having puppies?

BroadfordQueen

BroadfordQueen

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my jack russell terrier, Daisy, is 3 years old now, and we are thinking about having puppies with her. She is extreamely friendly and clever, and is very pretty and the right sort of build. However, when a stranger comes to our house, she gets overprotective and barks alot, and if someone she didnt know put their hand down at her quickly, she would try and bite them. However, if you are gentle with her she is fine, and once she has met you she is the friendliest dog ever! However, our main concern is if having puppies would make her agressive. If she has a bone in her basket she growls at you if you take it off her- she doesnt bite, just growls. Do you think if she had puppies she would be too over protective and turn aggresive? Many thanks!
 
Would be interested to hear what other people say, but I personally would only ever breed from a dog with a 100% temperament!
 
she is a total dope, apart from her barking (which we appreciate, brilliant burglar alarm!) and she has never bit anyone before, just "bared her teath" at big scary men, like my brothers mates, who put their hand down at her quickly. if you get to her level (ie. crouch down) she is fine, puts her paws up on your knees and tries to lick your face, she just feels threatened as she is such a little dog to have big people towering over her! but she is a dope, loves a cuddle up in the evenings on the sofa with anyone willing..!
 
I wouldn't recommend breeding from her. TBH if she will actually bite strangers if they go to touch her, then aggression is already an issue. Bitches are naturally, and understandably so, protective of their litters...some more than others. Really there is no way to tell whether Daisy will be or not, as natural instinctsa will kick in.
Whether her having pups will increase her aggression isn't the only consideration, as aggression has a reasonably high heritibility...i.e. she will more than likely pass it on to her pups.
 
I am surprised that she is feels threatened by people towering over her. JRT's are known for their bravery and general big egos! Why does she only do it to men, has she had a bad experience with them?
 
I would be very unsure about breeding her, my gsd had puppies and she was protective of her puppies, she has an excellent temperament, very friendly.

However when someone came to see the pups, if my hubby or myself had to walk out of the room she would growl at the strangers.

After the pups gone, she returned to normal - thank goodness lol
 
We had a border terrier exactly like this. My parents had a litter off her and she hated it. She used to growl at her own pups and hardly let them feed off her. We had to bottle feed some and thats the reason why I wouldn't recommend breeding from her. There are thousands of established breeders out there with excellent dogs and I wouldn't go lightly into breeding from a dog unless I was 110% sure of its temperament.
 
hunting_hunni, could you delete some PMs in your inbox so I can PM you?
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Personally I wouldn't I also would only breed of a dog that was 100% temperament wise to begin with. As it has been said, either make her more aggressive/protective or in Claire1976's case...the bitch just wasn't interested in the puppies.

Ask your vet for advice. They'd be more than happy to help.
 
oh dont be so silly, its the way the dog is brought up in life, the breeders may not of socialised the dog enough or not at all, other factors - high competition wih other dogs wilst growing up, bad experiances etc so dont be put of HH, as long as you socialise the puppies enough before going to new homes and makes sure they go to good homes who know what they are do and seem keen to learn, it will be fine.

I cant believe people are soooo nieve as to think that one would not breed from an animal with bad temperment.!!!!!!

ps - dont ask vet for advice as alot just want money and the advice is what wil suit them, they are all the same when it comes money and people who are unsure- when it comes to breedeing the best person to ask are the actual breeders themselves!
 
What an absolute load of rubbish. I know of several breeders who would not dream of breeding from a bitch with a bad temperament. Several years ago aggression in Dobermans was a problem - it was due to selective breeding that aggression has almost been 'bred out' of the them.
The Kennel Club's guide to breeding states:
Responsible breeders give careful consideration to temperament' - this applies to the bitch, stud dog and pups.
Its always recommended that any potential puppy purchaser see's the pups with its mum, if the mum is of unsound temperament this would (and should) put ppl off buying.
Think carefully please - contact the KC for more advice.
 
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oh dont be so silly, its the way the dog is brought up in life, the breeders may not of socialised the dog enough or not at all, other factors - high competition wih other dogs wilst growing up, bad experiances etc so dont be put of HH, as long as you socialise the puppies enough before going to new homes and makes sure they go to good homes who know what they are do and seem keen to learn, it will be fine.

I cant believe people are soooo nieve as to think that one would not breed from an animal with bad temperment.!!!!!!

ps - dont ask vet for advice as alot just want money and the advice is what wil suit them, they are all the same when it comes money and people who are unsure- when it comes to breedeing the best person to ask are the actual breeders themselves!

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Yes, how the puppies are brought up during their critical period of development is extremely important, but aggression IS heritable. No responsible breeder would breed from a dog of unsound temperament.
 
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oh dont be so silly, its the way the dog is brought up in life, the breeders may not of socialised the dog enough or not at all, other factors - high competition wih other dogs wilst growing up, bad experiances etc so dont be put of HH, as long as you socialise the puppies enough before going to new homes and makes sure they go to good homes who know what they are do and seem keen to learn, it will be fine.

I cant believe people are soooo nieve as to think that one would not breed from an animal with bad temperment.!!!!!!

ps - dont ask vet for advice as alot just want money and the advice is what wil suit them, they are all the same when it comes money and people who are unsure- when it comes to breedeing the best person to ask are the actual breeders themselves!

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And who do you think 'socialises' the puppies more than their own mother? If the mother shows agression, the puppies would surely pick up on this? It sounds as if she is protective as she is, imagine what she will be like with puppies? Why take the risk? *Soph this is in no way having a jab at you, before anyone leaps at me!*
Who better than to ask a vet? Surely they are more likely than anyone to know these things?
 
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Who better than to ask a vet? Surely they are more likely than anyone to know these things?

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A vet isn't neccessarily going to be the best person to ask on the subject of breeding and/or behaviour + temperament. Yes, they can advise on methods used and when things so wrong etc, but unless its an area they are interested in they might not actually be that useful with regards to planning a mating (no I'm not slagging off all vets, i'm just going by what my vets have told me!). The best people to speak to are experienced reputable breeders.
 
who better than to ask a vet? Well if it was regards to medical, then yes a vet but breeders are the people who specialise in breeding like myslef and my mother, grandmother. I have been invloved with dogs for 17 years and i have hands on, and i think i now when it is the "bringing up" and passed on by sire or dam! Certain behaviou can run in genes like humans or any other animal but when i saw some posts saying "i wouldnt have the dog mated" well what a silly answer, what about asking how the dog was brought up, what age hh bought her, what sire they were considering and his behaviour? When we breed dogs, we breed them for dosg first then the show ring so health and temperment are most important but one would NEVER ignore a dam or sire because it is being possessive, hh i think your dog is being possesive over herself, the neck and head area are so sensitive to a dog and if you can hold,pet a dog there then you have got their trust and comfort so no wonder she is acting this way to strangers!!!! All of ours dogs are wel behavied but people MUST now to allow the dog to come to them, like humans/horse whatever, one must gain trust before one touches! So sounds to me HH that your dog is just being possesive and with some good training eg get her socialising alot with other people, when t\she does accept them give her a treat or some sort of reward. She may also be scared so reassure her but no mean alow this to prevent you from having puppies from her!!
 

And who do you think 'socialises' the puppies more than their own mother? If the mother shows agression, the puppies would surely pick up on this? It sounds as if she is protective as she is, imagine what she will be like with puppies? Why take the risk?

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oh my gosh!!! socialising with other dogs, animals, situations, people, childen, roads, etc etc You really think a jrt mother is going to do all of this?? Bitches are very protective over puppies but if the insercurity is towards strangers and not you and your family then i would say it is safe to mate her as remember you will need to pick the puppies up etc so she will have to watch you take them away, but you said she will only bite strangers so i woudl not think it is a problem.

 
My next door neighbour breed from her staffy, who was agressive towards strangers
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even bit my husband one day when he bent down to stroke her
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.

I also remember a few incidents when it was snappy towards my neighbour
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However against the sdvice of her vet she breed from the bitch
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She was snappy through out the pregnancy, and became posessed when the puppies actually arrived
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My neighbour couldnt get anywhere near her
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Th evet gave her a wright dressing down, explaining that her agressive streak has multiflied by 10 due to her protective instinct, one of the puppies became ill
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and no one, not even the owner could handle it, or get it to the vet
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and sadly it died.

When it came to re-homing or selling(should I say) they where all very hand shy
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puppies, she could only let people view them when the bitch went out to toilet.

She only managed to sell 2
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and she had to give the rest away as the bitch became very snappy with the remainder of the puppies, when they got to about 10 weeks old
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The vet did not leave her the lickings of a dog and said that she was a typical amateur/in-experienced dog breeder, (that gave sensible dog breeders a bad name) needless to say that she was in tears and proceeded to have the bitch spayed.

One of the puppies that she sold ended up being destroyed by the self and same vet that had given her a verbal bashing, and the vet himself contacted my neighbour to let her.
know
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I think any good breeder would probably advice you against breeding from your bitch.

but good luck what ever you decide
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I think that you and your family have/must think very hard about the situation, in the right hands it would def be ok but i am unsure if you have any experiance so on that basis you must think, we as breeders are very much into health, temperment, then conformation, but if dog is healthy then it noramlly will be happy , sound thus healthy conformation but maybe not show quality. Like i said you can pm be as we are accredited breeders and years of experiance.
 
agression most certainly IS an inherited trait ..however I don't honestly think your little girl is being overly agressive - just a little hand shy.

I would however srongly advise you not to breed - you have no compelling reasons to do so - JRT are not an endangered breed and with no traceable pedigree you can have no real knowledge of what 'nasties' are lurking in her genetic make up..... you may be lucky and have a litter of strong healthy well adjusted pups that you can find excellent homes for ....or you may have a litter with patella luxation ( v common in this 'breed' )- epilepsy - addisons- etc etc not to mention being unable to find suitable homes and having to run on the pups long past their 'cute' stage when they turn into house destroying hooligans LOL ! - or even worse having some back when their owners have tired of them and the novelty has worn off.

I'm sure you love your wee girl very much and think that she is the cutest JRT ever but these, I'm afraid are just not good enough reasons to breed- if everyone who felt this way about their bitch allowed her to have a litter then our rescue problem would be ten times worse.

Having a litter is a HUGE responsibility - it's not a way of earning some quick money ( not that you've mentioned this I know
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) ...or giving the children the 'fun' of experencing a litter...or 'having another just like mum' .


If you feel you have the time and can care for another dog than by all means buy or rescue another JRT but please don't breed !.
 
Mlior-this is excellent advice. The point I was making in my post is that there are many, many well established breeders out there with perfect breeding stock - I suggest leaving it to the experts. There are too many unwanted pups out there without adding a possible aggressive litter to them.
 
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I think that you and your family have/must think very hard about the situation, in the right hands it would def be ok but i am unsure if you have any experiance so on that basis you must think, we as breeders are very much into health, temperment, then conformation, but if dog is healthy then it noramlly will be happy , sound thus healthy conformation but maybe not show quality. Like i said you can pm be as we are accredited breeders and years of experiance.

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The only thing you need to do to get breeders accreditation from the KC is pay £15 and agree to abide by their rules (but these aren't enforced). Quite frankly I'm rather worried that you would consider breeding from dogs of unsound temperament despite having so much 'experience'. There are numerous dogs out there with sound temperament and good health, so why breed from one that is more likely to pass on aggressive traits?
 
jj4y - I agree. I'm absolutely shocked that an 'experienced' breeder would suggest that breeding from an aggressive bitch is acceptable. There's not a single ethical and responsible breeder that I know who would do such a thing.
 
makes me laugh when people talk alot of trash when they cleary have no idea what they are raving on about, shwoed this post to some people in the dogworld and they just said "amatuers"!

You dont just pay 15 pounds, i think its so funny that you research this and dont EVEN get the facts right, we have some of the top dogs of our breed, i was handler of scotland twice and reseve once and two silver medals and one bronze at crufts- i am also a prof handler of dogs, been involved with them for all my life - 17 years and i am very experianced with breeding dogs.

No offence to you guys but you are not professionals with in the dog world and to be honest alot of dogs will growl at strangers and be possesive over toys and food, terriers are RENOWNED for it but they are still great dogs.

My kennel do not have to justify themselves to you on OUR ethics but 98% breeders dont care of temperment of dosg when breeding as its not big factor in big kennels, e do care but not a problem for us as we are professional and NOT puppy farmers.

i see the point that there are enough puppies/dogs out there but the same can be said about horses people so what you just say dont have foals or babies as enough already and best buying/adopting form already born?

I think worrying about our ethics you should look at the bigger picture and not suggest to hho that our kennel is of ad nature and ethics as our dogs have the BEST temperment in the world and i have grown up with them form day 1 so i know as a baby/child to adult that they are the best and that genes can change it and when certain sires/dams combine temperments change so i dont agree that one "type" temperement is passed on through ech pup of that litter.

hh, again i say think long and hard, also think why you wants puppies and again not sure if you are experianced but if you are not then think very hard as it is hard and the dogs seems to now have full respect for you and family which can mke the process all very hard
 
I'm sorry tophorse but I do know what I'm talking about...I work for one of the biggest assistance dog charities in the UK and have been heavily involved in their breeding programme. For us temperament is a BIG CONSIDERATION and it is well known that breeding from dogs with good temperament is more likely to produce pups of better temperament. Yes, environmental influences have a major impact too, but if the dog is genetically unsound then no matter how much hard work is put into them they just aren't going to be reliable. IMO just as much thought and consideration should be put into the breeding of dogs intended as pets or for the show ring. Breed standards do actually give a guide as to the temperament of that breed, so if you are breeding dogs for the show ring why do you not consider this to be important? To state that 98% of breeders do not care about temperament of dogs is rediculous. Certainly all my contacts who breed dogs would be highly offended by such a statement!

I also run a successful gundog kennels with my partner. We occasionally breed litters of pups and when we do the planning of each litter takes months. Temperament is of just as much importance as working ability in our eyes, as a dog of unsound temperament will not be able to perform to its full potential. Our dogs not only work to a very high standard (we have several field trial champions) but are much loved family pets.

Yes, as you say, terriers can be prone to growling and protecting things. But many do not, so why breed from those that do and increase the chances of aggression directed towards people?
 
well my contacts woudl not because it is true and they admit it, the dogs live in kennels, ef ru, watered, cleaned, shown etc etc (not ours) so temperment is NOT a big factor not even if it is flat in the ring.

i do not what i am on about because i am with in the breeders/judges so i know how they feel, what they think etc etc/

i agree that temperment is important thus i have said that already! But i stick by the approx 98% of top breeders just dont care and i stick by that as it is true, they just dont care, i also stick by external factors as they play a greater role in behavior than genetics

We have sold so many puppies and i have been with everyone and i know their personalities differ but they do change by their new families, one famile isolated the dog, left it in one room, never socialised it etc then had it put down for biting someone, now the dog was never never never liek that, and then they got another dog from different breeder same things happened again so you tell me that that is genes - some how i DONT think so!!!!!
 
oooh didnt want this post to turn into an arguement!
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the reason we want puppies is not for showing or even for profit, but we have had alot of people (mainly family and close family friends) who have said that they would adore one of daisys puppies if we bred from her!

And to answer someones question (Cant remember whos!), i personally am not experienced with puppies and breeding at all as im only 16 and Daisy is my first ever dog, but my mum and dad bred puppies from a springer that my family had before i was born and that went well, so they know how it all goes etc.
 
sorry sweetie, i dont usually argue but this is a matter that i am very experianced in and my mother and i just can believe the attitude of some replies but i was just thinking that if alot of people think like this then great as mean less litters, pups and dogs. I agree that the genral opinion on this post is good when it comes to general maybe one or two litters sort of thing for non-breeders but i am tryign to say that in the show world, BREED STANDARDS dont really matter, i wont go into detail as i am not prepared to tell tales that are not mine to tell but its really not what the public think, In the big kennels the dogs are main numbers so temperment is not so important as it is to breeders who dont breed 1-2 litters a month.

I would say that is great that people want pups from your lovely dog and i think that if you find a good sire and work with your dog as in gain trust and respect, she may be scared or dominant so you will have to find out which one it is, will take time, be strict and be patient but its def not impossible
 
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