Owning your own business comes with making hard decisions sometimes. There is no doubt about that. Owning your own business that involves living and breathing animals that you are responsible for producing brings with it a whole different set of hard decisions that sometimes must be made.
I have a set of standards that I uphold for each and every dog to that becomes apart of my breeding program. Keeping in mind that just because they aren’t suitable for breeding doesn’t mean that they aren’t amazing dogs. I have 3 things that are very important to me when it comes to my breeding dogs.
If you have followed me for any amount of time I’m sure you know how important health testing is to me. I am a firm believer that each and every breeding dog should be tested to the requirements of the breed listed by the breed club or OFA(Orthopedic Foundation for Animals). For me that means every dog in my breeding program must pass OFA Hips, Elbows, Eyes, Heart, Patellas, and DNA. Any dog that doesn’t pass one of these tests are spayed or neutered and never become apart of my breeding program. This is so much more than saying “vet checked” as I see too often.
Another thing that I look at is structure. For this it is important to know that there is no perfect dog. Even the dogs that win dog shows like the Westminister will have a fault of some kind. But being aware of dog structure and making sure that you are only choosing dogs that have a structure worth passing on and ensuring you are not breeding two dogs together with the same fault. This is something that I evaluate first before the puppy is chosen to be held back as a future breeding dog and then throughout the growing period.
The last thing is temperament, though this really is one of the most important so not really last. At 7 weeks of age my puppies are temperament tested by my trainer. This is the point at which I choose my puppy. It really baffles people a lot of the time when they want to know which puppy I am going to keep if I am keeping one and I tell them I will choose shortly before deposit holders and not until after temperament testing. If I say temperament is important than that must be at the core of choosing who I am keeping. Did you also know that it takes around 2 years for temperament to fully develop? The bulk of that will be shaped in the first four months with experiences, socialization, and training. After 4 months they do continue to be shaped. So while yes genetics do play a huge role in temperament there is a huge environmental role that comes into play as well.
Now more fun facts about temperament. The mother contributes more to temperament than the father does. When the mother is pregnant both the “stress hormones” and the “happy hormones” pass through the placenta to the puppies. There have been studies done on mama dogs showing that mothers that had a gentle belly rub daily while pregnant produced puppies with a more well adjusted temperament. When it comes to the stress hormone that also passes to the puppy causing stress in pregnancy. Then once the puppies are born hormones also pass through to the milk while the puppies are nursing. Meaning keeping stress as low as possible is critical to reduce stress on the puppies. Then the mother is who raises the puppies. They will learn most of their “dog behavior” from their mothers not the father.
So why am I sharing all this? I have just had to make two very very hard decisions in my breeding program. I had two mamas that have been showing some signs of anxiety. One it started a little younger while the other was a little older when it began. Both have already passed their health testing, are the sweetest dogs that I love dearly, and have some of the most beautiful coats and structure. I think they are both stunning. They also happened to both be the only upcoming mamas I had that were red. They come from one of my favorite girls Reba who lives with me personally. Reba doesn’t have anxiety and was a wonderful mama. I have been SO on the fence with whether or not I would be breeding them. One girl I actually had a litter planned with her and then I ended up not breeding her. In the end I am glad that breeding didn’t work out as the anxiety showed itself a little more after the decision to not breed her. I have had conversations with my vet, my dog trainer, and people close to me who helped me work through my thoughts and feelings. My decision became that these two amazing dogs would be spayed and never become mamas. Making these decisions broke my heart a little but I know that I made the right decision. This doesn’t mean that they are bad dogs because like I said I love them both dearly but it just means they are suited to be amazing pets and not mamas. If I am going to say that I breed for temperament I must be willing to do the hard thing even when I have invested time, money, and a piece of my heart into them.
I know that I have had people that have mentioned they wanted a puppy from these girls when I have shared pictures of them. I figured I would officially announce that both Fancy and Georgia will be spayed and not be moms in my breeding program so that no one is left wondering and to be completely transparent with those that follow CNR Farms. I would be lying if I said that this decision came without tears and heartache because I have cried many tears and grieved over this decision but I know that is was the right thing to do. I must keep my standards high to ensure the next generation is better than the one before it.
Both girls will remain with their guardian home families who love them and will spoil them for the rest of their lives. I do hope to add a red girl sometime in the future but at this time don’t know when that will be. I am hoping to do a couple pairings with outside studs to have the possibility of reds.
Just wanted to share this news and share my heart with ya’ll.
-Casey
