How do you define an 'experienced' owner / breeder

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danhappy

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Not that I am thinking of breeding! just always wondered? If I had done it once or twice, I wouldnt consider myself an experienced expert, so what would, how do you define it?

I dont want to upset anyone, this isnt directed at ANYONE on this site, its just a general thing Ive alwayd wondered.

Its like for example (and the only one I can think of at the moment
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) I make washable cloth nappies and covers, but I wouldnt call myself an expert in them.
 
I don't think there is any correlation between being an "experienced owner" and a "breeder". Many people are experienced dog owners as, perhaps like me, they have owned dogs and been solely responsible for them for decades, however breeding is something completely different.

I suppose by definition I should be classed as a dog breeder because my bitch will be having puppies in a weeks time - however I am not! I am not the slightest bit interested in breeding dogs and I know little about it.
 
What are washable cloth nappies and covers? (I know what nappies are, just not the covers) Do you make these for a business?
 
Sorry yeh I see what you mean, they are two seperate things, I was having a dim moment! Things never sound right online then they do in your head
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I do that quite often.

Like a lot of people for example say Mals are for experienced owners only, but we all have to start somewhere and get that experience.
 
Its something Ive done as a hobby (broke even and done them as prezzies for a while) but just setting up to do it all proper
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The covers are the waterproof part that goes over the nappy. www.danhappy.co.uk , I have started plugging it yet as I want to get everything finalised.
 
I'm not sure how you'd define it.

I've grown up with dogs, I'm 20yrs old now. I've shown dogs properly since I was about 10. We've (me & mum) been breeding HWVs since 1995, I've been whelping puppies since I was 13 and I've bred 3 litters of JRTs.

I know how dogs should be raised and looked after from an owner's point of view, I also know how to match up pedigrees and look for things like hip scores and conformation. I'd like to think that that makes me an experienced owner/breeder but that probably doesn't qualify me in other people's eyes.
 
Crikey I've never seen anything like them - they are great!!! Do stores sell these over there? Because I have never seen them over here.
 
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I'm not sure how you'd define it.

I've grown up with dogs, I'm 20yrs old now. I've shown dogs properly since I was about 10. We've (me & mum) been breeding HWVs since 1995, I've been whelping puppies since I was 13 and I've bred 3 litters of JRTs.

I know how dogs should be raised and looked after from an owner's point of view, I also know how to match up pedigrees and look for things like hip scores and conformation. I'd like to think that that makes me an experienced owner/breeder but that probably doesn't qualify me in other people's eyes.

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This sums it up for me - someone that has a broad spectrum of knowledge - not just someone whos read up on it but someone who has a working knowledge also. Someone who is time served with dogs and someone who has bothered to research the breeds in some way.
 
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This sums it up for me - someone that has a broad spectrum of knowledge - not just someone whos read up on it but someone who has a working knowledge also. Someone who is time served with dogs and someone who has bothered to research the breeds in some way.

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I completely agree with this WR! You also should know and respect your dogs, not treat them as breeding machines for the money.
 
Like everything you can never stop learning. However I would consider myself an experienced owner/breeder. My mum bred GSDs before I was born so was literally born into it.
I bred my first litter in 1978 and have bred over 20 litters, I can study a pedigree etc, knew which lines to avoid and what health checks my particular breed should have before breeding. I have shown and judged the breed. However, have not bred a litter for 7 years now and not shown for nearer 20, so am not up to date with modern lines, and advances in breeding/showing techniques. This is why I am reluctant to offer my opinion on some things, I know how I would have done it but that may not necessarily be the right way anymore. And yes I like to think I respect my dogs, have certainly never treated anything as a breeding machine. The main reason I don't have a youngster at the moment is because the last bitch I kept and hoped to breed from didn't have good enough hips - not bad - but higher than I choose to use. She is still here with me though, but very sadly is the last of her line.
 
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Crikey I've never seen anything like them - they are great!!! Do stores sell these over there? Because I have never seen them over here.

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Where abouts are you?
 
Everyone has to start somewhere, of course, so I would take a new breeder very seriously if:

Their dogs had been health-tested for genetic defects
They showed their dogs in conformation/did performance events with them
They raised their dogs in the home
Waited until the bitch was two-years-old before breeding
Kept the puppies until an absolute minimum of eight weeks

(Among other things
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