Making a decision about buying a new puppy, or breeding a litter, is not a simple process. Read more below about breeding a litter!
SO YOU WANT TO BREED YOUR VERSATILE/HPR DOG……A Breeder’s Guide
You love your dog, and in your eyes the dog should be bred. However, just because you think your dog is wonderful, doesn’t necessarily mean it is of breeding caliber. There is a lot more to breeding than just putting two “nice” dogs together and hoping for the best!
A breeder, even an occasional or once off breeder, should understand at least a little about temperament and health issues. Even if the litter is just destined for “pet” homes, one needs to understand that some of the pups may end up in working homes. As a breeder, you are selling a product and you have a responsibility. What sort of guarantee can you give buyers that they will be getting a sound dog that will live a long and happy life?
This is the crux of the matter: Breeders have a responsibility to potential buyers and to the breed. Can you honestly say that you are up to the challenge of meeting that responsibility?
A responsible and informed approach is even more important if you are breeding a working litter. Many, many traits go into the makeup of a good, Versatile HPR gundog and these are almost all genetically programmed from the start. Ensuring that these traits are kept intact and transferred forward is no small task. Success requires knowledge, hard work and sweat, and usually the help of more experienced breeders to guide choices. But more about that later. Let’s look at some of the basic things you must consider when breeding.
More than just “good” dogs…
The Registration Process
So, you have made the decision to breed. Please consider again whether you are prepared for the time and effort it is going to take to raise the pups. Bear in mind that you may have a litter of 8 – 12 puppies! Do you have buyers for those pups? How long are you prepared to keep the pups if you cannot sell them all at 8 weeks of age? Growing puppies eat like teenagers! Think through this very carefully before proceeding…..
THE KENNEL UNION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA
Rene Warne (General Info and Registrations), rene@kusa.co.za
(http://www.kusa.co.za/)
The rearing and care of a litter is beyond the scope of this discussion. However, there are some things to highlight that you, as a responsible breeder, should do:
REGISTRY IN SOUTH AFRICA
THE KENNEL UNION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA (KUSA)
Rene Warne (General Info and Registrations), rene@kusa.co.za
(http://www.kusa.co.za/
LIST OF CLUBS FOR VERSATILE/HPR/POINTING BREEDS
The South African Versatile Hunting Dog Association - Versatile/HPR Breeds
Lize Venter, savhdasecretary@gmail.com
(www.savhda.co.za)
TVL HPR Field Trial Club - HPR Breeds
Slang Viljoen, hpr.club@mweb.co.za
(http://german-shorthaired-pointer.co.za/ )
KZN HPR Field Trial Club - HPR Breeds
Beverley Barnard, kznfieldtrialclub@gmail.com
Western Cape Field Trial Club – HPR and British Breeds
Trudi Winter, bhulisa@iafrica.com
(http://www.wcfieldtrialclub.co.za/)
Central Field Trial Club – British and HPR Breeds
Jason Coleman-Miles, jason@inyathigameranch.co.za
The Border Field Trial Club – British Breeds
Bobsey Hart, bobsey@nokwi.co.za
The Natal Field Trial Club – British Breeds
Taffy Welsh, russell@pjprojectsrb.co.za
The South African Field Trial Club – British and HPR Breeds
Frans Rosslee, vicepresident@saftc.co.za
(https://saftc.co.za/)
The Cape Field Trial Club – All Gundog Breeds
Amanda de Wet, amanda@zimzala.co.za
(http://www.cftc.org.za/)
The Weimaraner Klub of Gauteng – Weimaraners
(https://www.weimaraner.co.za/)
Rescue Organizations:
GSP Rescue – GSPs and occasionally other pointing breeds
Tine-Marie Mudde (Gauteng)
Kate Davies Benade (Cape Town)
sms: 072 888 5659
(https://gsprescue.org.za/ )
The Weimaraner Klub of Gauteng
rescue@weimaraner.co.za