When you are ready for your first litter

GSD laying down with lab puppies sat around

Now that y'all're decided you're fix for your first litter, let'southward get through the process step by step, so you're well prepared to take intendance of your dog and to produce happy, healthy puppies.

When should I breed from my bowwow?

The bowwow should be over a year old, and preferably should have had one normal season prior to mating. Prior to mating, it is also important to have your bitch examined for any inherited diseases to which the breed is subject field. You tin can learn more near the health tests that relate to your canis familiaris'due south breed in our Breeds A to Z.

The average twenty-four hour period on which to mate a bitch is betwixt the 11th and 14th day of her season. Yet, judging the correct solar day to mate your bitch can sometimes exist difficult, as some can exist ready to be mated earlier while others volition not take a domestic dog until much subsequently. It may therefore be prudent to have an ovulation examination carried out by your veterinarian surgeon to determine the correct engagement on which to mate your bitch, especially if the stud dog lives a fair distance abroad.

How long are bitches in whelp?

Bitches are in whelp for approximately 63 days, although this can vary depending on litter size.

How exercise I detect a suitable stud dog?

We do non currently continue a register of stud dogs. Therefore, you should contact either your domestic dog'southward breeder or a breed club to ensure that you find a suitable mate for your bitch. Equally a responsible breeder, you lot volition need to ensure that any stud domestic dog that you lot decide to utilize not only has a compatible full-blooded, but has too been examined for any inherited affliction to which the breed is discipline.

If you're trying to observe a suitable healthy mate for your dog, then our online health tools tin can assist yous make informed decisions

  • Use ourHealth Test Results Finderto notice out what DNA tests and wellness schemes any dog on our records accept been screened for
  • Employ our Inbreeding Coefficient calculatorsto evaluate how closely related ii potential mates are

Recollect that male dogs may also carry convenance restrictions, and therefore you will demand to bear in mind that whatsoever breeding endorsements will accept to be removed from his registration records earlier the litter tin can exist registered. Yous are strongly advised to ostend, prior to the mating, that any such endorsement has been removed.

Details of estimate stud fees, puppy prices and more information on your called breed may be obtained from the breeder of your dog, or from the breed clubs.

Legal contracts

If yous are using some other owner's stud dog, or when it comes to selling your puppies, nosotros would advise you to create a written contract to tape annihilation agreed between the parties. This way, there tin exist no misunderstandings betwixt either party should whatever problems occur. This is especially important if you are selling any puppies that you lot have endorsed with The Kennel Lodge, and in fact forms office of our regulations when applying to place endorsements.

A general guide to creating a puppy contract can be plant in our Assured Breeders scheme section.

What should I do before breeding?
  • Transfer the dog into your registered buying if y'all accept non already done and then
  • Dna profile your dog
  • Obtain a kennel name
  • Check that no convenance endorsement has been placed on your dog'south records
  • Ensure your dog is healthy and suitable (especially in temperament) to whelp a litter
  • Carry out all relevant health checks eastward.g. hip scoring, elbow grading, eye testing and Deoxyribonucleic acid testing. Find out which checks are relevant to your brood
  • Contact a breed society for more brood-specific data and to ask whatever questions you may take
  • Ensure that the health condition of the proposed stud dog is satisfactory
  • Talk to the breeder of your bowwow, as they may be able to help you
  • Our new healthcare plan offers breeders optional cover for breeding risks including fertility, pregnancy, whelping and litter before they are sold. For more data phone call 0800 369 ninety ninety or visit The Kennel Club Pet Insurance website
Where tin can I observe out more?

You can notice out more near breeding, pregnancy and raising puppies in a number of films available on The Kennel Club University.

Kennel names

A kennel proper name is an sectional word that is associated with you and your dogs. Known as your 'breeder signature', a kennel proper noun volition set your puppies bated from those of anyone else.

Yous can include your kennel proper name within the names of your puppies at the point of registration. You lot can as well add your kennel name to an existing proper noun of a dog in your current registered ownership.

Browse the forms below to register a new kennel name or make changes to an existing proper noun.

Awarding for the registration of a kennel proper noun (grade x)
Application to change the registered name past the improver of a kennel proper noun (form 8)
Variation of a kennel proper name (form xi)

Delight download and complete course xi if you wish to either make a alter to the ownership of your kennel name or give permission for a separate interest/holding to exist granted.

Removal of a kennel name (form 16)

Wellness screening - a step by step guide

Responsible breeders consider the health of their puppies to be a priority. There are a number of steps you as a breeder tin and should take to increase the chances of breeding happy and good for you puppies. These include Deoxyribonucleic acid testing, health screening schemes and fugitive close inbreeding. By taking these steps it helps y'all discover out if two possible mates are compatible, giving your puppies the best take chances to alive long, happy lives.

Why health screening is essential

Testing all potential breeding stock allows you lot to improve sympathise the kind of genes your dog may pass on to its offspring, giving you the information required to avoid producing puppies affected past health issues.

Making informed decisions based on health test results enables yous to conform your breeding plan, selecting mates for your dog that complement them and reduce the take chances of diseases actualization in futurity generations.

Step one: Discover the tests relevant to your breed

Notice out which health tests or schemes are recommended for your breed in our Breeds A to Z. These recommendations are suggested by brood clubs and approved by The Kennel Order's committees.

Once you've found which tests and schemes are relevant to your breed yous can find out more about each Deoxyribonucleic acid examination or screening scheme in the Breeds A to Z or yous can read more well-nigh them in our getting started with health screening page.

Step 2: Get your dog health screened

One time y'all know which health tests and screening schemes are relevant to your breed it's important that you use these to understand more than about your dog'due south genetic and concrete health.

If you lot follow the links on the health section of the Breeds A-Z y'all can detect:

  • laboratories that will exam your canis familiaris for each DNA test.
  • How to become your canis familiaris screened for any health scheme relevant to your breed.

You can also find details well-nigh wellness testing clinics virtually you.

Step 3: Find wellness results for possible mates

You lot can find the results for any results for Deoxyribonucleic acid tests or screening schemes recorded by us on our Wellness Examination Results Finder.

Footstep four: Read our breeding advice

If you lot're new to breeding so the amount of information on how to breed healthy puppies can sometimes exist overwhelming.

Nosotros've compiled a list of all of the health screening that's recommended for your brood in our Breeds A-Z, simply you can also find clear and simple breeding advice and in our getting started with wellness testing and screening page.

Step 5: Avoid inbreeding

Inbreeding is the breeding of puppies from 2 related dogs. High levels of inbreeding tin affect the wellness of these puppies and in general the higher the caste of inbreeding, the higher the risk is of the puppies developing health issues.

The degree of inbreeding tin can be measured and our inbreeding calculators use pedigree information from our registration system to work out how related two potential mates are.

Use our Inbreeding Coefficient calculator every bit part of your breeding decisions when choosing a potential mate.

The problem of pop sires

Popular sires, or male person dogs that are used to produce large numbers of puppies, are one of the biggest contributors to a reduction in genetic diverseness, an increase in inbreeding and elevated levels of genetic diseases within a breed. These dogs are often chosen considering they take good characteristics, such as traits associated with practiced wellness. Breeders volition apply these dogs because they wish to improve the brood, merely excessive use of any males can be detrimental to the overall population. It'due south important to consider the impact that using a popular sire could have on your breed.

Detect out more about popular sires and how to manage and maintain genetic diversity.

Pace half dozen: Avoid breeding from over-exaggerated dogs

Regardless of what each dog looks like, its health and welfare should ever be a priority and it should be able to lead a happy and healthy life. That means being able to exhale, walk, hear and run into freely without discomfort. Some exaggerated conformations (such every bit extremely flat-faces, extremely wrinkly pare etc.) tin can atomic number 82 to wellness problems, such as peel infections, center issues or breathing difficulties.

Dogs with proven health bug caused by over-exaggeration of concrete features should ideally exist avoided in a convenance programme, especially if they may produce health or welfare problems in any puppies they produce. If in dubiousness, please contact your vet.

Find out more most over-exaggeration and how to avert breeding from over-exaggerated dogs.

Step vii: Make balanced breeding decisions

Your breeding decisions should ever exist well balanced and take into consideration the qualities and compatibility of both the sire and dam that you are considering.

Too equally thinking through the implications of a domestic dog'due south health screening results, there are other every bit important factors to consider when deciding whether two dogs should be mated together, such as temperament, genetic diversity, conformation, the general health of the dogs etc.

Contacts for more advice

If you have any questions most health screening, Deoxyribonucleic acid testing or inbreeding calculations, so either speak to your vet, or your local breed guild.

Each breed has a breed health co-ordinator who works within the brood clubs and they are experts on the health of their breed.

How to contact your breed health co-ordinator

You tin can contact your breed health co-ordinator by referring to the health information of your chosen brood on our Breeds A to Z.

Artificial insemination (AI)

Artificial insemination (AI) is a method of inseminating a bowwow artificially without the mating process. This is often used when using frozen or chilled semen when the male is non available.

Prior approval is not necessary to register a litter produced by AI, provided that all of the following comply, and that the AI involves non-surgical insemination.

Requirements for registration
  • All litters produced by AI volition be subject to our existing registration regulations
  • Nosotros volition accept an application to annals a litter produced by AI from either overseas dogs or those domiciled in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland, simply the AI must be declared by completing the litter registration class (course 1) online or by downloading and completing the PDF version
If you meet all the requirements

If none of these conditions is breached, then the owner need but ensure that theAI form (course 2)is completed and submitted along with thelitter registration form (form ane) online or download the PDF version at the time of registration.

All requirements must be satisfied in your AI application, otherwise individual cases will have to exist made and registration will be at the discretion of The Kennel Club Lath.

Please note that from the beginning of 2019, the use of surgical insemination has been banned by the Purple Higher of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). Therefore, no applications will be accustomed whereby the litter was produced using this method .

Methods of insemination

In that location are 2 general methods adopted for insemination:

  1. Non-surgical: intravaginal, where semen is placed directly into the vaginal culvert
  2. Non-surgical: trans-cervical using a catheter and/or an endoscope

The RCVS advise that intravaginal insemination does not amount to the exercise of veterinary surgery and, as such, may be undertaken by suitably competent lay persons. Even so, trans-cervical insemination is regarded as an act of veterinary surgery and may only be undertaken by a veterinary surgeon.

Frequently asked questions

1. I have a maiden bowwow - can I yet mate her using artificial insemination?

Yep, The Kennel Social club has no restrictions on mating maiden bitches by AI.

2. The stud domestic dog I want to use has not produced puppies naturally - will the awarding exist accepted?

The Kennel Order will register a litter by AI from a domestic dog that has not previously produced a natural litter

3. Does the insemination need to be carried out by a vet?

The Imperial Higher of Veterinary Surgeons has brash that AI is a veterinary procedure and therefore should just be performed by a vet.

iv. Can I register a litter if I plan to apply surgical insemination?

Please note that from the start of 2019, the apply of surgical insemination has been banned by the Purple College of Veterinarian Surgeons. Therefore, no applications will be accepted whereby the litter was produced using this method .

five. If the donor dog is dead, does there still demand to be a 15-twelvemonth gap before the semen can be used?

At that place is no longer any waiting fourth dimension menstruum required to use semen from a deceased dog.

6. The stud dog I want to use is alive and in the U.k. - volition the application be accepted?

Whilst natural matings are e'er preferred, the Kennel Lodge will register a litter produced by AI fifty-fifty if the sire is alive and in the UK. Even so, the applicant must brand clear on the AI grade why a natural mating was not possible

7. I accept bought the semen and therefore it is legally mine. Who signs the AI and litter registration forms?

The Kennel Club regulations require the registered owner of the donor dog to sign the litter registration form. However if yous are able to obtain written confirmation from the possessor of the donor dog that you are the legal owner of the semen, you volition be permitted to sign the AI and litter application forms.

8. Practice I need permission to register the litter in advance from The Kennel Social club?

You no longer demand advanced permission to annals a litter by AI, provided that your application complies with our rules and guidelines.

Parentage analysis and DNA profiling

What is Dna profiling?

A Deoxyribonucleic acid profile is the ultimate in individual identification and offers a 'tamper-proof' way for your dog to be identified. A DNA profile only needs to only exist done once, as your dog's Dna will never change. This means that the results from your dog'due south profile can be stored equally a permanent DNA record throughout your canis familiaris'southward life.

Identification by DNA profile could exist useful, especially if your domestic dog is found afterwards being lost or stolen.

A DNA profile does non:

  • Give y'all information on parentage
  • Give you data on disease status
  • Identify a dog'south breed
What is parentage analysis?

Provided that the Dna profiles of both parents are available, pups in a litter can be profiled and their profiles checked with their parents' profile to verify that the correct parents have been registered.

Many labs are able to DNA profile & parentage test. Once a DNA profile has successfully been completed the KC record of the canis familiaris tin be updated accordingly provided the owner sends in a copy of the study.

The Kennel Club Assured Breeders

This scheme promotes good breeding do and as a breeder yous should consider joining. There are a number of bones principles that assured breeders must agree to follow, which encourage the breeding of good for you, well-adjusted puppies. Larn more nigh becoming an assured breeder.

Next steps - during pregnancy