Telling if a bitch is in season.

Halfpass

Halfpass

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A friend of mine has a lovely collie bitch and has suggested that she would like her covered by my lab. Having only had male dogs and never having used one for stud can anyone give me any tips.
Also the collie never shows signs of being in season. What is the best way to tell?
I'm still not 100% sure if we will go ahead its just an idea in the pipeline. I want to make sure i'm doing it for the right reasons and not just to see some cute puppies. He is a very well bred dog and I had planned on only using him to other labs. Has anyone got a collie x lab that can give me an idea of what they would be like?
 
Not sure it's the best idea to breed cross bread puppies.... I'm sure they will be lovely but she might have loads of the little things and could you be sure they would all get good homes??
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I dont really understand the reasons behind this mating
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is she wanting to do it...just for the sake of having puppies
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or does she have homes lined up
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If you are thinking of going ahead and letting her use your dog.....please make sure she is responsible and is willing to take all puppies back regardless of age if for any reason they have to returned after being sold..so they dont end up in a rescue center or worse pts
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She is in the process of doing some research about potential homes. One thing I specified when she asked me was that she must already have homes lined up for them which she seems to have already and that she would be prepared to take them back at anytime from the people that buy them. She is more than happy with this. She has a lovely house with plenty of land and I know that they would all have a home for life if needed. That said i'm still not 100% sure about going ahead but i'm rwally not sure why. Part of me is worried that my dog's character will change once he has 'done the deed' and like others have said I am also concerned that either the x won't be nice or the puppies won't get good omes. Its a hard one as she is a friend and her little dog is lovely but I need to be sure that its the right thing to do bt my dog. Keep the comments coming as I need some help decideing.
 
WELL TO BE BLUNT...I would say no...but u will already know why....because I rescue/re-home so breeding for me will never be an option....in my opinion you can never be 100% sure that good homes can be found and there is far to many out there now in rescue situations or on death row because of un-neccesary breeding
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after all u can not be sure that the off spring will not be breed from themselves and so on.
I dont neccesarily see the need to just breed for the sake of it...if there is a purpose or the the reasons are to better the standards then fair enough....if not then DONT.
If done correctly then sire and dam should be fully health tested, i.e hips/eyes/heart or any other breed trate defficiency ruled out....and breeding from 2 completley different breeds is going to potentially produce a breed with problems from both individual breeds.
U could also endup with potential problems from yor boy once used...i.e temperament, and displaying randy behaviour around other dogs that he may not display now, and distruction in the home is not uncommon/however u may not necessarily get any of this behaviour its just a possibility.
In regard to labxcollis...yes they are cute little things...we do get alot in as rescues....normally a little hyper..we actually send all of ours as we do labs, spaniels, shepherds,if young enough and suitable to the police as working dogs, as we prefer them to be placed into working homes, as to be honest they come in because people just have not given then what they need in regards to training/exercise and stimulation, and it creates behavioural problems
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I would say flat out no. You have a beautiful lab and he should be used to be bred to suitable labs. Not collies to produce crossbreeds. There are way too many unwanted dogs in this world without adding more. Sorry to be harsh, but that's how I see it.
 
[ QUOTE ]
A friend of mine has a lovely collie bitch and has suggested that she would like her covered by my lab. Having only had male dogs and never having used one for stud can anyone give me any tips.
Also the collie never shows signs of being in season. What is the best way to tell?
I'm still not 100% sure if we will go ahead its just an idea in the pipeline. I want to make sure i'm doing it for the right reasons and not just to see some cute puppies. He is a very well bred dog and I had planned on only using him to other labs. Has anyone got a collie x lab that can give me an idea of what they would be like?

[/ QUOTE ]

I would not do this on the grounds.
First there's enough crossed breeding in the world and in dog home with out more.
They won't have any status with the KC
Then start on health screening.

If you going to use your dog for breeding I got to advice about hip scoring your Dog through the vets . This because of the problems Labradors are prone to hip displaxia.
Eye testing your dog as labradors are prone to eye problems.There the current one year eye test to be done. Then their Opitegan PRA test which done privately company 20/20 clinic do all that.

You want a help litter sell not a puppy that may have problems later. If a puppy has hip problem, it could cost upto £1000 per hip to fix and this might come back at you.

BIG No to the collie is a def.
 
This has got to be a BIG no. Frankly neither dog should be bred from however nice they are and whatever the reason or whether they have so called homes awaiting the pups or not.

There are enough unwanted dogs in the country/world. It is highly irresponsible to add to the number. Tell all those people who are offering such lovely homes to the pups to go to a registered and reputable pet rescue centre. I have had four dogs from various rescue centres and they have all had wonderful temperments. Not all rescue dogs have dreadful hang ups.

I feel extremely strongly about this and do not apologise for being so blunt.
 
Thanks all for your replies. As I said before I wasn't really sure about doing this and you have just about all said exactly what I wanted to say to my friend with the collie but didn't really know how to word it!
Benji although not a true rescue dog was unwanted by his owners at 8months old and at that poing in his life had already had 3 homes and there is no way I would want to see any other dog go through the same and I am in no position to take on unwanted dogs from a litter.
Thanks guys I knew you would all be able to help me see why I didn't want to do it.
 
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