Welcome to COL
Breeding a litter is not for the fainthearted - it can be rewarding when done properly for the right reasons but it is always extremely hard work and can result in heartbreak for both bitch and owner. The first question has to be to ask yourself whether you have a genuine reason for wanting to have a litter from your girl? If it's because she's a lovely girl and it seems like a nice idea to have some puppies from her and perhaps keep one for yourself, then it would certainly be far less stressful and less expensive to book another puppy from the same breeder you had your bitch from (and would involve no risk to your girl). Here are a few website links which may help you decide whether breeding is something you wish to do or not - they inevitably go into what might go wrong because it's important all would-be breeders realise that breeding puppies is not always the happy, rewarding experience that people might imagine it is. The first site (Virtual Breeding) is excellent as it takes new breeders through the whole decision making process step by step - it's not always available so if the page doesn't come up immediately, do try again later.
http://www.geocities.com/virtualbreeding/virtualbreeding.html http://www.cockersonline.co.uk/discuss/index.php?topic=3428.0 http://www.gurney.co.uk/pads/archives13.htm http://www.dogstuff.info/to_breed_or_not.html If after reading the above, you are convinced that breeding is for you and you fully accept the responsibilities involved, then the next stage is to start researching your bitch's pedigree to make sure her family line have no history of hereditary diseases. You will also need to have her eyes tested by a specialist opthalmologist (not your ordinary vet) to make sure she is clear of problems before breeding. Bear in mind that many breeders are now using the Optigen gene test to determine the status of their dogs' eyes in relation to GPRA (the most common eye disease in Cockers) as the clinical eye test cannot tell you whether your bitch is a carrier of the disease only whether she is affected at that moment in time. The Optigen test will reveal whether your bitch carries the PRA gene - if she does, then any potential stud dog must be Optigen tested Clear to avoid any affected puppies being born. Optigen testing can be carried out at any age whereas the clinical eye test must be done annually from 12 months old. There will also be a DNA test for the fatal kidney disease FN available as soon as the licencing arrangements are sorted out which will hopefully be in the next month or two. Hip scoring is something you may also want to consider as Hip Dysplasia is being seen in the breed now. You'll find more information on the Eye Testing and Hip Scoring Schemes at
http://www.bva.co.uk/public/chs/ and more information on the DNA test for PRA at
www.optigen.com.
Assuming your bitch gets good results under the various health testing schemes, then you can begin the search for a compatible stud dog who also has good health screening results. Generally it's not recommended to breed a recessive colour like liver roan to the same recessive colour. In fact breeding for colour is in itself a bad idea unless you have years of experience in the breed and understand the pitfalls. Unfortunately at the moment, chocolate or liver is currently a very "fashionable" colour which has meant many commercial breeders have jumped on the bandwagon to produce puppies of this colour without paying attention to the possibility of hereditary problems being produced. This could be disastrous as there is a very small gene pool for chocolate/liver (particularly in the show lines). Your own breeder would be the best person to advise you on how to choose the right stud dog to suit your particular bitch but some breeders do not have the knowledge or experience to do this. If this is the case, your best bet would be to contact your nearest regional Cocker Club for advice. You'll find a full list of the regional Clubs
HERE
