First Breeding Upcoming

[new_christian]

I own a 2.5 y/o American Bully and will be breeding him for the first time in a week.

I've been wanting a pup off of my boy and came across a guy with a beautiful female. He told me that she should be coming in heat in the next few months, but it turned out to be about a month later. I wasn't expecting this so soon and honestly I'm not prepared. At the same time, I don't wanna pass up the chance to have a pup from my boy

My boy has never mated before. This will also be the first mating for the AB female (4th heat) that I will be taking him to.

Is there anything that I should be doing in order to prepare him?

Any tips for during/after the deed?

Is there anything that I should be on the look out for that I'm not aware of? Any honest help/advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[kidspray2]

@new_christian

I own a 2.5 y/o American Bully and will be breeding him for the first time in a week.

Why?

 

[iwely]

@new_christian You should get a mentor. Get some health testing done too and go on the AKC website to learn more about the breed, the breed standard, necessary testing, what other reputable breeders for that breed looks like, etc etc etc. there is SO much you need to learn before you just breed a dog. Also ask yourself WHY you’re breeding. Where are most of the pups going to go? What’s the game plan for keeping them out of the shelter ? Many reputable breeders show their dogs in a dog show before breeding to show that the dog meets the breed standard. There’s just so much to know and I honestly consider breeding in the fashion you’re talking about is , in the nicest way possible, a bit irresponsible. Good luck and I hope you reconsider !

 

[new_christian]

@iwely I’m pretty well into that process and I’ve covered all of the points you raise. I’m hesitant because of the mating window coming up faster than anticipated. Im a measure twice and cut once guy, but I don’t want to lose my shot with this female. I have a lot of thinking to do. Thank you for your input.

 

[davecb]

@new_christian If nothing else, both dogs should be tested for brucellosis before you do anything else.

Bitches with brucellosis can wind up aborting the litter. If your male gets brucellosis from a bitch, odds are he'll become sterile.

Aside from that there's all sorts of genetic testing that you guys should be doing but even if you decide that both dogs are super amazingly healthy (/s) you should have your vet test both dogs for brucellosis.

Also humans can get brucellosis.

 

[new_christian]

@davecb Thank you for that! Infectious diseases weren't on my radar.

Probably should have added this to the posting, but both dogs have been Embark tested and there aren't any genetic red flags out there.

 

[busryde]

@new_christian That's a good start. You should also do hip and elbow radiographs on both dogs to rule out hip and elbow dysplasia

 

[new_christian]

@busryde Good call!

 

[davecb]

@new_christian

both dogs have been Embark tested and there aren't any genetic red flags out there.

Well, your breed doesn't participate in any sort of health incentive programs like CHIC done by OFA so...

Your dogs have about a 50/50 chance of having normal vs dysplastic hips and about a 40% of having abnormal elbows. Odds are these numbers are higher, but very few American Bully breeders do real health testing.

There's something like six registries for American Bullies, which probably isn't helping anything as far as health of the breed.

 

[katy777]

@new_christian Embark doesn’t capture all possible genetic red flags. Sure, they catch a lot, but most of them are breed-specific and wouldn’t necessarily have an impact on you boy.

I don’t know if the bully breeds have many genetic predispositions, but you may want to double check. I had tested my IGs with Embark and Wisdom panel, but it’s the VGL breed panel that is the most important.

But definitely the skeletal structure checks would be most important. Hips, patellas, maybe even thyroid? Glad you now have the infectious disease on your radar now!

 

[new_christian]

@katy777 Thanks for the input!

 

[lumiere]

@new_christian You are getting a lot of good advice so far, but I would like to add to make sure the owner of the female plans on taking the puppies back if the owner doesn't want them AND has a contract stating that. I volunteer at my local shelter, and there are so many pitts. Other breeds have such a higher chance of getting adopted, and those pitts tend to just stay in the shelter with a higher chance of euthanasia. Our shelter is good about not euthanizing for space, but they do euthanize pitts more due to behavior issues. The longer dogs stay in the shelter, the more likely they are to act more crazy.

 

[new_christian]

@lumiere The contract we have allows me the right to take over ownership of any pups that would be given up for adoption. They would have a loving home with me if we have to cross that bridge. Thank you for your insight!

 

[lumiere]

@new_christian A lot of contracts will state that if the owner can no longer care for the dog (at any point of its life) that the owner can return the dog to the breeder with no questions asked. A breeder will also microchip the puppies before they go home with both the new owner and breeder's information on it. This makes sure that none of the puppies being produced end up in the shelter. If that is not in the contract, then the buyer could give the dog up for adoption, and you won't even know it. This is something that is usually in the bitch owner's contract with the people buying pups. Honestly, if the owner of the bitch does not do this I wouldn't trust them. There are so many pittbulls in the shelter right now. I would want to make sure the owner of the bitch cares about that too.

The idea that your contract allows you to take over ownership of any pups that would be given up for adoption tells me that it is likely that if the bitch owner can't sell the pups they would end up in the shelter. You can choose to take them in, but the bitch owner doesn't care. That is big red flags for me and I would not want to work with someone like that.

 

[addie1257]

@new_christian If you want to breed a bully breed it is important to keep in mind the shelter population and phenotypic do mince of many of their genes has lead to a stigma. This means as a Breeder it is so much more important to only breed tested dogs. Be that show line or working line any bully breed dog (Am Pit, Am Staff, bulldog, boxer, bull terrier, etc) needs to have proof that breeding it would better the breed. The desirable traits for these breeds have to be highlighted all the more to make up for the undesirable traits that have been breed in by backyard breeders and the poor understanding and representation of these dogs in the media.

All that being said, I would strongly discourage you from breeding at this time. Find a mentor that breeds some sort of bully breed even if it is not the exact breed you intend to work with. This will help you know how to prove and health test your dog properly. This is also important because the body structure of bully breeds tends to make their pregnancies higher risk and a mentor will be able to help you make better risk assessments on potential breeding pairs.

TLDR: Wait to breed for now and get involved with reputable breeders first so you can ensure you are bettering the bully community and not contributing to the BYB issues.

 

[new_christian]

@addie1257 I appreciate the insight. I would like an outside view on risk assessment. I made this post because I am having second thought because of the timeframe moving up so soon. I’m taking everything into consideration

 

[new_christian]

UPDATE: I didn't go through with the breeding. I felt uneasy doing it in such a tight time-frame. We will be doing additional testing then going forward with the breeding on her next cycle if all future testing checks out.