Planning WAY ahead

Question
Greetings!
  This is planning RIDICULOUSLY ahead, but I have a female Jack Russell Terrier puppy that I am planning to breed, and I don't know of a reliable source to get my information, so I thought I would try to ask you. Is there anything that is important for me to know about breeding? Anything I need to know PLEASE include in the letter back. Thank you so much!!!

-Astrid

Answer
Hi Astrid! First thing you need to do is to figure out any health problems that plague your breed, and have her tested for them at the right time before you do breed her. Most of these tests are done at about two years of age. This is the most important thing. Doing this, you protect your puppies from genetic problems, and you protect yourself. Then, when the time comes, find a suitable male for her that has also had his health tests done. Don't listen to breeders who say that these health tests aren't necessary. They truely are. Apparently, Jack Russells are known for eye problems.

A dog's pregnancy lasts between 58-65 days. If she has any colored discharge before the birth of the first puppy, take her to the vet immediately. She should get her milk in somewhere between a week before whelping, or up to the actual whelping. Keep an eye on her milk, and make sure she doesn't get an infection. Feel for any hard, warm places on her breasts.

It's so hard to tell for sure with dogs if the breeding took, and you can run into so many troubles. I'm listing a great deal of web sites below for you to start to look at. They will go over any problems you may face. You can also go to Amazon.com or ebay, and find some really good books for sale. I recommend getting a few of them. My favorite is Successful Dog Breeding by Walkowicz & Wilcox. You don't need a ton of them, just a few good ones.

Make sure your girl is healthy, not too fat or too thin, before you breed her. Make sure her shots and worming are up to date before she's bred. There's no reason in the wrold to breed her more than twice in one heat cycle. It's overkill. Keep in contact with your vet, so he can be prepared if something should go wrong. Be super careful of the puppy homes when you place them. I think all of these web sites will give you much better information than I can, so I'm just giving you advice, things I think every breeder should know. You will never get rich from breeding dogs, and it will drive you absolutely crazy at times. It can be heartbreaking when you loose a puppy, or even a whole litter. Or even the mom. You have to prepare yourself for any of those possibilities. Not saying that it will happen, but only that it can. Get you a really good vet that has a lot of experience with either breeding dogs, or breeders themselves. I hope that I have helped you in some way. If you ever need anything, feel free to holler. Good luck!:-)

http://www.qualitydogs.com/Jack_Russell_Terrier/information.html  Gives a list of genetic and health problems the Jack Russel suffers from.

akc.org  Will give you the link to the Jack Russell parent club.

http://www.netpets.com/dogs/reference/genetics.html  A good starter course on canine genetics. Every breeder needs to know something about genetics. It will help you produce better dogs.

http://www.debbiejensen.com/   A neat whelping site full of helpful information, and pictures.

http://www.showdogsupersite.com/kenlclub/breedvet/feeding.html

http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dfemale.html  A really neat web site.

http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/whelping1.htm  Whelp help.

http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/progesterone-testing.html   In case you need to do progesterone testing.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/whelping.htm

http://www.workingdogs.com/doc0034.htm  A REALLY good whelping page.

http://bowlingsite.mcf.com/Genetics/ColorGen.html  A coat color genetic page.

http://www.workingdogs.com/articles_gen.htm  Has a wonderful list of other genetic web sites that you should have a look at.