Hello. We have tried to breed our girl for 3 seasons.  The stud owner have advised that we should get her heart tested when she is at least 3 years old and breed on the first season after this which is what we did. So on first season they had no tie. Next season same story repeated with another stud and we did 1 session of AI however she did not get pregnant. This season we finally managed to breed her with the fully tested [breed removed] as we could not find any health tested [breed removed] around. The pregnancy is not confirmed yet however spending much time on this forum I must admit I have not realised how short is the window for first litter and most people prefer to have first litter at 2. My girl would be nearly 4 1/2 at time of whelping ( if she is pregnant) and I am stressing out like crazy. I could not found any research with exact statistics or recommendations for this age however I understand some risks increase with age. I would appreciate any success stories and advise as well as the list of symptoms I need to keep close eye on during pregnancy and whelp. Do you think it would be wise to have a scheduled C-section rather then let her go into whelp naturally considering her age?

Is this a different bitch to the maiden bitch you mentioned in you previous posts?

Because of her breed I presume she is MRI scanned, hip scored etc & DNA tested as well as having her heart tested by a Cardiologist?

As for there being no fully health tested studs of her own bitch, you obviously haven't looked in the right places. There are a good few studs around the country that have had all the health tests done.

With luck if she is in whelp, the puppies will be born naturally with the stud being so much smaller than the bitch. Unless your vet considers her to be in danger, elective C sections are not the normal in the UK

Ita not ideal and who knows what you will encounter added into the fact you've used a different breed on your bitch. You can only hope for the best, any breed can need a C section. Best thing would be to maybe if you are that concerned is a week before birth if she is pregnant is to get another scan done to see how the pups are positioned.

Hi Ann. she had BVA eye test and heart certified by Cardiologist. Both her parents also had the above as well as DNA test so she did not had a DNA test herself.     And yes there are studs around the country but considering our previous experience and the fact that stud owners also have busy lifes and not alwaise available on short notice or on preferred dates we have opted for the health tested [breed removed] who is local. I'd say he was about same high but much lighter than her.
Can you please advise how often and at what dates is it best to be taking her to vets to ensure everything is going smoothly?

Thank you. Do you mean the ultrasound scan? The stud dog was smaller than her so I thought cross breeds generally have less health issues? They both KC

There is nothing to say crosses will be healthier. They can be or they can turn into a complete mess and then there is partaking the coats which will be varied plus character and temperament. You have zero idea what you will get when you mix breeds which are nothing alike in any way

Unfortunately hybrid vigour doesn't apply to same species breeding-which is what you have done.

Crossing 2 animals of the same species with species specific genetic conditions, does not produce healthier offspring, both breeds have a high rate of slipping patellas for example.

Has your bitch been MRI scanned clear, plus hip & elbow scores? Are her parents DNA tested for Curly Coat Dry Eye (CCDE), Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), Episodic Falling (EF), Muscular Dystrophy (MD) & Congenital Macrothrombocytopaenia (CM)?

Is the stud DNA tested for von Willebrand Disease I (vWD1), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA-prcd), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (RCD4), Gangliosidosis 2 (GM2), Neonatal Encephalopathy with Seizures (NEWS), Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) & Ostochondrodysplasia plus hip & elbow scored?

> Unfortunately hybrid vigour doesn't apply to same species breeding

I was under the impression that it can happen in plants, but not animals.

It’s certainly not uncommon in tall peas (my area) for a cross between two varieties to grow significantly taller than either parent, at least in the F1 generation. Of course that doesn’t mean they are any healthier, but they are quite literally more vigorous.

I do agree that a cross-bred dog is not going to show hybrid vigour, especially if you’re using two breeds that already have a lot of health problems and even more so if there’s an overlap. Crossing one breed with another certainly isn’t going to magically fix bad hips, for example.

Your bitch should not be bred from before 2 1/2, and they and their parents should be over 5, with all 3 a clear heart test. Ditto the stud.

The breeding protocol can be found on the club website.

Personally if it's not too late 42 days since mating) then I would get her to a vet promptky for the Alizin injection to terminate this potential pregnancy.

Get her and her parents heart tested, and other health screening

Then do the breeding correctly.

Join the breed club and get breed appropriate advice.

I'm not sure what you mean? I said both her parents had cardiology tests and on the stud's owners advice I have waited till  she is 3 to get her heart tested, that's why I am now concerned if her pregnancy and whelping will go well considering that most breeders prefer to have first litter at 2. Im cirtainly would not breed her if she is not pregnant this time.

Are many breeders doing the MRI testing? I know it's something which should be done and wondered as dont have anything to do with this breed whether many breeders are doing this now?

Both her parents are drye eye curly coat clear episodic falling clear, opthamology certified clear, heart certified clear. Her dad also have a stud book number and mom was shown at Crufts too. She herself was opthalmology and cardiology tested and so I believed she had all nessesary health test for her bread and much more than most cavi pets have. A stud had the health tests for conditions most common in his breed such as PRA and came from an established breeder. I understand that there are probably many more test which can be done but realistically when I was looking for my puppy few years ago very few advertised litters were from parents who had any health tests at all. We ended up finding the breader which was advised to us as a good responsible breeder and waiting in line for our puppy for over a year. In that year I was screening adds constantly and not once have I seen a litter advertised from parents who would be tested for everything  you described above, most cavis I know in our area did not come from health tested parents at all

I have been looking for my own puppy for over a year and not once seen a litter from parents who would have MRI scan. The two stud owners we used in first two seasons also advised that most important bitches are cardiology and ophthalmology certificates which we did. They also advised that since both her parents had DNA EF and CCDE hereditary clear they are not concerned about her having any of these.

The reason you don't see litters advertised on sites like pets4homes, gumtree etc etc on the internet is that responsible breeders do not use these sites. Especially breeders who are members of the breed clubs, who have started the MRI, DNA ec ball rolling, don't have to advertise their puppies because they do all the health testing.

My friend who waited for 5(yes five) years for a puppy from fully health tested parents/g parents, because the breeder has a waiting list that far exceeds the one litter a year they breed.

There is no excuse for breeding from a non MRI scanned [breed removed], there is no DNA and you cannot tell if a dog has Syringomyelia &/or the Chiari Malformation without an MRI. Simply crossing the breed  with another small breed, doesn't prevent the puppies having SM & CM. You have obviously never seen a dog with SM/CM, if you had you would understand why screening parents is so important.

No excuse for not hip/elbow scoring either.

Lots of responsible breeders MRI scan & the results are now recorded by the KC

I mean it sound like people should stop having dogs as pets all togather, because waiting for 5 years for a pup from a handful of breeders who do ALL the tests and then paying 5K+ for such pet puppy is simply unreasonable. And having a cross breed according to you is even worse as its unpredictable etc. I know that would be perfect but it is very far from reality, so don't you want more breader who do the tests for at least the most common conditions? Neither of her parent ha ve SM and she don't have any signs at 4 either. It is a best pet breed IMHO but aren't all those horrid conditions a result of close breeding because breeders were encouraged to only breed the best dogs?

If there are loads then they are really not easy to find since they are not advertising. The KC list of recommended breaders for this breed is also rather  small

£5,000???? Where did you get that figure from????

Certainly not the breeder of my friend's dog, who has not become a greeder during the Pandemic, the cost of their puppies is the same as it was 5 years ago.My friend was prepared to wait as she had a dog with asymptomatic SM/CM which deteriorated as he got older, he had a clear heart, eyes etc when he had to be PTS because of the SM/CM.

If your bitch & her parents have not been MRI scanned you cannot state they don't have SM/CM, the condition deteriorates with age & asymptomatic dogs frequently develop symptoms as they get older.

You don't appear to have an indepth knowledge of the breed nor of SM/CM. You sound like you watched the infamous PDE program that showed a non KC registered dog with SM/CM symptoms & an unrelated CH Cavalier(who had asymptomatic SM/CM) & inferred that the two were related, which they weren't in fact the bitch was from over 10 generations of non KC registered dogs

The KC do not have a list of recommended breeders, they have an Assured Breeders Scheme, which you pay to join & the level of testing required is not as complete as it should be. Even some commerical/puppy farmers have applied to join the ABS

The stud owner told me she was on the waiting list for a girl and they wanted 5.5 K for her. But honestly, tell me the name and contact details of your friends breeder and I would be very interested to get on the waiting list with them especially if my girl won't get any When I was looking for my puppy 4 years ago all breaders I called from KC list were quoting £1500 when average price of pup on P4H was £600, we got ours for £1300 so I doubt they are being sold at this price nowadays and did not go up with the rest of market.
I am cirtainly not an expert in SM however from what I've read this is common with age in CKCS the same way cancer is common with age in people. It's an early onset of symptomatic SM they want to breed out. However as I mentioned before it is likely caused by inbreeding in the first place, so by substantially reducing the breeding stock and discoraging from breeding you might get rid of SM in this breed but will create a list of new hereditary health issues. Either way she is bread to a poodle in which SM is not so common so the chances are reduced. I do feel this thread have to be closed now as I it really went of topic. I have done the health tests recommended to me by experienced CKCS breeder and KC and this has caused the delay which is what worries me now so I hoped to get some advise about this. The ethics or breading is very controversial subject and I would not have to breed my girl if there were plenty of puppies from extensively health testing esponsible breeders for a reasonable price, however this is not the case, such puppies are both very hard to find and extremely expensive.

Sorry I doubt you as a crossbreed breeder would get a puppy from them, your track record of producing a litter of designer crossbreeds from partially tested dogs would not go down well.

You need to do what my friend did, go to shows with your bitch & find responsible breeders who really care about the breed & it's health issues who might consider you as potential puppy owner, but they will be very wary, of someone involved in crossbreeding.

You intend to keep one of your crossbreeds then, & do what with him/her?

If your bitch is as well bred as you say why did you not get advice from your girls breeder? She would know what stud owners have done all the tests and could have put you in touch with owners with dogs which would suit your girl. Also your breeder could have recommended breeders to contact for a puppy if that is also what you have been looking for.
Show breeders in your breed are the ones most likely to be doing all the relevant health testing.

OK, well I don't have to get in line with her but I would be incredibly curious to find out whether their prices have not changed in 5 years as this is very unlikely, they are not going to sell their exceptional pups below market price.
Again all tests recommended by KC was done on both sir and dam so they are not "partcialy" tested.

The dog shows are the sole reason why so many breeds now have all these nasty health issues. Fame seeking breeders would only use best looking bitches and dogs with highest marks  for continuing their "blood lines" regardless of possible temperament issues, while healthy and well mannered dogs who are not "perfect example of breed" were rehomed as pets and discouraged from breeding (as is beautifully demonstrated here). Over time this reduced the genetic pool and caused all the health problems. So most those breeders you say "care about the breed" actually lack perspective and don't understand what all this dog show malarkey is doing to the breed and genetic pool in the long run.

The cavapoo and cackapoos is one of the most common pet "breed" well at least in my area and owners are usually over the moon with them, they shed less like poodles and great with kids like cavis, so most people just want a good healthy happy pet, not a show dog and this is what it seems you don't understand. Many genetic conditions would only show  when both mom and dad have those conditions so cross breeding can reduce the risk of cirtain conditions.

Finaly how many responsible reputable breeders of all breeds who go beyond KC recommendations on health testing are there in the country? Lets say its 5000 though I think it's much less. So if they breed 10 pups a year they would have produced 500K puppies over 10 years (half of which were probably kept or sold to other clubs) . There are about 9mln dogs in UK, so those reputable breeders only satisfued about 5% of demand, by discouraging small breeders or quality pet owners  who do their best on KC recomended health checks you are actually encouraging puppy farmers or clueless home breeders who don't care for any health tests at all to meet the rest 95% of the demand. So hope you feel good about yourself because regardless of the good intentions this is what you are doing.

If my girl does get pregnant and it all goes well, then both me and my in-laws are keeping a puppy and one more is going to close friends. I doubt there will be any more, but if there are the local 5* homes would be very easy to find.

You said most breeders prefer to breed at 2, and I pointed out the minimum breeding age for a Cavalier is over 2 1/2 ( in reality that's likely to be 3 depending when seasons fall).

After doing all the heart and other health testing (you didn't say) then why waste her potential and all the inherent risks on producing a crossbred litter.

In my own breed it is advised a bitch should have a first litter by 5, so I suggested taking breed specific advice from the breed club.

I can't see that another 6 months would make so much difference to resort to crossbreeding.

If you go ahead you won't be able to breed your hoped for Cavalier litter for around 18 months.

My girls breeder had serious health issues and had to retire 2.5 years ago. She is very unwell.
I am not sure why the other person is attacking, as mentioned above we only used the health tested studs and our girl have all important health tests recommended for her breed too. This is what caused a delay which I am now worried about.
May be there is a handful of breeders who do extra health test beyond what is recommended by the KC, but from my experience they are rare and often unwilling to help and discouraging (as we see it here). Their puppies are also rarely sold to pet homes and mostly to other clubs or as mentioned by someone above have 5 years waiting list and sold at unreasonable prices.
Its almost like saying that only very rich people with exceptional health bill and no genetic conditions should have kids. Many families in UK don't feel complete without the pet dog, those "show breeders" will never meet even 10% of the demand so by discouraging people like myself who are doing second best you are only encouraging pappy farmers who breed the hell out of the bitch or home breaders who don't do any health tests at all.

Actually the answer is that if the General Public refused to buy from poorly bred litters from parents without the proper health testing, then all breeders would have to up the ante and test.

The result would be healthier puppies that also look more like their breed for people to enjoy.

The only drawback would be reduced income for the veterinary proffesion from the pet owner, though they would be doing a lot more health testing for breeders.

If all breeders health tested, especially the commercial ones who breeding for a profit can more easily afford to do so, but least likely to, as it cuts into profits, then potential owners would not have to wait so long.

I do blame the Veterinary profession to some extent, as they are generally very anti breeder, yet do very little to advertise ( so people are unpaware) or encourage the use of testing at the local vet practice level.

Actually apart from breeds that usually only have 1 or 2 puppies, the vast majority of puppies in any breed are sold as pets, with the breeder hoping that some of them with the most promising might have a go at showing/working their pet, and even going on to breed.

A breeder is limited to how many they can keep themselves to keep lines going.

We desperately need to attract some of our owners to join the responsible breeding community in order to preserve our breeds in good health and quality.

Very sadly as you say yourself the vast majority of puppies are casually or commercially bred iresponsibly without any health testing..

This helps fuel the animal rights agenda (who actually want to see the end to all domestic animals). These people initially espouse animal welfare, encouraging people to 'adopt don't shop' (excuse me someone bred, and so 2 people at least failed that dog, the breeder and owner who failed their lifelong responsibility to the dog).

Then they attack the pedigree dogs, on health grounds, and the breeders, oh look how many dogs in rescue.

The current ridiculous prices mostly charged by 'greeders' (all the best breeders have kept to normal prices, and vet potential owners even harder) and dog thefts prove there isn't an over supply of puppies, there is a lack of long term responsibility.

You would have thought the rescues would now be empty?

Yet sadly a lot of the dogs are not truly adoptable, due to poor temperaments due to poor breeding and or life experience.

Many eminently suitable owners can't pass overly inflexible adoption criteria.

You definitely have no idea about responsible breeding to improve breeds.

Crossing two dogs from different breeds does NOT create a new breed, it creates crossbreeds & so called designer dogs.

Any small breed can have SM/CM & breeding from an unscanned bitch/dog is extremely foolish. PDE blamed show breeders for SM/CM occurring in the breed, yet had to film a non KC registered dog to show the symptoms, researching the bitch in question revealed at least 10 generations of unregistered dogs with absolutely no health testing at all. Do you realise that the Chiari Malformation occurs in humans? Do you think that this is caused by inbreeding? Around 1:1000 babies born around the world have CM

Well crossbreeds are selling well at the moment, in excess of many pedigree breeds, so you are in luck a nice little earner for you.

I suggest you do some non Internet research into canine genetics as not all conditions are carried by recessive genes, which requires only 1 copy of the mutation to produce the condition.

Not all breeders are in"it"to make money, what people charge for their puppies is their personal business.

I have a friend, who has bred Siamese cats for most of her life, all her kittens she doesn't keep are neutered & then rehomed always to friends & relatives usually for the cost of the neutering & vaccines etc if that. She isn't breeding to make money, but to preserve the breed in it's original form. She only keeps Queen's & neutered Tom's. She usually only has 1 litter per Queen to an outside stud when she wants to keep another generation, they are then spayed.

I hope your bitch survives her whelping & she has no problems during her pregnancy.

Yes in my original post I said that because of all the health tests we had to do when she was at least 3 years old the breeding was delayed and she is now 4 for her first litter and this is what makes me worried because on other thread people was saying they would not breed a bitch who is that old and prefer to breed at 2.

Because the pups are to go to the family as pets I have desided to rather have a crossbreed with both health tested parents than delay it any further when she would be almost 5. No further litters are planned so this is not a concern, as explained above.

Considering all the health test we done to breed one litter for mostly ourselfs and close family I am shocked with a level of negativity I have received. As mention the exceptional  reputable breeders don't meet even 10% of the demand for family pets and the rest is usually met with puppy farms or home breeders who don't do any tests at all which is why we have decided to to do as best as we can so we know exactly where puppy comes from, what tests her parents had and how she was raised.

I have a totally different breed bit she was bred by a breeder who did all the necessary health tests available at the time  . Her reason for breeding was because she wanted another dog  to continue her line and to show and work. The others in the litter were sold as pets .
Tbh this is what I have found in the two breeds that I have had so although u may need to wait for a puppy especially atm it is very possible to find pet puppys bred responsibly and not cross breeds
If u were  buying a car. U would expect to have everything done to give thay car before you owned ot so u have the best chance  that the car will have no intrinsic problems so y would u want anything less for a.living being that u are going to want to have as part of your family for many years to.come . Knowing that genetic issues are not a problem is at least a good start

Exactly, we wanted to adopt first but almost everywhere we looked the small children was a NO-NO for adopting a cavi as most were exbreeding stock.

What you are describing is the ideal situation which the reality proves to be more of a utopia. As you probably know on own experienced the responsible dog breeding is not a profitable encounter and many people who want to try are being discouraged from the start so you will never attract enough people who would do it at cost for themself to meet the demand for pet dogs. Instead it only gives a boost to pappy farms who do the tests and then breed the hell out of the bitch or home breeders who cross staffies with chihuahuas.
We done all the KC recommended tests for just one litter mainly because it was so incredibly hard to find our first puppy from what we fought is a good breeder who shows and health test their dogs, we waited a year for her and paid twice Market price as well just to find out it still was not good enough and we should have waited 5 years for a puppy from MRI scanned parents, it's just unreasonable and not working the way you imagine it should work

The perceived negativity is due to the fact that forum members who breed wish to encourage the responsible standards of breeding, which as you have found is very sadly not what the majority do.

It really is up to puppy buyers to demand these standards re health, especially in the case of simple gene tests that give a clear cut answer.

More buyers are taking breeders to court, and lack of health testing where an isdue could be guaranteed not to be produced would leave the breeder in trouble.

Bad breeders rely on new owners lovingbtheir less than well bred pup, so just accept it warts and all.

I commend your efforts on health testing your girl.

you have come to a forum who promotes pedigree heath tested dogs for advice. It therefore isn't surprising that you have got the reactions to breeding a crossbreed and one that only some of the available tests have been done.
You made your choice for whatever personal reasons and people here will disagree given their feelings about dog breeding.

I think it is a shame considering you have a well bred kc registered dog that you must have looked for from a good breeder that you have chosen this route but if you choose to continue with the pregnancy I hope it all goes well for you and her

how is she preserving the breed if she spay everyone? This is exactly what decreasing the genetic pool is and what is causing inbreeding in the long term. I do not know what film you are referring too but it is a common sence that the less dogs are used for breeding the smaller the genetic pool would eventually be so you might eradicate one health issue at the same time creating 10 others which are not yet obvious and this is exactly what happened to many breeds. I also dont understand how can you possibly acuse me of doing it for profit if we done all the recommended tests just to get one litter for ourselves?  I understand that you might be very knowledgeable in breeding matters however you are very far from the reality that most average people don't know where and how to find those extra amazing breeders who sell their extrodinary puppies for the price of rearing? May be you should share a list of all those amazing breaders so millions of families don't have to struggle the way we do to get what we though is the best just to be told it was actually not good enough.

I agree that we need more individuals bred from responsibly to keep a larger gene pool, but so few people seem prepared to do so.

It's a big responsibility long term, and not profitable.

The way that many local authorities are choosing to interpret breeding regulations, bringing into scope for licensing (and all the unforseen consequences and red tape) those who only breed an occasional litter, is also unhelpful.

It almost seems that the regulations are designed to stack the odds in favour of commercial breeding at minimum cost, with only clinical standardised facilities for welfare for living and breeding conditions.

Yet surely striving to elevate breeding of family companions to fully health tested parents, living as family companions who are shown or worked or compete in canine sports in a full life, having an occasional litter reared in a home environment with love and attention to each individual, is what should be the norm.

Thank you, yes you are right! I came to forum because I have found a lot of good advise on here  about dogs in general over last years so did not pay attention that it's actually in the name that it's mostly for Champ dogs, so cross breeds are discouraged. I do realise it now that's its probably not a right forum for me and I would now go and try to find the forum where people would be more keen to help rather than critisise. Thank you

I totally agree with you and that is why I did not expect so much negativity. Cirtainly a small scale responsible breeding from health tested family pets should be encouraged rather than discouraged but I have now realised this is just not the best forum for me so I do appreciate all the advise. Whether my girl is pregnant or not she will be spayed after as she will be too old for any further litters and we would probably have to stop dreaming about another dog.

I would hope that you take on board the reasoning for the critiscism, and not taking it personally (the forums provide advice for other readers not just the original poster), and choose to stay for the high level of experienced practical advice.

Sadly some of the other fora will vary from the fluffy 'oh puppies, how sweet' with little practical knowledge, or the downright exploitative 'hey mate this is how to make the most money from your litter'. How to save money, how to big up an advert for maximum price, etc etc.

I have strayed into such forums in the past, oh boy!!!!

Any mention of health and responsibility and they go for the jugular. You think posters here are harsh?

I'm not getting into the right and wrongs of mix breeding (for me it's wrong) but suffice to say I really cannot understand why anybody with a decent purebred animal would waste their time (which is considerable when doing a litter) messing around with ESTABLISHED BREEDS, other than for INCOME.   The fact that the ignorant public have this notion that mix-breeding produces better puppies (not so) means that people making a living from their bitches, keep mix breeding.  I'd lay odds the vets love it!!

Incidentally this forum isn't only for people with 'Champion' dogs, but it is for people who breed with their chosen breed's best interests at heart.   There are surely enough 'breeds' for anybody wanting a puppy to choose from, without messing around producing mix-bred puppies.    I'm sorry if you are getting neg. answers here, but mix breeding (other than adopting from a Shelter) tends to be like a red rag to a bull around here.

Why stop dreaming about another dog ? I assume your are breeding to keep one ?

The Kennel Club will register litters under their 8th birthday, so you should still have time for a fully health tested litter of Cavalier pups. If it's not a big litter, then breed again on the second season after the litter, if larger then third.

It's just so far I got zero advice on the original topic so for me it was not helpful considering the I followed every advise of the stud owners regarding health tests. I also think at least one person on this thread does not understand that majority of people just want a pet weather purebreed or crossbreed and not prepared to wait for 5 years for a good puppy from the handfull of amazing breeders and there could be other reasons for breeding other than money (for us inability to find a puppy from health tested parents for a somewhat reasonable price) which I found hurtful as so far we had nothing but costs with much more costs to come and really tried our best to do it right.

As with anything you will get a range of opinions.

On this forum as the name suggests it will tend toward breeding of quality healthy purebred dogs in a responsible way.

As a result posters will often be passionate.

I would still advise staying, and certainly would consider a purebred litter on her second or 3rd season after the litter.

You would then have a well bred Cavalier pup, with better chance of being healthy, which is what you had wanted in the first place.

MoshiDav,

In answer to your original questions, I would personally let her try to whelp naturally as the stud dog was smaller (from memory as breeds have now been removed). However, make sure your vet is aware of the potential for c-section, let them know as soon as she goes into labour so that they can be prepared for you to bring her in if a c-section is required.

Get yourself a copy of 'The Book Of The Bitch'. It's on Amazon. Read it thoroughly and it should cover what you are asking. There are always risks to the bitch when you breed, the odds become higher the older they are for their first litter but the general consensus for a first litter is not before the age of 2 in order to give the bitch time to fully mature.

I am not surprised at the responses you have got on here. I agree with them all.

>I also think at least one person on this thread does not understand that majority of people just want a pet weather purebreed or crossbreed and not prepared to wait for 5 years for a good puppy

This ultimately is where the problem lies with the general public. We live in a society of immediacy. TV on demand, next day delivery, and such like means that people want their puppy tomorrow too. This enables puppy farmers and backyard breeding because the majority of general public don't seem to care about the health side of things - it is completely over-ridden by the need to have the puppy now. I would much rather wait 5 years for a puppy that will live to 17 years or so in my breed than have one tomorrow that goes blind at 5 or is crippled at 8 because the breeder couldn't be bothered to spend the money on health testing. It is worth noting though that 5 years is on the higher side of the wait even at the moment and should not be fixated on.

The majority of puppies bred by good breeders go to pet homes. This is fact.

I look at it this way when I am vetting potential owners. If someone is not willing to wait for a well bred puppy from KC registered health tested parents, then how are they going to have the patience to deal with a puppy that needs training in so many areas.

Cross breeds are mostly bred by breeders who have put very little thought into their plans, they have got the dog next door to mate with their bitch and the main motivation is money. This is fact. Their motivation is not the health of the dog, it is not improving a breed. A good breeder will travel a very long way if they have to for the right dog for their bitch. I myself am planning on going to Italy next year for the stud that I want to use.

General rescues are full of cross breeds. This just says to me that those breeding crossbreeds could not care less who they sell their dogs to, they just want the money - of which they are asking a lot for these days (a good breeder has not put their prices up due to COVID either). You very very rarely find a well bred KC reg dog in general rescue. There are breed specific rescues for those (for when people die and haven't anyone to take their dog for them). These rescues know the breed inside out, know what homes they are suited to and aren't normally inundated because a good breeder will take any dog back at any time of its life should the owner die or their circumstances change.

I'm pretty sure those who breed cross-breeds are not going to do that. Once the puppy is out the door they forget about it, count their cash, and wait until they can breed again with another dog from down the road.

This is not a dig at you, it is my opinion on cross-breeding in general. I hope everything goes well with your bitch should you choose to continue the pregnancy but please reconsider your views on crossbreeding because they are far from in line with ethical breeding.

> Do you think it would be wise to have a scheduled C-section rather then let her go into whelp naturally considering her age?

No, I'd make sure your get knows when she's due just in case but for many breeds having a first litter at 4 providing the bitch is in good physical health shouldn't be much of an issue. Normally most breeder aim to have the first younger than this but with the heart problems in Cavs the advice was to waite and heart test at 2 1/2  then breed to help combat this where as most breeds do not have this issues.

The kc have listed as priority tests as heart, eyes and 2 DNA tests which you say your girl is heridatry clear (well done for getting these ones done), and as important testing cm/sm screening. I have seen a few cav crossbreeds with Syringomyelia one was a cavapoo puppy in a local rescue.

Can I ask what you mean when you talk about selling puppies to “other clubs”?