Reading all the various chat on this forum I'm starting to think I must be REALLY OLD.    I've not been actively breeding since our last and final litter in 1997.   At that time, in my main breed at any rate, we didn't do any of the pre-mating testing to get the right time, preferring to go by how the bitch was behaving and if there were in-house entire males, perhaps see how they reacted before setting out for an outside stud, only rarely bothered with scans etc.etc.   And despite all that, most matings were successful, and most litter-sizes normal.   We might have had smaller litters than some people, although we did have two of the ten we had, with 9 puppies but we had no misses.   When we did our litters, we cleared our plans, stopped showing (we didn't usually breed our bitches until their show careers were over - there was one exception, my Canadian-bred UK Champion who we took back in the ring (Crufts) after her litter) and as I wasn't working, that didn't come into the situation nor did having to cancel holidays - we didn't DO holidays!

I wonder when things changed, and why really?

Your not old....some of us still do it without all the tests & yes have successful litters

Its not just dogs its horses too when i was breeding 1999/2002 you sent mares away and stalliom got on with it
now mares need to get tested and utres cleansed .stallion get tested too breeding got so expensive now not like years ago when stallions and mares got on with it without all tests etc i bred 14 foals only lost 1 foal

I've never done any testing to find the right day for mating and never had a bitch not get pregnant.

> I wonder when things changed, and why really?

Fewer people have someone home not working, so people have a lot more calls on their time.

I still do it the old way, bitch goes to stay with stud or stud stays with me.

Of course I do avail myself of all breed appropriate DNA health screening on top of the usual KC/BVA Hip and clinical eye tests that every breed should have as a minimum in my opinion, before contemplating breeding.

I didn't used to have access to MRI scanning, DNA testing or climate control in my show car but I managed...
I'm glad there has been progress and I embrace it. I've been 'breeding' dogs for 4 decades, my mother before me. She fed Kennomeat and added ground chalk. She lost some to Distemper in the 50s.

> we didn't DO holidays

SNAP!!!

I'm so old that I don't look in mirrors any more.  

I am another "oldie" who has never tested and never had a bitch miss, I also used to walk my mares up the road to the stallion and back down again when the deed was done and only once had an empty mare!  Common sense and practical knowledge seemed to be enough in the "good old days", not that I would decry the advances in scientific research but a stud dog will almost always be right

Sadly my popular stud would mate a coffee table!
He cannot be left to the decision making and will mate from day 1-28.
My other boys have been very discerning but not all are.

or climate control in my show car

All climate control does is change the air all the time, if its hot them hot air goes out as more hot air comes in, you write as if it might have an adequate cooling effect, if it does then you have something else as well, most likely AC.
.

I used progesterone testing when we first tired my girl as it was a 6-7 hour drive which I can't manage by myself in the one day so this would mean at least a two day trip or four days if I had to go back or leave her at the stud and go back and pick her up. I work so didn't want to waste time off and go up too early/late as every day I take off getting her maited is one less I can have off once the pups are born.
Also scanned her as I wanted to know if I needed to increase her food or not and if I needed to get all the stuff I'd need or not. Turned out she was just having a phantom. I didn't want to increas her food if she wasn't pregnant as she puts weight on so easerly.

The second time we tried her the stud was closer and I can do the drive in a day so timing for me wasn't as important so decided I'd go by her signs as I could go up after work and come back. I borrowed a friends boy every other day to see how they reacted and had my friend look her over. After 20 days of no signs she was ready or even near ready at all I got her tested and turned out we had missed her.

This time the stud owner has said to bring her up as soon as possible when she comes in and they will keep her up there.

Mamabas their is artical in daily mail online this morning about dog breeding and how man have changed breeds for worst your breed is mentioned
sorry but do not now how to share link on her

> Mamabas their is artical in daily mail online this morning about dog breeding and how man have changed breeds for worst your breed is mentioned <br />sorry but do not now how to share link on here

Thanks for the heads-up - I have seen the post here about this and already added my 'two-bits worth'.   My main breed is on the KC 'at risk ' list - mainly because of problems with eyes.    Again it's Crufts-time so all the nonsense out there is being dragged up again and the gutter press like the newspaper involved is printing it TO SELL THEIR RUBBISH.   For what it's worth as I've already written, I'd not be seen dead with the Basset pictures in that article.   People lap up the negative and more than willing to point fingers at 'nasty breeders' which is very sad because most good breeders don't set out to produce problems.   There are always recessives to come out and hit any breeder at any time, however, especially in what was originally a 'man-made' breed, which the Basset is.

I think you'll find longevity in the breed is vastly better than it was years ago for starters.   And never forget, to support 'a point' , articles like that will always choose the worst example of anything.

I'm not really sure what your point is in terms of my OP?

As i have just said in my post about artical with crufts starting all crap and negitive stuff going to be printint

the dachunds my late grandmother late mother and i had as very young child about 34yrs ago do not look like modern dashunds .same as basset my ex uncle had again 34yr ago basset looked like what old bassets looked like again i may be wrong as i was only very young child
uncle kit aunt sue basset was such lovely boy lovely nature
will be intresting to see if and more negitive articals will be printed
their going to be prog about scrufts on chan 4 next week will be intresting viewin i did scrufts class few years back had horrible time .judge was so cheeky rude all i said was my springer x pup might not let her go over him all i got was cheeky and very rude reply from woman.she was going for cute cuddly x breds will never do scrufts class again

What did you think of toy group resulst from crufts ?? Theirs few things i picked up and not impresed with as i am newbie to showing well 6yrs would like experninced dog person view please
the judge putting her face in to dog face on table
the winner could hardly move did not want  to move looked like he had weepy runny closed eyes
yes i now he well known dog and kennel was it face judging
their was tan uglay furrball looked like parrot mouth
also not impresed with utility group judgin my winner would of been dalmation i thought it moved beatfuly
i thought kc wanted to promote fit healthy show dogs
thanks

There were some beautiful dogs in that Toy group especially the English Toy Terrier and never got a second glance.
The Utility group same thing for me the Dalmatian should have won too but they seemed determined to pick only English bred/owned dogs.

I really likes i think it was maltise it was shown my tall man navy suit
i call dalmition budwieser clydesadle dogs as they have dalmation up on dray with them
looking forward to gundogs tonight esp my bred