Deciding Factors To Mate Or Not

[Keris]

Thanks Kerry,
I spoke to my vet last week when I was there, about when it would be ok to mate Maisie again, and he felt that as she is so fit and well recovered that it would be ok to go again on her next season, which would be December if I want. What would you think? She is in superb condition at the moment and she was back to her old self really quickly after the pups.

The decision to mate the next season or not,
is entirely up to you.
I know that some people agree with back to back matings,
some do not.

Have you ever done a back to back mating before.

A lot of people, feel that it is better to get them over and done
with at an early age.
Others like to make sure that they have time off,
before having another litter.

I have never personally done a back to back mating,
as I feel that I do not need too.

This is due to the amount of girls that I have,
as I have a good choice,
should I want to breed another litter.

Some people are not in the same situation as me,
and do not have choices.

If you have had your girl health checked
and you are advised that she is back up to tip top condition
then I see no reason if this is what you want to do,
why you don't go a head and mate her.

If situations arise where you have age against you etc,
or that your girl has been in the show ring,
then yes I would consider a back to back.

But I must stress, that this would only be
if she was in A1 condition.

At the end of the day, the decision is yours.

[queenbe]

Thanks Kerry for all your advice. Yes she is really in top form. My dogs are all excersised almost every day with road work at night and a free long run in the park in the morning. They are well muscled and carry no fat. Little Belle is now almost 6 months and has not had a season yet and Maisie was in mid July so it really depends on when the next season comes. If Belle waits till November say for her first season then it is possible that she will bring Maisie in and I wouldn't mate her then as I would wait till the next time which would then probably be April as she is pretty regular. If on the other hand if Maisie waits till late December then I think I might go then as there would be a clear year between pups. As I said, when she came in this July when the pups were only four months I was amazed, I wasn't expecting her to come in till at least August! I have had a chat with her breeder and she said most of her line seem to have seasons five or even four months apart and she agreed with what you said, providing Maisie is back to her pre pup state she would have no hesitation in going again in December. So I guess I will just wait and see when the event takes place and decide then. I will decide the Daddy anyway, I already have a good idea of where I will go, but it's just a case of looking at the pedigrees again and again till I am sure.
On another note what is your view on close line breeding to out crossing? Maisie is heavily line bred so I decided to open it up a bit and will do the same again with her and with Belle when the time comes in an attempt to broaden the gene pool. I would be interested in your views.

[Keris]

I already have a good idea of where I will go, but it's just a case of looking at the pedigrees again and again till I am sure.
On another note what is your view on close line breeding to out crossing? Maisie is heavily line bred so I decided to open it up a bit and will do the same again with her and with Belle when the time comes in an attempt to broaden the gene pool. I would be interested in your views.


If Maisie is already heavily line bred, to problem lines then you breed away,
if however, there are currently no known problems within those line,
then go to a distant relative.

The gene pool in the uk,
is quite select,
so therefore to bring new blood into the line.
Thus enlarging the gene pool.

Once again you would need to research the proposed new gene pool,
for the likely hood or history of known problems.

The lhasa apso gene pool came originally from just six lhasa apso's.

Virtually every British breed lhasa apso,
will have at least one descendant or more
that goes back maybe as far as 20 generations or more,
to at least one of the original six lhasa apso's.

I enlarged my gene pool,
by bringing in fresh blood from Europe.

This is what I did when I brought Dar Al Alma Yannick into the uk.

I had already been out to stud,
with breeders who I have the up most respect for,
and agreed with the way in which they portray
themselves and their lhasa's.

After a period of time,
I felt I could not use any more English breed lhasa's,
because of the percentage of in breeding, GPRA etc,
as I had already got the best in my opinion
of the British breed lhasa.

I also found that the top male lhasa's
were used extensively at stud to all and sundry,
sometimes to the detriment of the breed,
therefore flooded the market place with their lines,
making the line widely available to anyone.

However the choice of pairing Maisie with any potential mate
remains with yourself to carry out any necessary research.

These are only my opinions,
but please also note
that not all breeders are as honest
about their lines as others.