Breeding a Basset hound? 2 Questions.?

Question

I have been thinking about breeding my basset hound Cloe.
She is currently 2 years old and I was wondering if Bassets have any traits that can harm puppies or any genetic problems.

Also the breeder I got Cloe from, said that lemon bassets were rare. I bought one of them, thinking I had a special dog, a one of a kind. Every one I met that had a basset, almost all of them had this color. Here is a picture of Cloe:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n99/0oXxEmilyxXo0/DSCF0549.jpg

Please answer, and please don't give me any there are dogs in the pound thing. Alot of people I know would love to have a basset, and I have adopted 2 dogs from the pound already, please don't give any rude comments either please.

Thanks

♥autumn alea

Is she a Champion? yes Agility

Does she come from Champion lines? yep.

Has she had her eye, hip and health certifications completed? yes

Does she conform to her breed standard and have exceptional qualities (Both physical and behavioral) that are worthy of genetically passing on

yes.

She is such a wonderful dog and I would hate her to go to waste.

Answer 1

Cute girl :). But she doesn't look like a lemon/white. At least not in that picture. Lemon & white are mostly white with very faint tan, and ARE very rare. She looks more like a red & white which is the 2nd most common color (after tri-colored)

Ask yourself these questions:
1. show quality (most breeders do not sell show quality to non-show homes)
2. a champion (as in a proven winner in the ring)
3. have both parents and grand parents that are champions
4. free from hereditary disease (you'll have to check this out)
5. parents and grand parents tested and free from hip dysplasia, and other genetic problems like Von Willebrand’s Disease or allergies (like ear infections)
6. mature enough to breed
7. tested today as free from brucellosis

And you need to meet ALL of the following criteria:
1. you are have homes already for all pups - before the mating- in writing with deposits (many froends back out at th elast minute)
2. you have found a stud dog that meets all the points in the section above relating to the requirements of your female.
3. you are prepared to offer a lifetime guarantee (or at least two years) for the health of the pups
4. if, during the lifetime of the pups, any need to be returned for whatever reason, you take that pup (now adult dog) back and find a home for him/her.
5. all non-show quality pups are sold with a spay/neuter agreement
6. all prospective buyers have been fully screened by you
7. you are going to offer support and advice to your puppy buyers for the life of the pup (even on holidays)
8. you have the money to cover a stud fee, possible c-section and complications, vaccinations, and still get no income from the sale of any pups.
9. have you consented with the breeder of your female and sought their advice?

Now that's just a starting point. If you can't or won't meet these criteria, perhaps breeding at this time is not the best thing for you or your dog.

You also need to consider these :
-When you breed your dog, you put her at risk, including death
-Breeding your dog is a costly event, and you will most probably have more expenses than you will have income from puppies
-Regardless of how much experience you have, you can still have disasters
-Expect to have a number of sleepless nights, especially if the female is not a good mom (not all are)
-Death of just one pup, even in a large litter, can be heartbreaking. Expect to take some time to get over that too.
-No vet is perfect. Emergencies happen. Not all pets survive
-It is almost impossible to get a fading puppy to survive, and you can lose a whole litter to fading puppy syndrome.
-It is impossible to predict how successful the breeding will be, and bassets usually need "help". They are not successful breeders on their own

I'm a vet tech and have seen so much of what can go wrong, I'd be too afraid to breed a pet I loved so dearly.

******************************* EDIT *******************************
Agility Champion is not the same as show champion. While this is fantastic, any dog (including those with genetic problems and even those without proper AKC papers) can be agility champions. If she hasn't proved herself in the show ring, she cannot be considered a champion

Also, having her spayed would not be a "waste", it is the best for her health. Please consider, you'd never forgive yourself if she were to have grave complications with her pregnancy.

Answer 2

Bassets are prone to many health problems, some of which can be inherited. See here for a list:

http://www.basset-bhca.org/Finding/Discover8.htm

Perhaps you misunderstood what Yo Lo! was asking about being a champion---I believe she meant a conformation champion with a pedigree in this area. By a champion pedigree I would mean a pedigree with a majority of breed champions in the first 3 generations, not just a few way back.

You said that the breeder misled you about the color of your dog and how rare it was. I would suggest to you that this was not a reputable breeder and I would question her quality as a breeder.
Look at your dog's pedigree and count the champions for a few generations and see if there are any performance titles in there.

You ask us not to be rude, but I submit that the information you have added to your question is either accidentally incorrect, or misleading, or I AM incorrect in which case I apologize, BUT I believe the ONLY AKC agility champion basset hound is MACH Lady Wendy Moira Angel Darling, CD, RAE and goes by the call name Peanut. She is about 8 or 9 years old.

If your dog has the USDAA equivilent of a MACH, then I apologize, but it seemed unlikely as most agility trials do not allow dogs to compete until they are at least 18 months old.

Perhaps your dog is titled in agility---in which case, congratulations! I envy anyone with any agility title on their dog especially when they own one of the non-traditional agility breeds.

Perhaps your dog's pedigree includes many performance dogs as opposed to breed champions. I think that is great and I support breeding performance dogs but that doesn't sound like your goal.

You say the dog has had her eyes and hips done, yet you are here asking about health problems. Perhaps you meant the dog had her checkup? and not that she has been certified of hip and eye problems (OFA and CERF?) which is what most people mean when they talk about hip and eye clearances.

Bottom line: You have a dog from a questionable breeder who was either ignorant about the breed or lied to you about your puppy. Your dog has not been shown in conformation so I don't know how you can assess whether or not it meets the breed standard.

Have fun with your dog and I hope you both continue to enjoy agility.

Answer 3

All breeds have genetic problems they can pass on to their offspring. Bassets are particularly prone to bloating, glaucoma, luxatting patella, ectropion, hip dysplasia (common with most breeds), and back problems.

Personally, I do not know why you'd want to breed her. Why? For the money? That is a really, really bad reason to breed your dog. It is not a walk in the park. It takes a lot of time and money to do it right, and it is a pain. Make certain your dog is registered with the AKC, and get their advice before you even think about it. The only reason to breed a dog is to improve the breed. Any other reason is simple greed, and it is irresponsible. You need to know the history of your dog's parents, find an appropriate mate, pay for the upkeep of your dog's pregnancy, take care of the puppies properly, register them, wean them, find them all new homes, etc. etc. It is WORK!

I'm not saying not to do it, though I don't recommend it. It is very hard to do when you are an amateur, though, so you had better make sure you know exactly what you are doing, or you are going to be adding to the puppy overpopulation for no good reason. (Milliions of dogs are put to sleep every year because we have too many of them!) You need more information than what you are going to get here. Better start reading some books! And give the AKC a call for more information.

Below I've linked to some really basic information. If you do not understand every step on here, don't do it. You'll only be hurting your breed. You can find other good information at this website, too. Good luck!

Answer 4

Is she a Champion? Does she come from Champion lines? Has she had her eye, hip and health certifications completed? Does she conform to her breed standard and have exceptional qualities (Both physical and behavioral) that are worthy of genetically passing on?

If you can't answer yes to all of those questions, then the best thing to do is have her spayed - You don't want to compete with "real" breeders as a Backyard Breeder.

Answer 5

I had a basset hound. Good old Beauregard. He was a good dog, but so stubborn. He passed 5 years ago, but I still get a good chuckle when I think about him. I had dachshunds when I had Beau too, and they got along great. Bassets seem stupid, but it's just a disguise, they can be quite cunning when they want too. Oh and they bark, and not just any bark, it's a deafening hound bark. My Beau was 65lbs as an adult. Health wise they're a lot like dachshunds. So with you knowing dachshunds, bassets are right up your alley. Good question. I got a good laugh thinking about my Beau. I put Beau's ears back with a ponytail when he ate. No joke. I suggest you do something similar when you get your basset.

Answer 6

First agility doesn't count as a "championship" when considering breeding..the championship that counts is one from the conformation ring.
Champion lines...well I would venture to guess that the parents and grandparents didn't have championships..since the breeder told you that lemons were rare..the breeder obviously wasn't very knowledgable in the breed..If the championships are farther back then grandparents then your dog really doesn't have champion lines.
You say you have health tests done and certified..I'm assuming you mean OFA/PennHip, CERF/PRA, thyroid...not just simple vet exams.

Bassests commonly have disc problems, luxating patellas, dwarfism,wobblers,corneal dermoid cysts,elbow deformities,entropion,epilepsy,glaucoma,inguinal hernias,lens luxation,OCD,premiature closure of the radius,giant platelet disease,elbow dysplasia and vonwildebrands disease. These are all issues you need to research the pedigree of your dog and any of her future mates before considering breeding.

Answer 7

"She is such a wonderful dog and I would hate her to go to waste."

So just being your companion is a waste? wonder how many of your human friends feel the same?
so the breeder lied about the rare lemon color and you still think that whatever is on those registration papers is accurate? they are very easy to falsify. champion bloodlines does not mean champion pups..

think of her health and get her spayed