel operation. Some breeders co-own numerous bitches (which doesn't necessarily mean they live with them at all times).
Sorry, but I also don't think it's all that horrible for some dogs to live in a kennel environment (most set ups aren't what people think when they here "kennel." A common setup I have seen are those who are crated inside the home, and brought outside to runs during the day). Personally, so long as attention IS given, they receive plenty of exercise and mental stimulation, and most importantly the dog is happy, healthy and thriving, I won't get my panties in a bunch.
I guess we will just agree to disagree then
But why can't that be achieved even on a larger scale (more than one litter every year)?
Exactly! I totally agree with this!
The breeding on a larger scale, with more than 1 litter a year, can, and is achieved by several excellent breeders I know! I personally wouldn't want multiple litters a year, but I am certainly not going to judge someone who does have multiple litters per year if they are doing it the right way!... the breedings are well thought out and planned, the parents are titled and healthy....
We do have to agree to disagree, because I disagree with raising litters that way. I'm sure some actual breeders will chime in on this too, as I am very much not a breeder.
And some breeders do have two litters a year sometimes, there's room for exceptions here and there. But, when you're working on improving your breed, you won't produce for quantity, but for quality.
Why should one try to have multiple litters a year, as opposed to waiting for the right pairings?
Again, I'm not sure how having multiple litters a year means a reputable breeder isn't waiting for the right pairing??? I'm not saying what the OP is doing is reputable, but that doesnt mean every breeder who has 2-3-4 litters a year, aren't planning these litters out! As I said before, every time I go to a dog show, or read through Collie Expressions magazine, or look at Colliesonline I am look at the dogs... look at the studs, what the stud are producing and think "hmm.. how would he work with this bitch"... and many times it's "why would anyone breed to that??" or "OMG, how did that finish!" I'm very picky and hard on the dogs I choose to breed...
I have a 4yr old rough bitch who has never been bred. I bred her and co-own her, she has been living with her other owner since she was 12 wks old. She came back to me this summer so we could finish her Champion -- she came to me needing 3 singles to finish, she picked up 12 pts and both majors as a youngster in about 5 wkends of showing, then her owner had a baby (now 2yrs)... and is now pregnant for the second time.. so she has been unable to get her out to shows to finish, so she came to me to get her finished and then we'll breed her. She picked up 2 points the first weekend I showed her, then dumped all her coat, so she is now sitting on 1 single point to finish! We'll breed her this winter whenever she comes in season though!
THat's because your too busy training and showing to be able to handle more than a couple litters a year. THat's because those one or two litters are planned out so carefully, tested, proven parent. I can't imagine a kennel having more.
Again, I know people who are out showing almost every weekend, who have multiple litters. It is possible to be a reputable breeder, who is showing/training working their dogs, and have more than a couple litters a year..