Jan that is so funny...glad all turned out ok for you all LOL!!

With 46000 Labrador pups registered with the KC and probably as many bred without papers what you need to ask yourself do you need to breed from your bitch.

What would she contribute to the breed?

As you say you are a complete Novice, and to breed responsibly you need a huge amount of in depth knowledge about the breed your bitches pedigree (the ancestors knowing their characters, temperaments, good points working qualities etc).

Obviously most people aren't born with this knowledge so a good novice starts researching their breed and works with mentors in the breed who do have this knowledge to guide them in the early years and beyond.

Do you show or work your bitch. These would in my view be pre requisites along with the health tests for the breed, Hip scoring, elbow scoring, eye testing and DNA testing for PRA.

At show or working circle you will meet knowledgeable and not so knowledgeable people and it may take a while to sort these out.

With a breed of such wide and varied gen pools your research may take you several years, and possibly be too late for your current bitch. You may also find that unless she came from top class bloodlines that she really is not breeding quality, but that is no reason to not have fun showing or working her to gain experience and get your eye in and gain knowledge in order to maybe one day breed if your are suited to this and can commit to lifelong responsibility for the pups you breed. this includes taking them back for re homing at any point in their lives and this is likely to be at inconvenient times. You are also likely to have to rehabilitate and retrain unruly youngsters or adults with bad habits etc.

Good luck with your research.

I advise your first step would be joining the national and regional breed clubs and attending events.

After this I would purchase back issues of club publications. These will have photos and adverts of the successful kennels, but looking back over decades you can see how the lines have developed.

Not only that but this negative trait could be passed on to the puppies, as a genetic issue or learnt.

Thanks for all the advice - certainly has givem me food for thought, I really appreciate it!
Diane

AnimalLoversWeb.com

i read this and thought wow i remember being like that
a big well done on you and meg's litter

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