hello. Ive been reading lots of posts, in particular, ones asked by inexperienced breeders, and the answers given to them by experienced breeders. I'd just like to say, that I think people who come on here to ask questions, will appreciate staright talking answers, rather than a "lecture" on dog breeding in general, or a barrage of questions asking them the why's/where's and what's of their motives for breeding dogs. lets face it,if someone wants to breed dogs, they will do it, regardless of a million lectures given by other seasoned breeders(who do have the best of intentions it has to be said!!) or responses saying they shouldnt etc etc. I think the best thing to do, is to offer the correct advice to people who ask for it, and then leave it to them to decide,  rather than critisize or verbally chastise them for wanting to breed dogs, after all, the reason they have asked a question, is to find an answer, not be given a short talk on the morality of breeding dogs, if they are given correct answers to their questions they will come back and ask more questions ( a GOOD thing surely?)  ;-)

In that case, why don't you Register with us and you can help with advising people?

I happen to agree with your POV and have said so in the past...far better to offer constructive advice than to jump on someone ...but there you go, the forum is made up of many members all with their own opinions :)

Melody

Guest,

Iam not a regular to cd, but in my experience, the experienced breeders etc on this forum do know best, they are VERY passionate about all breeds of dogs and they do give great advice, it is rare that they "lecture" or "verbally chastice" posters without good reason. people ask questions to get answers. some dont like the answers they get, so why ask the question. :)

To be fair to a lot of people some of us may appear to come on a "little heavy" at times but that is perhaps because we are familiar with the escalating problem of dogs that end up in rescue and so would like fewer dogs bred to alleviate potential suffering for all concerned. :)

Sometimes the seasoned breeders need to ask questions regarding why, e.t.c. in order to bring up relevant points that inexperienced owners/prospective breeders may not ahve considered. It does sometimes come across a little strong, but that is only because they care.

But a lot of those wanting breeding advice all ask the same question - 2 favourites (guaranteed to raise the hackles on many seasoned champdoggers) being  "How soon (or how young) can I mate my bitch for her first litter"?  and "how do I get my dog used as a stud"?  Both of these questions will be received with a sharp intake of breath, and a response of varying degrees of politeness, depending on what sort of day the writer had had!  Neither of these questions can be usefully answered withouit asking some questions, and giving advice which probloably says, "think again and dont do this".  The unpalatable fact is, if they have to ask they should probably not be considering a mating.  

You CAN mate a bitch at her first season,  you most certainly SHOULD NOT DO SO!  Equally importantly, they have to be told of the many things to consider before going ahead with the plan on a subsequent season.  Similarly, you CAN find a mate for your dog by going up to people on the street and in the park and ask if they want to have a litter of pups, but of course, you SHOULD NOT.  So the usual health checks, breed standard advice etc is given.  If people heed the excellent advice often given, go away, study the breed, acquire a good specimen, and then come back and ask for more advice it will be given freely and willingly.  But no one wants to encourage the breeding of unsuitable dogs and bitches.  And, after all,  people are ASKING for the advice, we arent collaring people and stuffing it down their throats!
bye
Gwen

Thank you Gwen. You put it far more politely than I could!
:)

I Must admit, i have been considering having a litter from Kara later in the year, for i think the right reasons. I still was VERY VERY reluctant to ask for any advice from breeders on here as, partly because of my breed and partly as was said in the origional post i didnt feel that friendly advice would follow.

Did ask what to read though and just left it there. :)

That said, if i have a strong dissagreement or opinion i would express it, regardless of whether it was friendly or not so would totally expect the same in return.

Andy

Hiya everyone,

Dear guest-I appreciate your point of view, but have to say that I've not personally experienced it here on CD.  The problem is, that without asking more questions, its very difficult to give advice.  A lot of the 'breeding' enquiries are people ASKING for advice, not just asking a question.  I've been on the other end of some very sharp returns when I have answered a question.  For instance, a lot of people ask about having a litter from their bitch and ask for our advice.  If we didn't ask even the basic questions, such as age, breed, health checks etc, I feel that we would not be being responsible in giving advice. If you go to your vet with a problem, your vet would ask for a lot more background info before treating your dog (well, mine would anyway :) )
That said, even the experienced guys on here would admit, that sometimes the written word can come out wrongly!  I've re-edited some of my own answers as when I've read them, I've realised that to someone who doesn't know me (and my strange little ways....but we won't go into that here... :) )may get the impression that I'm being rude - I'm not like that normally!LOL
The other thing that sometimes gets people a bit miffed is when the same question is asked about 4 million times....but, if you're new on the board, you may not know about using the 'search' or the 'FAQ'.
If I had wanted to know about having a litter from one of my dogs for example, I would look through to see if the same question had already been asked before posting, but then again, thats just me.
At the end of the day, everyone who comes on here SHOULD have the best interest of their dogs at heart- if some people are a bit less flowery in their advice and the poster doesn't like it, then I'm sure that it wasn't meant to be hurtful, but we're all so passionate about our dogs.
Rant over,
Ali :)

For what its worth, my biggest bugbear is the fact that many posters seem to think that a dog and a bitch of the same breed is all thats required to become a breeder. They dont seem to take on board that a lot of research into pedigrees is needed, and that sometimes one breeding line mixed with another can spell disaster.

Absolutely true, Fillis. But if that is pointed out to many people, they get ratty and accuse us of being elitist and not wanting to help novices :rolleyes: . In fact nothing could be further from the truth, and they are being given some of the best advice they will ever receive!
:)

There are some people out there who ask for advice but don't want us to tell them the opposite to what they think!  They think they know best, ask for advice, then get all upety because they didn't get the advice they wanted to hear!

Its those people who don't like us and start threads like this.  There are other people who praise us, so we must be doing something right for tthe people who can take advice, even if its not what they thought in the first place!!!

Rox

Well said Ali

Too true

From reading the boards, (esp breeding section) it appears that experienced breeders can very quickly assess whether or not a prospective breeder is knowledgable or not. If they realise a person is not clued up, I feel it is important to give that original poster as much information as possible, whether or not it just answers there specific question.  Who else is going to give them VITAL information that may sway their decision to breed? Lisa

I've had both good and bad experiences on this board.  But at the end of the day the majority of replys are from very experienced breeders and they are only showing you that, like everything else, life is not a bed of roses.  They have had good and bad days in their lines of breeding and only want whats best for everyone.  I have been very grateful for all the advice and support I have had on this board whether good or bad and would come here whenever I need help.

How can people give pertinent advice if they don't know all the   facts, you wouldn't go to your Doctor and expect him to treat you if all you said  was "I feel sick"