In view of the hullabaloo on the board I reluctantly post I say reluctantly as this is not a nice place to be anymore.
My reason now for posting is to hold up my hand and say I want to use a dog I got back from a breeder who owed me a puppy for giving him one of my bitches .
The puppy is no world beater and has a small hernia. But he has lines I strived to get for 8 years and I cant accept for one small hernia I should abandon those 8yrs and start again
The hernia causes no concern to vet he said it was rough treatment from either mom or breeder severing the umbilical cord but suspects breeder.
I am taking a chance as I never had a hernia in the lines I bred and this is the first one to crop up in12 yrs.
I feel it is minor and as it is repairable I dont feel a small rupture is a big enough thing to stop a whole breeding plan .
If it was hip dysplacia or eye deseases I would not even consider it but in this case I feel I can take the chance.
I have always been straight and up front with all my puppy owners telling what can happen warts and all . Dizzy the breeder of my two sharpei held back nothing gave me all the problems they have straight from the hip
The thing here is Problems are across the board in all breeds and if you stop breeding them for little problems then the minor breeds could be lost forever.
However I do take care and have bred good specimens of the breed , making me top breeder 2000 and 2001
while tying for it this year as I have not bred any new puppies for 18 months .
In other words s!!! happens and it is up to me to decide if it is a major setback or a minor one . In this case I feel minor and if any one of the proposed litter should have a rupture then endorsement on that pup would be enforced.
I know what I am doing no matter what the opinions of others are .
I also take on other breeds once I know the problems and can cope with them . If I could not cope then I would not try to I am honest with myself and others and as I say by putting my intentions on the board tonight it gives anyone who may want a puppy from me the opportunity not to have one if they wish .
I have never hand on heart bred a bitch twice yet, and I will only consider a second mating if I think it is going to get something I may want again.
I record everything I do and keep a record of each new finding so that in time I may offer it to others .
I have not bred from a bully with a hernia so far but others I know have done and found none in the litter
So I feel able to take a chance on this .
Mari

youre right marie-its no good throwing the baby out with the bath water, and as youve proved your worth as a breeder, its proves you know what youre doing, :) good luck with the planned mating whenever it maybe---------[its nice having all your efforts rewarded isn"t it] from one TOP BREEDER to ANOTHER :D

Have to agree with you totally Mari, it is the only way to get good breed points and weed out the minor bad ones.

I feel in a minority here with you two top breeders. lol

its ok-we talk to anyone :D . well nearly anyone :rolleyes:

:-D

Hi Mari, I can`t say I`m an experienced breeder by any means but one thing I`ve found out is there is no substitute for the yrs of being around your own breed of dogs. This you can tell you have in abundance & I`m sure any one having a pup from you will do so with the peace of mind that it`s been bred with the utmost care. Good luck.
Christine, Spain.

So many breeds have problems, usually not of this generation of breeders making. Rough Collies where the incident of CEA is so high that it's now no longer possible to breed it out, the gene pool of unaffected is no longer large enough to cope. (No my words, Prof. Peter Bedford!). Bulldogs who's heads are to large for a normal birth. The list goes on and on. I'm afraid there is no easy answer and blaming individual breeders is silly. EVERY breeder, every one who breeds should be trying to do the best they can to eliminate or at the least reduce the problems. The problems with wrinkles are something which can be addressed but not over night. Likewise Bulldog heads. But it needs a lead from the KC in the form of breed standards.

Regards John

the bitch im showing at the minute required no eye tacking-ive had a whole litter not need tacking, but yes ive had some needed it too, but we breed forward, doing the best we can do, :D

Ever so modest Christine spain . And she taking top lab breeder in spain last year .

Hi Marie,
I have bred from a bitch with a small hernia with no problems. Thing is is it a delayed closure hernia or open. Check out (I don't know how to do the link thing so bare with me please). http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenclub/breedervet/umbilical.html
I found this to be some very interesting reading. I hope it helps you too.

Carissa

Hi Everyone
Correct me if I`m wrong but I don`t think the board is here for us to gain everyones approval everytime we have a decision to make about our dogs,breeding ethics,etc.
As long as your conscience is clear and everything is done to your best ability. When you have an established breeding line you know your own dogs best and with the best will in the world doing everything correctly Mother Nature very often reminds you just who is in charge!
As long as we never give up trying for that perfect
dog,and no you don`t throw the baby out with the bathwater.Breeding dogs is a long winding sometimes
bumpy road but with a lot of pleasure and little heart ache along the way.Best not analyse it to much.
Good Luck Mari and best wishes with your plans
Carole

Too True.
I see no problems in breeding a dog with a hernia. In my own experiences their are different kinds of hernia. Small fat lumps are nothing. A true hernia is where intestine is poking through.
Dont worry Mari.
You know what you are doing.
Rachel

i would say the moral of t he story is ~ dont listen to those causing the "hullabalo" and post any way , you certainly know what you are doing and the rest of us "laymen" are priveleged (sp) to have experts like you on the board to ask for help from time to time.
So good luck ,
Zoe xx

Seconded Zoe :)
Gina x

Hi Mari,
I to have mated a bitch with an open hernia, all 11 puppies were fine. I took a long time to decide if I should, but though the advice and help of my Vet I decided to go ahead. I have had a litter from a different bitch with no History of Hernias and two of the puppies had Umbilical Hernia.
I hope this helps you feel alittle better.
Best Wishes
ILOVEDOGS :)

that is exactly my point , I never had a bully pup with one , but my vet reckons they are ruptures , caused rather then inherited although some hernias are inherited.
I dont have a lot of knowledge on a hernia but have done a lot of reading since finding the one Brett had .
The The dam was a bully I bred and gave to breeder of my sire the sire is a champion and crufts twice bob winner,
I wrote and asked they said no they have not had them before and altough not rare they did not hand on heart have one for years and not in that line , so it doesent follow.
This puppy is not with me now , He is with someone else but I get to use him.
The good points
he is bred in the purple
he is a sound dog good mover and healthy
he has a good nice long tail good bend of stifleband broad chest
he has almost black eyes and great pigment
He is an apricot in colour with a jet black mask .
decent reach of neck and an adoring expression
He has a fantastic temperament and is phased by nothing.
I still have an idea he will stretch to an accepted size as he is only eight months .
It is true most bullmastiffs are showing their size at that age but the small ones have a lot of catching up to do.Plus bullmastiffs grow up to 18 months
Calcium is one of the most necessary thing for bullmastiffs when growing. Lack of it may hinder growth

I bred one 18 months ago and he was as small as a mouse when born did not even think he would survive , He did and is the biggest now .
Theresa who posts here saw him at a show
I feel the good points overule the bad and god knows the perfect dog was not born yet.
The post above was not directed at the person he is living with she is loving for any dog ,
It was put up because I felt a threat made here would put me in a defensive situation ,so felt it was best to tell it as it is
I do not like anything hanging over my head and deal with any problems I encounter head on and then forget it .
I hate unpleasentness it is stressful so feel it best to do things this way
I am delighted to hear all your findings and will add them to my notes
Mari

Hi All
On the subject of `Hearnia`s`I know medically speaking they are all classed the same but I do think they fall into 2 categories .There are the ones that have the tiniest of openings where a very small bubble of fatty tissue peeps through and is very easily pushed back,
this type heals quite quickly and sometimes leaves a tiny button like `pimple` where it has been.
The second type are the true `Hearnia`s` in my opinion,where corrective surgery is is carried out ASAP to stop it becoming a `Strangulated Hearnia`
These are the ones I think(don`t know first hand as I`ve never had one )breeders are told not to breed from.
Now I have a query about this :-
If a baby girl is born with an Umbilical Hearnia are her parents told she is never to have children? Just a thought but I think medically there is no difference.

Best Wishes to everyone and their dogs for 2003
Carole

Mari,
I am a little confused. When you say bullie, what do you mean?
English Bull Terrier? Or what?
Just confused as I have never heard of an apricot Bull Terrier with a black mask!

As for the hernia, well I don't see a problem as long as it isnt a huge one.
My Vet (and I) think the same as yours, its usually caused not genetic. I have had two in puppies that I have bred, both small ones, these pups have gone on to produce litters with no hernias in them.
Good Luck with your breeding.

Sharon Bullywood Bull Terriers

Hi Sharie I am talking about Bullmastiffs ,I know you call yours bullies as well but here in Ireland bullies is used for all bull breeds .
So I am not surprised at all you did not see an apricot british bull terrier . :)
Mari

My bitch has a hernia:) It is closed- when my breeder first started breeding- she began with a champion bitch (until then she'd only had dogs) so since she was such a good example of the breed- moved like a dream etc she weighed up the pro's and con's- and felt that despite the hernia (which was no problem anyway) she had too much to lose by not breeding from her:) Apparently at the time everyone in the GSD world laughed and said if she'd have been a dog- she'd have earned loads from stud fee's:) Mari there is no wrong in what you're doing and I really don't see why you felt the need to justify yourself to everyone else- we all know you're good at what you do;) I shouldn't let it get to you:) Like you say some breeders breed with bad hips in the line etc- what's a harmless hernia compared to that;)

Stacey x x x

I'm interested in this hernia business... is it a hard one or soft one???

My bitch has a soft one - the whole litter did and as far as i know my breeder said it was common in the breed

However, the litter i just had are completely free from hernias - good management on my part i think as I cut them before mum could get to them as their cords are just too short and I didnt want to risk it...

anyway thats my peace -