Hi, my bitch is just starting her 1st season at 11 months, she is a fantastic dog, excellant temperament, colour etc.... the problem ive got is deciding wether to breed her at least once before neuturing? I have been told that letting her have at least one lot of pups would be  better for her than to have her 'done' straight away after this 1st season, is this correct? what can i expect if I do let her have one litter, my kitchen area is approx 3mx2m with a very good sized puppy friendly back garden, the problem i have with this option is that I cannot look after the pups 24/7 leaving them for periods upto 4 hours at a time (which sounds to me very inadequate from what ive read), I know that she would make an excellant mother and i really want to do whats best for her, please help

>I have been told that letting her have at least one lot of pups would be  better for her than to have her 'done' straight away after this 1st season, is this correct?

Basically, no. Having a litter gives no health benefits to the bitch, and means you have 15 or so years of responsibility for a whole litter of puppies, being morally bound to take them back at any stage of their lives.

Besides, she'd need to be satisfactorily hipscored, eye tested, and all the other breed-relevant tests, as well as having proved herself in either the showring or in gundog tests.

Your best bet is to have her spayed 3 months after her season.

That is a weight off my mind, its all these different opinions being thrust at me thats started the indecisiveness (if that is smelt right). I do want to get another retriever later on when shes has grown a little more. I guess the thought of letting her do what comes natural at least once was a little tempting. thankyou for the prompt reply:)

No having a litter is not necessary at all :) Leave her at least three months after her season has finished until you get her spayed :)

Nope she doesn't need to have a litter and it doesn't come naturally some bitches hate having pups even the sweetest natured ones.

Plus your breed need health checks etc before being bred from.

actually, that has raised a few questions, my kennel club certificate does not record eye/hip scores, is this really bad?????

You'll need to have her hip and eye-tested yourself, if you intend her to have a litter. Hip-scoring can't be done until the animal's 12 months old, and eye-testing is done annually (by a specialist ophthamologist, not your regular vet).

Hopefully her parents results are on there? :)

um nope, this is kind of worrying...... both parents have a code in brackets after their name, what does this mean?

That code just refers to what issue of the breed record supplement the parents registration was published in. The registration certificate should state hip score and date scored, eye testing results and date of latest eye test, and also elbow score as Goldens should be elbow scored too before being bred from. If it doesn't say any of this, unfortunately it means the parents weren't tested. :(

Totally agree with other replies re you breeding from your bitch.  It is imperative that all dogs are screened for hip/elbow dysplacia and have clear eye certificates prior to considering mating.  Had you even considered the stud dog you would use - this again takes time to arrange especially to find one with a suitable pedigree.
Log on to www.k9data.com and search for your dogs pedigree name as well as her parents etc - you may well find some history of her breeding and if any of her line have been hip-scored etc.

Thankyou all for your replies, I have checked out the website k9data.com, unfortunately there is nothing on there regarding her eye/hip scores etc, although i have created her a profile and family tree (from her generation chart)which is really fascinating!!!! especially when you get to a point where you complete a family tree. Ahh this might just be me being a novice hehe - shes down as Strawberry Dew

also, what does CH and SH stand for in regards to champions?

Ch stands for 'Champion'. ShCh stands for 'Show Champion' which is the title given to gundogs who've won the required CCs for their title but haven't passed a test of their working abilities. When they've done that they can drop the 'Sh' and be called Champion. I'm pretty sure it's only gundogs that have this working requirement - other breeds can go straight to the title of Champion.

Thanks Jean, it has been a massive learning curve ever since i got her......

And it'll continue. ;) I got my first dalmatian in 1972/73 (I now have her great-great-great grandchildren!), and I'm still learning about the breed, its history and its foibles!

You for got the good old BC JG they have a working requirement also ;)

There's probably something else I've forgotten too! :D

& BCs have it

I just went into www.k9data.com , it's just for retrievers. Is there a site that would give info on other breeds. I'd love to check out the dogs that are in the 3rd - 4th generation of my pedigrees. I already know all about the 1st & 2nd generations.

Jimbob

I would have expected you to have been given at least a 4 or five generation pedigree when you bought your pup, and certainly if the breeder didn't bother to write one out then you would have expected a minimum of a 3 generation one printed for them by the Kennel Club.

Agree with the others you are not the first to be told this, in the same breathe though some owners of bitches are being advised into spaying before their first season, so there are a lot of very wide and varied opinions out there. The best time is after first season, but no wonder you poor people are so confused.

If every bitch were to have a litter before being spayed, imagine the utter chaos, and the extra pressure on rescue centres too, there just wouldn't be enough homes for every bitch to have a litter, it also would promote breeding from dogs not up to standard who felt they had to breed too.

It is an old wives tale and nothing more. ;-)

hi you should not breed at bitch at least untill they are 2 years old age you really need to look into this and not untill they have had about 3 seasons she should also be health tested shown or worked at the least and to leave the puppies upto 4 hours a day i dont think so very very bad im lucky to be able to work from home so im at home with my puppies 24/7 they need consent care along with the mum i would highly suggest to get her spayed unless you know alot about this and yes people need to start somewhere if so get as many books as you can go back to your breeder to ask if she/he would mentor you and help to show or work your bitch

When you breed from a retriever bitch you will find that different retriever breeds have different advice for when to have a first litter. In labrador retrievers I have heard it is between two and three years, a golden retriever 2 and half years to three years and the flatcoated retriever (my own breed) not before three years of age. Therefore a year is far too young for any of the more commonly known retriever breeds to have a litter.

The required eye tests are done annually and in flatcoats you will also need to get a glaucoma test done at approximately six months of age. Labradors and I think goldens test for elbow displaysia but flatcoats do not need to be tested for this. All three breeds need to be hip scored and this cannot be done before the dog or bitch is 1 year old. You can get information about health results from the Kennel Club.

If you are planning to get another retriever in the future when your girl is older, why not spend the time before getting her, to learn more about the breed from experts by going to shows or joining web sites dedicated to the breed? Perhaps by remaining a member here and reading and posting regularly you will find out a lot more information which will help you in the future?

If you did decide to breed from your bitche/s at some point you might like to learn more about this before going ahead, as breeding is never as straight forward as people think. I know of people who have not just lost the much hoped for litter during whelping (the birth process) but have also lost their bitch, things can and do go wrong, so being prepared for these things could save your bitches life. a good book on breeding is called "The Book Of The Bitch" by Kay White and Jim Evans. I am sure other members here could suggest more such books to give you a better idea of what you would be letting yourself in for.

I think the amount of info that this site has provided me with is brilliant and has answered many of my concerns over and above my expectations. Responding to the idea of having another retriever, I think you are right as at the moment I am spending most of my time training Sasha, altho this has been made a lot easier due to her nature being really good(according to a blind dog trainer). I think the way we (I) think as a novice assumes that a play mate is always the answer as this is what I would want in her position, I now understand this isnt always the case, I think a rethink of the situation in maybe 2yrs time would be wise as I was reading earlier that 2 young dogs will end up depending on each other unless given a huge amount of attention..... Will hopefully have a job working from home by then;o)....Thankyou all for your help:o)

does anyone have any info on shows up and coming in the Yorkshire/derbyshire/lincolnshire region ?

There#s a champ show in the Lincolnshire area in January and there's Driffield Champ. show the first week in October.  I'll be there on the TUesday on gundog day with two of my Spanish.

do you have any details on the lincolnshire show in January please?

Yorkshire Golden Retriever Club open show Sunday 8th October at Mypetstop, Tingley, West Yorkshire.  The dogs are being judged in the morning and bitches in the afternoon. Judging starts at 10.00 am