Hi I have a lovely KC registered bitch [breed removed] and I'm thinking of breeding her next month.Ive been costing alot of things up.Hips and Elbows scored and BVA eyes roughly £1000. I dont know if that's expensive or not. Stud dog ,ultra sound for when pregnant plus extra money if vet is needed on the day of welping. Any one know what else I would need before pups arrive? My name is Christine.Im 63 yrs young .

Does she have breeding restrictions on her pedigree? Always worth speaking to her breeder for her advice on health tests and results and also suitable stud dogs

You’ll be lucky to get hips and elbows x rayed and scored in a month! It’s taking aeons with the BVA at the moment although you could send them to Australia which (weirdly) is quicker.

Based on my recent experience I would say think very carefully before going ahead. You can make as many plans as you like but fate can still bite you in the bum with something completely unexpected. Get advice and a mentor, maybe your girls breeder. It’s really not for the faint hearted. And it’s really, really hard when things go wrong.

>You’ll be lucky to get hips and elbows x rayed and scored in a month! It’s taking aeons with the BVA at the moment although you could send them to Australia which (weirdly) is quicker.

I've been told the bva are back to their normal turn around time now, although I agree even then looking to test now for breding next month is a push. Op I'd advise you to skip this season get the tests done ready for next time.

My friend is still waiting on hip and elbow results submitted in December, got vets chasing it up now with BVA.

Luckily bitch not due in season until June/July.

As well as hips elbows and eyes there are other tests to be done.  Check with the breed clubs and as sj says can u speak to your breeder to check for endorsements and ask if they are happy to be your mentor

Breeding is a big commitment and can be risky for your bitch

Does she have a clear eye certificate? As others have said you would be unlikely to have all results by next month.

Should I breed from my pet bitch?

Getting started with health testing and screening

It is taking on average 2-3 months just to get the results back from hips and eyes at the moment. That's from the moment of submission, not including making an appointment and waiting for it.

There's no way you can have her health tested by next month.

It is taking on average 2-3 months just to get the results back from hips and eyes at the moment.

Hips and elbows. Really this timing is now not all that different to what used to be normal, I've often waited over 2 months.

This breed needs gonioscopy and getting eye testing appointments is still difficult. I've heard some people not being able to get one until next year. Depends on where you live and if you get lucky.

Sorry, typo

I’m going through this process at the moment. BVA eyes £60 at The Ralph in Marlow, Berks, same price for litters per puppy. Hips and elbows at Canine Southern Imaging Portsmouth £180 xrays plus BVA fees £130. DNA used Embark $120 for my breed package (I used embark as I wanted the genetic COI) although you could do a breed package in the UK with Pet Genetics Lab, Laboklin or a few others. I can only recommend Laboklin that I’ve additionally used for some specific tests (£68 each x 2) not recognised as official breed tests as they are either new or have only been reported in a few dogs. Tilia Laboratory as I wanted an analysis on Merle sine length. I’ve done that purely for my own research purposes. So all in for everything approx £700 keeping in mind I’ve gone way above recommendation for my breed.
Good luck!

If you can, highly recommend joining some of the breeding and whelping groups on Facebook as there are many posts with people asking about equipment lists.

you would need a whelping box, you can buy various types or make your own. I made my own, first one the paint didn't dry right (literally 4 weeks and it still had wet pockets) so I gave that to a friend and remade mine out of melamine boards. It had a removable floor and was raised off the floor too. A heat source. Either lamp or mat. I prefered lamp and borrowed one from work. A friend preferred heat pad. Extra vet bedding, u can't have too much. If you don't have it yet get the book of the bitch too

Also find out how much an out of hours c section will cost you. Some places this is crazy high you will need to be able to pay it if the worst should happen. Ours was £550 but I know some who payed £1500 for in hours so God knows what their vets would charge for out of hours!

Any one know what else I would need before pups arrive?

Hi, just a thought, it would be wise also to have over £2000 ready as she may need a caesarean section in the middle of the night ....?

Hope this advice is helpful

One thing to consider is that the results of the needed health tests may not be the ones you are hoping for, meaning you have to reconsider breeding your dog at all.  To limit the outlay involved, some breeders do the lower cost tests first before scheduling the more expensive ones.