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We have a little Cavalier King Charles bitch. She's a beautiful dog but she's not been spayed. Now my wife wants her to have puppies, not for the money because she already seems to have given any puppies away for free but so we can have another bitch. Now I'm all for having another one, I think they're great but getting the dog up the duff and then looking after the babies seems to me to be a terribly difficult task, filled with pain and hard work and then you give most of them away.
We've already tried once just by taking her to a bloke with a dog and leaving them in the garden together but it didn't happen despite the dog giving it his best.
Now a breeder has told us that you need to fluff both animals and direct the puppy making utensils together by hand which is not something I relish doing but hey, if it's necessary.
Anyway, I think we should just buy another puppy which would be a lot easier and a lot more fun.
So I'd like experienced breeders, if there are any here, to explain to me just how painful and unfun the experience will be so I can convince my wife of the same. Thanks.
Please explain why we shouldn't have puppies
Syringomyelia is the first one I'd be thinking of if I owned a KCS
http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/health/syringo/syringom.html
1) Have you had the relevant health tests done ? if not, there's a possibility you could breed a litter that develops hereditary health problems.
2) If something goes wrong during the birth, you'll need to have a small fortune in reserve to be prepared for the vet bill.
3) There a just too many dogs in this country (of all breeds) and not enough responsible homes - having bred the litter, would you be prepared to take back any of the dogs should the owners decide they don't want to/can not keep them anymore? What if they had health problems - would be willing/able to take back and look after these too?
Sounds like it would be much, much easier (and cheaper overall?) to just go and buy another puppy? Same end result?
Some people suggest that since dogs are continually being put down because no-one wants them, purposefully breeding more is morally dubious. Your decision ultimately.
EDIT: It's like owning a giant high-performance 4x4. Nice for you, not necessarily nice for society as a whole 😉
Syringomyelia is the first one I'd be thinking of if I owned a KCS
First in quite a sizable list of problems this breed commonly suffers from.
[i]Sounds like it would be much, much easier (and cheaper overall?) to just go and buy another puppy? Same end result? [/i]
That's exactly my opinion but I have to convince a woman to agree with me. Now do you see my problem? 😉
There would certainly be no problem finding homes for the excess puppies, for Cavaliers and we have already had ours checked for all the standard Cavalier genetic problems (of which there are a number)
Fluffer to King Charles's bitch will look great on your CV though.