Hi
Brace yourself as this topic always raises strong views on COL!
I don't have a girl, so this will never be an issue for me, but generally you'll find on here that people are strongly opposed to the kind of "it would be nice to breed from her" approach. I don't mean that to sound as if you're considering doing it in a slapdash, "who cares?" kind of way as the posters who raise this always think that they have their girl's best interests at heart.
However, the responses really concentrate on:
1. your girl's well-being - having a litter is incredibly hard work for you and your girl, is a big risk to her health and well-being and lots of litters experience problems. For instance, at the birth, are you able to give 24 hour care for up to two weeks immediately before and after the birth to ensure the health and well-being of the litter? Just "leaving her to it" isn't a responsible option.
2. the litter's well-being. There are thousands of unwanted dogs in the country, so many posters will challenge you "why create more?". On-going, a responsible breeder has to commit to each of the dogs in the litter for life - i.e. if the new owner's circumstances change, six weeks, six months or six years down the line, you should be prepared to take the dog back until you can rehome it safely and responsibly, or keep it for life if that's not possible. This isn't a legal requirement but a moral one. If you don't feel you can make that commitment, don't have the litter is the general view. An additional issue is whether or not your girl is healthy enough to breed from. Has she been Optigen tested to show that she doesn't carry the eye-defect gene which triggers PRA? Has she been regularly hip scored? I don't know if there are specific Springer health issues which bitches should be tested for in addition to these two. If she doesn't get the all clear on the tests, you shouldn't be breeding puppies which carry potential problems (the tests don't guarantee e.g. healthy hips, but they increase the likelihood of a good scoring set of parents passing on the healthiest puppies possible). If you can't afford,or can't be bothered, to do all the tests, again - you shouldn't be breeding from her. You'd also need to find a mate who had had all of these tests and had come back clear (Optigen/PRA) and scored well on hip scoring.
3. why you want to breed from her. The experienced breeders on here do so in order to improve the breed - they have a good line, a particularly healthy dog, and often show their dogs too - not because they think that their girls have some sort of unfulfilled maternal instinct that a litter would solve - this just isn't the case. A lot of the "one off" breeders think that their dog will miss out on something by not having a litter - this just isn't the case either. I hesitate to say this but the "improving the breed" issue doesn't apply where you've got a springer-cocker cross already. If you want to breed from her because she's so lovely and a joy to have around, consider getting a sibling from the same parents as your new puppy.
The overall advice on here is not to breed in these kinds of circumstances - there are responsible "hobby breeders" on here who can give you advice, but you need to be sure that you're able and willing to learn more and to commit fully to the testing, the litter for life and your girl.
Denise
