You are welcome sarstaff.

But it is only our opinion on the subject, if it is relevant to you then I would suggest doing a lot more research before making a final decision.

Regards

Jayne

Shelly, why not rescue a staffy or staffy cross as a companion for you and your bitch? Ireland does have a massive problem with unwanted dogs and rescuing/rehoming would be the most positive thing you could do for your breed. "Why breed and buy while others die?" as a dear friend of mine says.

hi lorelie
              good idea, the type of advice i need and expected.

thank you.

Have you thought about SBT welfare? They may have a young dog that needs a home and would be suitable? Does it have to be another Staffie? As others have said there appears to be a lot of dogs needing homes in Ireland. As your only reason for breeding is to get a friend for your girl (which I agree with entirely, the friend, not the breeding!) then this might be the answer. You'd also be giving a lovely home to a dog that may otherwise end up being PTS.

wefare is agood idea, but a lot of staffs will only entertain a pup say under the age of 6 months in the house so be carefull with regards age xx

Hello Shelly,

I have only come to this post this morning and I just wanted to add a few experiences of my own as a breeder who only very, very occasionally breeds.

I have owned my breed for 17 years now.   In that time I have bred 3 litters.  I only breed when I have a long waiting list & I want a puppy for myself.    Both my bitches have produced between them 3 litters with 14 puppies in each litter.   Not every puppy has been born alive - how would you react to a perfect puppy being born but totally dead?    My bitches have been checked at least twice by a vet during the end of their whelpings, most vets like to see the bitch at the surgery, if you live fairly remote are you prepared to travel to & from the surgery?

What if your bitch needs a Caesarian and then won't feed her puppies or she develops mastitis, can you cope with hand rearing?   If your puppies suffer from fading puppy syndrome can you cope with losing your pups on a daily basis?

In my last litter I had a bitch puppy who looked weak at birth, then perked up for a few days but at a week old she seemed to lose it again and had to be PTS?  I knew it would have to happen but I still cried in the vets over this poor little mite.   

Can you cope with all the poop & pee that a litter of puppies makes once they start weaning because believe me, those little bottoms can poop & pee for Britain.  House training one pup can be hard going, 8+ is impossible just about.

What Lady Dazzle, Val & John have said isn't to criticise rather they want any potential breeders to be fully aware of all the pitfalls of breeding, I'm sure there are a lot more who could add their own horror stories on this subject.  To breed your own puppy & to see it go into the ring & win is great, likewise to breed a good working dog/agility dog makes you so proud but to breed solely for pet, NO. 

Ireland has a huge puppy farming problem, it has a big rescue problem too.   You would be far more sensible to buy a puppy in and respect the fact the breeder has had all the hard work whereas you are buying a beautifully reared & bred puppy to enjoy for the rest of it's life.

Hi christineW , I wish you where i breeder of staffys ,  it would solve all my problems.

I dont mind buying a dog and the price is of no importance.
but would not like to fuel the dog farming by buying from one of them.
i will take on board all the good advice given by the good people on this site ,
And i do not think i would live with myself if anything happend to my little girl staffy if i did breed her and it went wrong.
I know the dog dumping in ireland is very bad, But would be very weary of saving an adult dog for fear of fighting etc with my girl.
and as i take full responsibility for my actions would have to keep the dog once i have got it.
I think i will see if i can find a young staffy/staffy cross from the rspca , or a trustworthy breeder (which i will check out proper)better to be safe than sorry.Thanks all
shelly.

Shelly,

Just a suggestion?   If price was no problem if you were to breed, why not come to mainland UK & find a reputable breeder of Staffies to buy a puppy from & take it home?  That way you know you have bought the best you can afford & I'm sure there are lots of CD's Staffie owners/breeders who would give you all the help you wanted to find reputable breeders who have good typy stock with fab temperaments.

Christine

hi christineW ,
if you read johns post qoute (The situation is not good in England but no where near as bad as in Ireland. You are not taking our dogs but we are taking yours! )

you are not taking our dogs.....

excuse me but im english ......

i have had 2 dogs ... as my post says ..quote (i had a staffy who died 4 years ago to cancer ,we didnt breed her.  )

so he is type classing me which is ignorant and biggoted....

We are taking yours !!! I think not a have not bred a single puppy so how can he be taking mine ?

He should be more careful as to who he type casts ...

So john Think Again !!!!

I think you should be careful too, Shelly as to just who you denegrate.

John is a very well respected man on both this board and in the world of labradors and gundogs, and had probably forgotten more than either you or I will ever know about dogs in general and gundogs in particular.

He like all of us on here have nothing but the well being of dogs at heart.

You yourself said you were from Ireland, can you tell me as where in any of your posts was John to know that you were English.  You forget that the internet is a very difficult medium to write on and unless things are explained corectly we can only go on what is posted.

Everyone on here gives their experiences voluntarily and this board has helped a good number of people of a good many years.

The phrase if you can't stand the heat...... springs to mind.

ive decided already im not breeding ... and john attacked me he did not help with a statement like he made ... you may respect this man but i do not ...

i asked a simple Q breed or buy .

Shelly, I have followed this thread with interest and all have basically said the same as John, just different words. As far as I can see, John did not attack you, he stated facts, they were not personally aimed at you, but breeders in general, that includes me.  He also suggested you stop and think. Good advice. Your bitch is unregistered and should not be bred from regardless of her bloodlines in my opinion.

I have noted in a post further down that you have said you have already decided not to breed with her, so it seems that you have taken Johns advice and thought about it :)

to kayc

                it was brainless and some others who give the best advice and it was this advice i acted on.

       johns post might have stated facts. but was it  taking ireland as a whole ?

     and not each county.

      his knoledge may be good but i would be suprised if he even knew all the countys in ireland ?

    and all the figures from said countys.

   i have personally seen the treatment of dogs in ireland, and i am not defending any bad treatment of dogs.
But he attacked me personally . and this i did not like. and will not just sit there and take it.

if anyone has knoledge which can help others then these people should be given air to view there knoledge to help others. but if any person is so harsh and abrupt that they attack people.
then they should be kept in check..

thank you. kayc

oh dazzle .

i thought you where not bothereing anymore ?

this is not a kitchen dazzy it is a forrum to help people ? DID YOU FORGET !!!!!

No I didn't forget but methinks you forgot your manners when you came on here!!!!!!!!

Thanks for calling me a bigot Shelly. I would imagine that an insult like that is against the TOS.

Do you not accept that dogs are being put down in Ireland? Or that we are taking dogs from over there?

Did you not say that your bitch is unregistered? Therefore she is un-health tested. Is that the actions of a responsible person?

a responsible person ask before they act . this i did .

is it a responsible act to attack someone purely on there location ?

I think you will find there are more dogs destroyed in london than most places.

Shelly,

I think what John is trying to explain is Ireland has a big rescue problem and that some rescue dogs are transported to mainland UK to help eliviate the problems within Ireland, to give these dogs a chance to find new homes & also to save them from being PTS.  He is certainly not saying that 'England has taken dogs from you' - meaning you alone but 'England has taken dogs from Ireland'.

My sister bought a Cavalier King Charles spaniel bitch just over a year ago, homed in a dubious kennel in Fife.   The pup came with a promise of KC papers & pedigree...none materialised and then the problems of Irish puppy farms were highlighted on Scottish TV, Stranraer being one of the ports that puppies were being shipped into.  Cavalier's being a very easy dog to breed & sell to puppy farmers.

Shelly, no-one is finger pointing at you.   We are all here to guide each other along.  If we can impart some advice to those who are new to dogs whatever area you wish to own them - pet/show/work etc.- there is always someone with a wealth of knowledge who will be able to hopefully guide you in the right direction.   Sometimes it might not be the reply you were expecting but if we were all the same, what a dull world it would be, don't you agree Shelly?

Christine

Ok christineW . If john has not the time to express himself properly and make clear exactly what he is saying , i can not be expected to assume he is a good man with good intentions.

all i can act on is what this man writes ?

there was some good advice given by good people .

these people i thank.

others who are trying to preach and not help.

read my q at the start.

and now i have made my mind up. thank you christineW.

Shelly- You have come onto a public forum to ask a question.  This question has been answered on numerous occasions with people giving their opinion as A) they are are entitled to do so and B) by request from you.  I cannot begin to imagine why you continue to push back on those who say you should not breed from your bitch when you have specifically asked for their opinion.  If you have made up your mind already, why have you chosen to ask your question within such a medium?  In addition, I would question your hostile approach to those who have opposed your view to breed from your bitch-again, if this is what you didn't want to hear, then why go to the trouble of posting your original topic in the first place?  While you have every right to disagree with someone's opinion, I would respectfully suggest that you do so tactfully, without aggrevating others and also without the provocation I have seen within some of your posts.  In closing, for what it's worth, I would advise you to buy a pup.  For what it's worth. :)

'Ya know folks, I think that this "lady" knows exactly what she's going to do, so I would politely suggest that we leave her in peace and don't waste anymore of our time on her. :)

Best suggestion tonight Val. She does not want to know so why waste out time on her. :)

I have already said what im doing.. so please dont waste anymore time !!!!!

as im sure you have a life ..

sorry i dont understand ? Quote (your view to breed from your bitch-again) i have not bread my dog in the first place ?

if you wish to join in please read first .

and i have stated i am not now breeding my girl.

or did you not read this ?

ok sarstaff, will do. thanks

ok husky, thanks

Hi Shelly
Just want to tell you about my situation.
I have been in the same situation as you my bitch a GSD is 2 and a half as well and I had been seriosly thinking about breeding her even so far as finding a breeder with a suitable stud dog. However in Novmy girl got hit by a car (firework spooked her and she bolted across the field though the hedge and on to the road) she broke both front legs and had to go to the royal vets collage in Potters bar for a nine hour op, after nearly losing her we have thought about a little more and have decieded not to let her have a litter I personaly dont want to take the risk! She is doing really well and goes back next week for xrays to check if her legs have healed correctly. We may change our minds in the future but I dout it now as I dont want any more worry, we may wait a year or so then buy a pup.
As for a mother and pup bonding I cant answer that as I have never breed a dog before but I have had 2 lots of kittens, we kept 2 of the kittens from the second lot and by the time the kittens were 5 months old the mother cat seemed to hate them, she wouldn't let them near her and was quite nasty to them, by the time the kittens were a year old she just disappaered, never saw her again and never found out what had happened to her. I dont think its the same with dogs I have never heard of it before but then I had never heard of it with cats either.
Having said that we were going to mate our bitch next month and keep a pup but we wont be now so the decision has been taken out of our hands for now anyway. But I do think we will end up buying a pup now.

Saff

Oh kayl
                I cant imagine the heart ache and worry you have had,

                I hope and pray all is well in the future.

                  shelly.

thank you brainless , this is very good advice.

why not look up the staff web site they nearly always have pups and rescue dogs avalible this way you get a dog's background
i have just got a pup though them and there breeders are top notch and trust worthy
they put me in touch with a breeder here in kent who turned out to be one of the top staff judges in the country and the price was almost the same as out of a paper i personaly would not recomend the news paper nor i believe does the staff club