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Breeding Question


Atanquin
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Hallo everyone and sorry if this is in the wrong spot if so please feel free to move it.

in the future i wish to breed English cocker spaniels, but i don't do conformation showing im in to the agility and rally-o competitions, Does that matter?

do you have to do conformation shows to breed?

my pups would be from my best agility/rally-o bitch/dog with great temperaments they would be health tested and i wouldn't be breeding all the time maybe only 1 litter it would be to continue that line from that great dog/bitch NOT for profit, and off course with the breeders okay but they would be informed about this and hopefully would be able to help me along the way.

anyway as breeding is a big commitment im only thinking for the future.

thanks :)

I'm just loving my cockers amazing ability and he is doing so well and im enjoying it as well that i can never see me stopping now :D

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More knowledgeable people will be along .... but in the meantime, your dog's breeder would be a good person to start talking to - if you're happy with your dog, then it would be good to talk to your breeder about what it took to produce that. (I've been in one breed for 20 years, but I still look to the experience and knowledge of lines and traits of experienced and respected breeders .. and I don't breed).

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Hallo everyone and sorry if this is in the wrong spot if so please feel free to move it.

in the future i wish to breed English cocker spaniels, but i don't do conformation showing im in to the agility and rally-o competitions, Does that matter?

Only if in breeding sports dogs, you completely sacrifice breed type.
do you have to do conformation shows to breed?
No. However have you considered that you can add titles to both ends of your dogs' names? I have friends with Cockers with conformation and sports titles :)
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With some breeds the ones who do well in the conformation ring aren't working dogs. Is there a divergence in cocker spaniels like there is for Mals and springers?

Field cockers are very rare in Oz but yes, there is a divergence with the field dogs being lighter framed and less hairy.

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Thanks HW.

Antanquin, your best agility/OB dog might not be your best dog to breed from though. Looking at my (desexed) pack, my boy is a very fast learner, fast on the course and loves agility. The head instructor at our club told me on Sunday that he is such a delight and such a hard little worker. However, my girl - who bless her heart is slower to learn and slower around the course has a much more balanced structure and if I had to pick one agility dog my head would tell me to pick her on structure alone.

It would be interesting to research lines of cocker spaniels who do we at OB and agility and get a pup from those lines. After all, pups are a product of generations of breeding, not just their parents. For my next dog I will select a breeder whose dog's lines have generations of achievement in obedience and agility. This is how all the agility people that i know pick their dogs. It would also be interesting to look into the field lines and how they do in sports.

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Read 'Structure in Action' by Pat Hastings. There is more to good working ability then mental ability - a dog that breaks down at a young age from poor structure will never be a good agility dog.

This :thumbsup: Also suggest you read the breed standard and learn it and try to follow it. Regardless of whether you want to show or not, the breed standard is there as a guideline so that you keep breeding dogs that look and act like that breed. This works both ways...

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Like already mentioned just because there good doesn't mean that is what will be produced or that they area a match for each other .

It depends on how much breed type you wish to lose or what breed type you wish to retain.

Besides health testing you also need to factor how much to the breed standard you wish to breed to,coat texture etc etc.

Many pet people want to buy pups that are what the breed should be not always what people prefer .

There are more field breed Cockers around than people think but sadly at present we via the club we belong to are getting far to many emails regarding wanting to rehome or needing assistance with there field breed Cockers (from the same breeders) because there are not the easiest to live with .

Many people thought the less coat aspect was a good reason over understanding there not breed to be your avergae Cocker family pet but these breeders also aren' helping in any form just telling them to go out into the field & work them.

I think what people need to remember is whilst your dogs might be the best at that sport how much is due to your effort ?Breeding certainly goes along way but by the same token many top OB/agility dogs worldwide are alo rescue or pound puppies with no history just very keen owners

Many dogs/breeds can potentially be great at many things but without dedicated owners to cater for those needs then those pups can be hard to live with or a joy .

Edited by showdog
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Hallo everyone and sorry if this is in the wrong spot if so please feel free to move it.

in the future i wish to breed English cocker spaniels, but i don't do conformation showing im in to the agility and rally-o competitions, Does that matter?

do you have to do conformation shows to breed?

my pups would be from my best agility/rally-o bitch/dog with great temperaments they would be health tested and i wouldn't be breeding all the time maybe only 1 litter it would be to continue that line from that great dog/bitch NOT for profit, and off course with the breeders okay but they would be informed about this and hopefully would be able to help me along the way.

anyway as breeding is a big commitment im only thinking for the future.

thanks :)

I'm just loving my cockers amazing ability and he is doing so well and im enjoying it as well that i can never see me stopping now :D

I know of a friend who yes is a registered breeder who successfully bred her first litter of agility and obedience cockers. I guess it depends if there is a demand for your lines or is it more for YOU.

My lowchen girl Ella is both an agility and show girl, whilst she hasn't got agility titles yet due to lack of trailing this year, (she's just turned 2) she has her show title I hope we will be able to breed pups who are good alrounders whilst at the same time correcting what we believe to be faults with her as she is not perfect but she has many fantastic qualities and is a decent representation of the standard. We just have to best pick a male who will compliment her and potentially correct issues.

The reason why I'm telling you this, you need to be aware of your dogs faults as well as their good points as once again breeding is about battering the breed be it for sporting reasons or confirmation reasons, like for instance Ellas tail is not a perfect set IMO so we would pick a male with a correct set so that hopefully we woold get pups with better tails.

What is your reason for breeding? Is it because you want something from the bitch/dog? How is it going to better the breed? Just a few questions you should be asking yourself

Edited by smisch
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in the future i wish to breed English cocker spaniels, but i don't do conformation showing im in to the agility and rally-o competitions, Does that matter?

do you have to do conformation shows to breed?

my pups would be from my best agility/rally-o bitch/dog with great temperaments they would be health tested and i wouldn't be breeding all the time maybe only 1 litter it would be to continue that line from that great dog/bitch NOT for profit, and off course with the breeders okay but they would be informed about this and hopefully would be able to help me along the way.

I'm just loving my cockers amazing ability and he is doing so well and im enjoying it as well that i can never see me stopping now :D

Hi Atanquin,

I am not the best person to ask about the showring - I am (to put it mildly) rather cynical about the results from the show ring. I did it for 15 years, so it is not an outsiders's view.

I have owned / bred / shown (once upon a time) and trialled GSP's for more than 40 years now. My dogs prove their temperament, and soundness in the agility trial ring, and just a few are gundog trialled and hunted with.

I believe I breed pretty good GSP's and I have not been near the showring for 25 years (except the occasional visit when a trial and show is on at the same grounds.) I have very long order lists for my puppies. Potential owners are very interested in dogs that are bred for temperament. If you are interested just check in to my website.

And I have to agree, agility is just a little addictive.

Edited by canine fun sports
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Also remember that having an entire bitch you will have at least 6 weeks a year she is in season and can't trial. These will inevitably fall on the events you want to complete in most of all. Then some bitches will be out of whack before or after or before and after their season and won't perform as well as usual.

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thanks for all the input guys :thumbsup: my current dog is desexed so no breeding and even if he was he isn't on mains, but its good to hear you don't have to do the conformation classes, i would talk to the breeder before i got my next agility dog as so they could help to make sure the dog did have the right conformation and temperament. ALOT of thought would go into it before i even thought about breeding double so as i have horses and foals as well and would need to make sure they don't clash as i like to give my full attention to my foals and same if i had pups.

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Hallo everyone and sorry if this is in the wrong spot if so please feel free to move it.

in the future i wish to breed English cocker spaniels, but i don't do conformation showing im in to the agility and rally-o competitions, Does that matter?

do you have to do conformation shows to breed?

my pups would be from my best agility/rally-o bitch/dog with great temperaments they would be health tested and i wouldn't be breeding all the time maybe only 1 litter it would be to continue that line from that great dog/bitch NOT for profit, and off course with the breeders okay but they would be informed about this and hopefully would be able to help me along the way.

anyway as breeding is a big commitment im only thinking for the future.

thanks :)

I'm just loving my cockers amazing ability and he is doing so well and im enjoying it as well that i can never see me stopping now :D

I think that's fine but some may not. I judge a breeder on health testing, lifestyles their dogs live & their ability to take back any dog they have breed not on show titles. Many reg breeders don't show or very very rarely. I prefer a dog temperament health n work ability to be top priorities not ribbons won one even type.

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Also remember that having an entire bitch you will have at least 6 weeks a year she is in season and can't trial. These will inevitably fall on the events you want to complete in most of all. Then some bitches will be out of whack before or after or before and after their season and won't perform as well as usual.

Love this one, our bitch was due for the NSW Agility Nationals, but didnt come in, she waited for Grand Prix in Tamworth, but luckily we didnt enter her lol :laugh:

Breeding for sporting/performance you have to remember; they have to proove, what you're trying to sell. Also you cant compete till they are atleast 18mths, then give a couple months, or a couple years to get titles, so you are looking at 3-4yrs minimal. So you have a fair amount of time to think, observe and reseach what you are looking at and want to breed from your dogs and what you want to call your lines.

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