Should I Breed?

[dabroad]

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I know alot of people on here are knowledgable and know what they are doing and others who don't but i want your opinion on what you would do if you were me! Because of this whole debate about ig's being rare and everyone wants one etc! I am in two minds wether to breed my igxwhippet my reasons for breeding would defently not be about money as cross breeds make none and i would rather die then breed for profit. I would absolutly adore another igx whippet or ig. My bitch is just over one and i would like to breed her next may (her third season) with a pure ig dog. Now the questions will arise why not buy a puppy? well the answer is simple i love my bitch so much and love her temprement and colour i want to keep something of hers that is precious to me thats why i want to breed in the first place only to keep a puppy of hers and theres my two or maybe three lol knowing me id keep them all. I would not sell these puppies to just anyone and would take them back at any stage of there lives healthy or not. My bitch seems to be healthy in every way and i think crossing helps aliminate these health problems. The puppies would obviously be quarter whippet three quarters ig. It's something would really like to do. Question is breed or don't breed? I have explained the reason why. out of pure love for these breeds and my bitch! If the answer is don't breed could you explain why its a good idea not to? and if theres any alternative? thanks people! x

 

[dabroad]

This is her! :b

 

[WIGGY]

what a beautiful colour pickle is, and her ears are now all settled down now. bless her

 

[bertha]

Personally I would not breed. There are so many puppies out there why contribute to that. So many end up in rescues when their owners get fed up with them and a host of other reasons. I see no reason for breeding a cross breed, believe you me they fetch money which is why people breed them. After all they are just little mongrels! Give a puppy a home instead.

 

[Esty]

We all love our dogs and want to breed from them but the sensible option is that, unless you have something to offer the breed, you shouldn't do it. My dogs are 100% in every way, good pedigree whippets but I would never breed from them (and I have been asked) simply because there are too many homeless dogs. Nobody loves their dogs more than me and I feel it's a shame that my beautiful dogs won't pass on their genes but that is not enough to make me stud them out. The good owners owe it to the homeless dogs of this country to reign in their own emotions and think of the bigger picture - that's my opinion anyway.

Nearly 10,000 homeless dogs got put down in this country last year. I understand you will always take the pups back but apart from anything else there is a health risk to your precious girl as well - some bitches unfortunately DO die of complications in childbirth. You could lose track of where the pups are (I'm sure the breeder of the whippet pup my Mum just rescued had no idea that his pup would end up living in a garage for the first 8 weeks of it's life until someone else stepped in).And I'm not sure where you'd find an owner of a pure IG dog who would stud his/ her dog to this match. And just because your bitch has a certain colour and temperament doesn't mean the pups will follow suit. If you love the breed, keep out of the breeding

Just a few things to think about.

 

[quintessence]

I have no experience in Italian Greyhounds but feel strongly about the number of puppies of all breeds being bred at the moment. My answer to anyone asking the question you have posed is "Do you need to breed", if the answer is no then my next question is "why do it then". I have been involved in dogs for 50 years, I have no need to breed, there are some excellent breeders in this country who produce beautiful, quality puppies. I have two boys at the moment who I could not love anymore than I do if I had bred them myself. I look at the puppies dedicated breeders produce and know I could do no better.

Jenny

 

[k4tie-d]

when does it stop?? you say you love your girl so much and want a bit of her to be in the pup, well what about when you love the pup so much, do you then breed it when its old enough just ot have a bit of it??

everyone has there own opionion on this and since you asked heres mine, google whippet pups and you will find site after site page after page of whippet pups looking for home, fair enough igs there isnt that many but igs are a specialist breed and not many people looking.

what make your pups better than any of the others on theses sites?? why would someone pic your ups over the next litter down the road?

what happens if your lovely girl has 10 pups(my girls are from a litter of 10)? what if you cant find good homes?

what if there are comlications during the birth and godforbid somthing happen to your girl, how would you deal with that?

what if a year down the line you find out one of your pups has ended up in a rescue?

these are only a few hundered of questions i think people should ask themselfs before they decided to breed,

i can totaly see where you are coming from i love my girls so much and would like nothing more than to have one of their babies, but even just with the few questions i have put up here i know it wouldnt be right to breed from them, there are so many people better placed than me to breed and raise a litter and for far better reasons than "because i love my pet so much i want one of her pups"

please dont take this the wrong way but i just think there are far to many pups out there and far to many in rescues to add more to it just now. i would much rather find a breeder see there dogs be happy with the mating and have 1st or 2nd pick of some gorgeous pups visit them, no needing to finding homes for the rest, no huge vet bills, food bills, no stress, no worry. just one lovely little pup to take home

good luck what ever you decided :luck:

 

[peppermint lady]

the fact that you ask a question on "should i breed" makes me think probably not!!!!

also how old in months will your bitch be in May when you intend to breed her....you said she is just over a year??? so if this is the case she is far to young imo.

just because your girl is lovely ect...excellent temp ect...does not always mean the pups will be!!

im not anti breeding as i intend to have a litter from one of mine....however anyone who feels the need to ask if they should breed....in my mind should not.

 

[Hula]

If I were you I wouldn't breed her . If you want a pup go out and buy one . There is just no guarantee that the homes you would find your puppies would be good homes . You just have to look at all the dodgy sites out there with adult dogs looking for homes and pages and pages of puppies . Just because you would take back a pup there is no guarantee that people will bring it back to you .

In my opinion it's just not worth the risk

 

[jinnyfizz]

I agree with the comments above and firmly believe that there are far too many pups being brought in to this world when there are thousands in rescue or, worse still, roaming the streets, who once were bred for probably the same reasons that you are considering

I have 6 whippets, 1 lurcher and 2 GSDs. None of them were bred by me, but 5 of them were unwanted by their previous owners and they now have a home with me for life. They are all very special in their own individual ways - something that could never be recreated by breeding as each of them is unique :wub: :wub: :wub:

Please consider giving a needy pup a home rather than breeding more :thumbsup:

 

[posh totty]

if its any help , im fostering half a litter of 10 whippets , lovely owners , very novice in breeding though , they were unable to cope after mum rejected at 2 weeks they struggled on til 4 weeks but couldnt take the no sleep anymore , they are the MOST LOVING caring dog owners anyone could ever wish for but it was simply too much for the couple , could you hand rear a litter if needed to ? the financial , emotional and simple hard work ??? think worst case scenario and see if you could do it

YOU are the credit for YOURdogs good nature and behaviour , if you so want another , seek out ones needing a home italian rescue would love to have someone as caring as you to take care of another dog needing someone as caring and loving as you

 

[~Annie~]

To be honest I doubt anyone is going to answer your question with a 'Yes', I'm certainly not going to. But you have/will be offered a number of reasons why the answer is 'no' and it's possible not all of them will seem reasonable to you. Personally I don't find the argument that no one except established 'expert' breeders should add to the existing puppy 'pool' particularly convincing (although no one should breed if they aren't very well informed about what they are doing), but I do agree that there are too many puppies out there. So why add to the numbers of beautifully coloured dogs with good temperaments that struggle to find life long homes or worse are euthanased. Your bitch may be a sweetheart but she is a crossbreed and rather than be less likely to suffer from health problems many crossbreeds inherit two sets of issues, one from either parent. She may be a beautiful colour, but what is her conformation like ... does she for example have such a straight shoulder that it affects her gait ... if you aren't clear about such things you could be breeding in problems for future generations ... and there will be future generations because you have no way of ensuring that your girl's girls won't be bred from.

I have a gorgeous blue whippet boy with excellent conformation, who excels in his field - agility - and is also a promising lurecoursing dog, but despite being asked repeatedly about his availability at stud, despite adoring him with all my heart and never failing to feel my heart turn over when I look at him, I have so far said no to everybody ... I would love to have a mini him in my pack but the thought that a single pup he had sired might end up leading a less than perfect life has so far stopped me ... it is too easy I fear to be a selfish breeder.

You ask for alternatives ... somewhere, amongst the many, many dogs in need of new homes is where I would suggest your alternative is ... I suspect you'll find one just as loveable. Or if you prefer to start with a puppy, as some of us do, then look for a reputable breeder of whippets or igs and start from there.

Annie

PS On a different note could one of the iggy breeders no doubt reading this explain to me what value if any there is in crossing an IG with a whippet, it's a cross I've never 'got'.

 

[dabroad]

Thanks guys for all your comments I have some serious thinking to do and it looks like i may spay her! I'm keen on the idea of rehoming another puppy or buying one so lets see where that gets me in the near future. I would open my own rescue centre if i could lol

 

[posh totty]

as a person whom had an accidental litter of whippet x igs , i feel able to answer , there is no value , they are excellent pets imo but too risky in the wrong hands to be of any real use in the field ,due to leg break risk , however my little 1 i kept even with now just 3 legs she is still able and willing and bloody good as a ferretting partner , the rest of the litter went to pet homes , all they truly are is little pets , well loved for what they are , pets , 1 of the litter owned by racey lady on here is lovely but grown taller than any of his whippet relatives , wild whippys , has a big lad too , so no arguement saying they are little whippet types , my girl grew to 14 1/2 inches and looks just like her dad blue the ig

 

[dabroad]

also may i just add my bitch is also having a phantom pregnacy at the moment what can i do to help her i know the vet can give her hormoane injects to calm it down but does it go on it's own ?? i know getting her spayed may help! x

 

[FeeFee]

Phantom pregnancies usually go on their own after about 3 weeks, though some dogs seem to go on longer. Once she has had a phantom she's likely to have one every season, so having her spayed is really the best thing to do, phantom pregnancies can be so distressing for the dogs.

You will have to wait until the phantom has passed and her hormones have settled down before she can be spayed. Mid-way between seasons is the best time to do it.

As far as pups are concerned unsurprisingly I agree with the many good points made above, and in particular themetalchicken's excellent post which says it all much better than I could :thumbsup:

Another thing to consider (this is very raw for me, as I'm going through it with one of my whippet x girls at the moment) is that spaying early will give her the best possible protection against mammary cancer later in life.

Loads of luck and I hope she's over her phantom soon :luck:

 

[dabroad]

Thanks i think it may be best to spay her! and geta nice new igg pup a want a little boy! And replying to wiggy's comment no her ears really havent settled down lmao look....

 

[dabroad]

she's such a darling i love her soooooooooo much id actually die for her! she's my best friend in the whole world and i love her with all my heart. Some times i just want to cry when i think about how much i love her!xx

 

[posh totty]

awwwwwwwwwwww bless ya heart , im sure anyone would be proud to have one of their babies with you xx

 

[dabroad]

Aww thanks not everyone on here may like me but one things for sure i look after my dog and horses and my hamster not forgetting very well. Pickle is spoilt rotten to much in fact that she can take the mick so thats when mummy lays down some rules only for them to be broken with big boggley eyes! haha im a sucker for them! I tried to rehome a whippet bitch named sky on here about half a year ago but unfortunatly it didnt work out and pickle didnt take to her in fact it was a nightmare and i wouldnt do it again. I think introducing a puppy is best as pickle has a mothering side to her already only being a year old herself She is good with most dogs and loves the lads! cough.... tart! But she's a happy healthy girlie and im sure she would like a bf (non sexual haha) Everyone comments on her every time i go out someone stops me and asks what breed she is and where i got her from etc she's my pride and joy and i wouldnt change her for the world. At the moment (with her hormoanes going wild) she's mothering a latex chicken i bought last week and she puts it in her bed with her. I have had to take it away as she thinks it's a puppy i think. When she picks it up in her mouth she cries lol bless her and digs nests! She has milk coming out too. Not good poor girlie she has her off days! xx :b