I have a black lab bitch who is soon to be 2 years old. She is KC registered, has a good pedigree, and has been hip scored which came back great and her eye tests were good etc. She has an excellent temprement, and meets the breed standard almost perfectly.
the person who bred her never told me i should or shouldnt breed her in the future, i think he thought she would just be a pet, but since she has turned out like this would it be ok to breed her? i have never shown her (never been interested) and her breeder has moved away so i cant ask him for advice. i would really love pups from my bitch as i feel her temprement and breed quality will be enough to have good quality pups. am i right?

thank you. (sorry its so long)!

Hi

how do you know she meets the breed standard 'almost perfectly' if you've never shown her? Most people with pet dogs think this, it's easy to fit the standard around your own dog. Best to take her to a few shows and see how she gets on. If you have lost contact with the breeder how will you get any breeding restrictions removed? Does she have restrictions? It will tell you on her registration. If she does then you can't register her puppies. I'm sorry, but in a breed like this which has thousands and thousands of pups bred every year, many of which end up in welfare, I wouldn't be breeding from her unless she had proven herself showing or working.

Have to say I agree, there are thousands of Labs registered every year and thousands finish up in rescue each year, so only the very very best should be bred from. Now yours might be one of the very best but if you are not prepared to either show or work her you nor the people who would be interested in buying one of her puppies will never know.

Whelping a bitch is very hard work, requires a good deal of money and time and always puts the bitches life at risk. So you see it is important that you have support, if you work can take time off work, can afford the vet fees, can take any puppies back and understanding neighbours a large litter of 8 week old pups can make a lot of noise and even more mess.

I agree totally,Ive owned labs for years,When i picked my last bitch i told the breeder that i would like too breed from her only if she was of good standard,having a really good pedigree doesnt always mean to say this.Ive been researching different aspects of breeding ,from pedigrees to complement my bitch to absortion,scans,whelping boxes the list is endless like Jacky said its all time consuming and your bank balance will not look healthy atall,ive taken time off work,and the emotions that go with a bitch in whelp.Im still learning something different everyday.Julia

try to get hold of "the book of the bitch",

also think about who would buy your pups & would you be happy to takethem back if the homes couldnt cope.
would you be breeding pets? potential workers or show dogs? as this will effect your choice of stud dog.
are you wanting to do it so you can have one of her babies to carry on her line??