We Are Expecting Grandpuppies!!!!!!

[msteinkamp]

News just in from the breeder!! Am so excited I can hardly contain myself!! Just wanted to share with all you wonderful Boxer lovers that we are praying to have puppies in January! Our girl is 5 years old and is at the breeder for the very first time. She has played hard to get for the last week, then there was a role reversal and he began playing the same game with her. Well, this morning I recieved the call....they were "tied" for the first time. We are planning to bring her home this next weekend and begin all the fun preparations of pregnancy and whelping. This will be our first litter, and we are so very excited. By the Canine Pregnancy Calendar, she should be having them by January 11, 2005. We are grateful for any and all the advice anyone has to offer. Just so very happy and excited. Please pray that everything turns out to be a wonderful experience for all of us.
Thanks,
MistyDawn
www.geocities.com/ourboxerpups/harley

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

Responsible Breeding - Trust

Mike and Misty,

I would like to say Congratulations, but I find there is fear in my heart over your announcement. Just earlier you stated you received Harley from her original owner, your brother, only 3 short months ago. She is over 5 years old and is starting to gray from your photos. I thought it was fabulous you took in your brother's Boxer to love and cherish. Basically to take care of her.

Now you post you have breed the 5 year old graying dear. I find myself asking: Why? Breeding is a serious thing and it should have serious reasons behind it. You are new, but if you read the forums, you will find horror stories both of whelping problems and those that bought ill bred puppies from inexperienced breeders. Sometimes from the more con artists of breeders.

Why are you breeding Harley?
What health testing have you done on her?
Heart testing with a Cardiologist?
Hip testing via OFA or PennHip?
Thyroid testing?
Brucellosis testing?

What about the sire?
What testing has he had?

And are you aware of all the issues that can happen during whelp or even before whelp. Are you prepared and knowledgable enough to raise an entire litter, by hand, if your beloved Harley dies in whelp? Or if she develops mastitus and can't nurse? Or has to have a C-Section in the middle of the night? Do you have the funds in cash set aside for emergencies? Believe me, they do happen.

Harley trusted you to make the right decisions for her life so she could have a good quality of life. Harley trusts you not to put her life in harm's way. I am assuming your brother trusted you as well since he obviously loved his dog to find a hopefully good home.

 

[msteinkamp]

Thank you for your concern...

I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about whelping, and good and bad possibilities that can come with it. Our brother had always wanted to have her bred, and wants to be here with us when she is having her pups. We plan to keep a pup, not just any pup...one of Harley's babies. She is in very good shape and has been checked by the vet. I made sure of all this before we decided to breed her. She is very healthy and happy, and the vet said she was fine to breed. The breeder we chose (not just the first one we found), is very experienced, the stud is dna certified, and their facilities are very nice. I have read some of the "horror stories" of breeding and whelping...I pray we have none of those experiences, but I also realize things can go wrong with the healthiest of dogs. This is why I wanted to share, and ask for everyones "positive input" and prayers. Please dont make me sound like someone who is mistreating my baby, by saying " Harley trusts you not to put her life in harm's way". She is in good loving hands, and by the way.....IF (GOD forbid) something should go wrong, I am willing to do what ever I have to to keep them alive and healthy. If that means getting up every two hours all through the night and day and bottle feeding, or whatever else it could require..........I am here, and more than willing to fight for their lives.

 

[msteinkamp]

Mike and Misty,

I would like to say Congratulations, but I find there is fear in my heart over your announcement.


Why would you turn one of the most exciting and joyful moments of my life, that I am trying to share with others, and turn it into something that makes me sound like a heartless animal abuser? I think it was rude and uncalled for.
You might try giving positive advice, to show you care, rather than trying to make someone new look like they are out to hurt their animals.
I really liked this place, and thought that it was full over boxer lovers who all wanted to share in their experiences. I see, "some" of the people here are just here to judge and question others and take away their positive experiences.....replacing it with fear, dread, and doubt. I think it is very sad that there are so many "unhappy" people that cant stand to see other people happy.

 

[courtney323]

Ugh, this post is so sad.

A "vet check" means nothing when it comes to breeding. 99% of all dogs would get a healthy "vet check" from their local vet.

What OFA Certified tests have you performed on your female (and the male, for that matter)? Are they OFA certified on their heart, hips, thyroid, etc..?

The only purpose for breeding is to improve the breed standard (per AKC and ABC Code of Ethics). The only way you can possibly know that is to show your female, or have her evaluated by an experienced (show) breeder or handler (not a "back yard breeder"). Then you SEEK out a male who has been properly health tested and evaluated and one who compliments your females faults.

ANY vet will tell you your dog is "okay to breed". However, it is very irresponsible to just put two dogs together and let them breed. That is how we end up with millions of unwanted dogs in the shelters. It's also how we end up with "full blooded" and "AKC" Boxers that look like Labs.

Please do research on "responsible" breeding. This site ONLY promotes responsible breeding, and that is not what you are doing.

I hope your female makes it through this, and I really hope that you learn some valuable information from this great web site.

Good luck

 

[courtney323]

And by the way, this site IS FULL of Boxer lovers. That is why breeding is such a touchy subject here.

Every single one of us loves our Boxer babies, and think they are the most beautiful Boxers in the world. We all love puppies as well, but it is HIGHLY irresponsible (and selfish) to breed 2 Boxers just because you want one of the puppies. You only breed to better the breed. No matter how you attempt to jutify it, you are not bettering the breed.

Btw - DNA Certification doesn't mean anything - why is that so high on your list of priorities in a stud?

You should be looking for all of the tests that Christine mentioned:

Heart testing with a Cardiologist
Hip testing via OFA or PennHip
Thyroid testing
Brucellosis testing

Not a simple "vet check" and not simply immunizations (everyone does that)

 

[lost1700]

Don't misinterpret the following please. I am completely 100% behind the moral ethics and rules that boxerworld represents including all pertaining to breeding. However, I do believe that sometimes people are a little harsh on posters. I am all for informing people who are THINKING about breeding of all the possibilities and musts that should be known before breeding and I don't agree with irresponsible and uninformative breeding. But informing and scaring people that may have already made the mistake or sometimes incident of their bitch being pregnant is not the way to go about that situation. In this particular case this man or womans dog is already pregnant, so there is no need in scaring them. Instead why don't you try to make the best out of a "bad" situation, and maybe help them so that these puppies have a better chance of survival. Alot of people at Boxerworld are very informative but sometimes the information is given the wrong way. This was in no way meant to be personal to any one person. Just my view!

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

I have been reading everything I can get my hands on about whelping, and good and bad possibilities that can come with it. .

So when I give you yet more good information, not to mention valuable information, you get hostile. That does not show you want to know about Boxer breeding. It shows you are upset you are being questioned. Understandable, but so are my questions.

Now, responsible Boxer breeding requires you health test your bitch. Did you? From what you said, you never took her to a Cardiologist. So she could BCM, AS or SAS and you would never know. You just bred a female and you have no idea the condition of her heart. Knowing that Heart Disease is the #2 killer of Boxers, why would you ignore that? You never hip tested her so how do you know she does not have HD? Either of these issues can be passed to her puppies. Thyroid testing?

The stud owner. DNA is identification. It is not a health test. So, what health testing did he have? Where is the Cardiologist results for his heart testing? Where is his Hip rating info? Thyroid testing?

If you want to be welcomed with open arms as a Responsible breeder, then you would have bred your old girl responsibly.

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

In this particular case this man or womans dog is already pregnant, so there is no need in scaring them.

Sadly, in this case, they don't seem to care :(

 

[haleyandmark]

the way i see all situations as in this one are whats done is done. if some people (just talking in general) are out for the betterment of the breed, why post nothing but negative comments?

i am by no means for this kind of breeding, but instead of telling them what they did wrong, why not help them get through this with the hopeful outcome of healthy puppies and mommy by offering advice.

i think they realize they have done something that is not looked upon here, but the negative comments don't help in bettering the breed.

good luck with your situation, msteinkamp. for future references, i reccomend doing a search on boxerworld about breeding and/or reading the first post in choosing your breeder entitled 'sabine - an ordeal'.