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Hi all -
Some of you have already heard some of this, but I'd like to bring it up again and just get some honest opinions. What I'd like you to do is imagine yourself with this dog, imagine that you're not against breeding a quality animal, and forget about cost, risks, etc. This is purely based on your feelings about breeding this specific dog with these specific qualifications.
Here it is: imagine that you own this girl: Chow, born 11/3/04 so will be three years old this November. She's conformationally correct with just a few slight imperfections: body is slightly long (which is your preference, because the very square dogs have problems being physically agile); she's moderate in bone and face (also your preference, in order to avoid the ponderous, snorting chow type).
She has an exquisite temperament with zero aggression toward humans OR dogs. She does have prey drive and would like to catch squirrels, however.
She's earned points in both AKC and CKC (Canada) conformation, both in just one weekend of showing in each venue. There have been no available majors in your area and you have chosen not to pursue a championship because of this. Instead, you've shown her in AKC rally and obedience, and she's qualified 11 of the 12 times she's been in the ring, earning all three rally titles and 2/3 of her CD (with the CD expected to be finished with the upcoming weekend of trials which would mean she's earned three titles since March). She's started in agility and is very athletic and capable, learning to weave six poles (inline, no wires) in about one week. She also learned a "foot" command for the contacts within about a week. The only thing holding her back in agility is YOU and your limitations.
She's well started on retrieving and jumps and your intention is to train toward a CDX and possibly a UD, as well as tracking.
She has also certified as a therapy dog and has visited the local nursing home as well as Boys and Girls Club.
In the past six months, you've concentrated on health certifications. She has passed OFA hips (good), elbows, patellas, thyroid, cardiac and eyes (CERF). She is only the sixth chow ever to pass all of these, and her father was the first. Her uncle is also one of the six. In her four generation pedigree, 25 of the 30 dogs show health certifications - many with multiple certifications and several with OFA excellent rated hips. Also in the four generation pedigree, 19 dogs have championships and there's also a scattering of obedience titles (NOT common in the breed).
You're sure that you would keep one pup and it's likely that a pup would go to her breeder and another to the breeder of her sire. Chow litters are generally around four pups. You haven't even begun to put out the word since you haven't decided to breed her, so it's pretty sure that finding quality homes would not be an issue.
Based on this information and from a non-emotional standpoint, what would be the pro's and con's that you would consider regarding breeding of this particular bitch?
Melanie and the gang in Alaska
Some of you have already heard some of this, but I'd like to bring it up again and just get some honest opinions. What I'd like you to do is imagine yourself with this dog, imagine that you're not against breeding a quality animal, and forget about cost, risks, etc. This is purely based on your feelings about breeding this specific dog with these specific qualifications.
Here it is: imagine that you own this girl: Chow, born 11/3/04 so will be three years old this November. She's conformationally correct with just a few slight imperfections: body is slightly long (which is your preference, because the very square dogs have problems being physically agile); she's moderate in bone and face (also your preference, in order to avoid the ponderous, snorting chow type).
She has an exquisite temperament with zero aggression toward humans OR dogs. She does have prey drive and would like to catch squirrels, however.
She's earned points in both AKC and CKC (Canada) conformation, both in just one weekend of showing in each venue. There have been no available majors in your area and you have chosen not to pursue a championship because of this. Instead, you've shown her in AKC rally and obedience, and she's qualified 11 of the 12 times she's been in the ring, earning all three rally titles and 2/3 of her CD (with the CD expected to be finished with the upcoming weekend of trials which would mean she's earned three titles since March). She's started in agility and is very athletic and capable, learning to weave six poles (inline, no wires) in about one week. She also learned a "foot" command for the contacts within about a week. The only thing holding her back in agility is YOU and your limitations.
She's well started on retrieving and jumps and your intention is to train toward a CDX and possibly a UD, as well as tracking.
She has also certified as a therapy dog and has visited the local nursing home as well as Boys and Girls Club.
In the past six months, you've concentrated on health certifications. She has passed OFA hips (good), elbows, patellas, thyroid, cardiac and eyes (CERF). She is only the sixth chow ever to pass all of these, and her father was the first. Her uncle is also one of the six. In her four generation pedigree, 25 of the 30 dogs show health certifications - many with multiple certifications and several with OFA excellent rated hips. Also in the four generation pedigree, 19 dogs have championships and there's also a scattering of obedience titles (NOT common in the breed).
You're sure that you would keep one pup and it's likely that a pup would go to her breeder and another to the breeder of her sire. Chow litters are generally around four pups. You haven't even begun to put out the word since you haven't decided to breed her, so it's pretty sure that finding quality homes would not be an issue.
Based on this information and from a non-emotional standpoint, what would be the pro's and con's that you would consider regarding breeding of this particular bitch?
Melanie and the gang in Alaska