On our home page I mentioned that we don't consider getting Samson a mistake,
but more of a learning experience. I wanted to write down a few things that I
have learned thus far in my mastiff journey.
BREEDING:
The best piece of advise I was given was from my friend and mentor. We were
discussing breeding practices right about the time Misty was expecting her
first litter. She told me that NO MATTER what I do, people will find fault
with my breeding program. But it is MY RESPONSIBILITY to the breed to study
the standard, know it front and back and breed to it, it is MY RESPONSIBILITY
to the breed to make sure I do all I can to ensure the health of what I
produce. Now we have only had two litters here but I take that responsibility
seriously.
Our first litter was with our Samson & Misty. Although I was hesitant about
using Samson, I went along with my husbands urging. His mentality at the time
was 'if you put a male mastiff and female mastiff together, you get puppy
mastiffs'.I knew better, but did it anyways. I insisted we have them both
fully health tested, which they both passed. I told myself that what Misty
lacked, bone and better top line, Sam would make up for it. Misty delivered
those beautiful nine puppies naturally, the whole thing was textbook. But what
I got was seven puppies from that litter that look totally like their dad and
two that were ALMOST what I wanted, almost but not quite. All nine pups are
healthy and happy today and all nine have EXCELLENT temperaments. But what did
I learn from that litter experience? PEDIGREES MATTER!! Not just the sire and
dam, you HAVE to look back further. Sams' sire was a big beautiful apricot
and his dam was decent sized fawn but Sam doesn't look like either one of
them. You have to go back further. All the pups from this litter, with
exception of two, went on spay/neuter contracts. One male that was on full
registration did get neutered and I have the other one here, Gus. Who I will
never use for stud, but we do show a little in conformation.
After that litter, I really started looking at pedigrees. I like the old
Greco lines and found a nice boy that I thought would compliment Misty very
well. We did an SI, had to check progesterone levels throughout, with
injections, and she ended up having a c-section. She delivered six gorgeous
healthy pups. I did this litter so that I could get a nice show girl and
perhaps breed in a few years. What did I learn here? Don't count your
chickens before they hatch. I knew I wanted a female to show. Well, I only
had four to choose from, one was a fluff, one didn't like the head so much. So
out of two possibilities, I chose Flo. I'm very happy with her. I learned
that fluffies seem to suck all the bone and pigment from the littermates. <G>
I knew from the beginning it is very expensive to breed, but this litter was a
little reminder of that. All of that litter, with the exception of Flo, went
out on spay/neuter contracts. All six are healthy and happy today and they
look more like what I was aiming for than our first litter.
HEALTH:
We have been very fortunate with our guys. Some people are not so fortunate.
I know of some breeders that test to the hilt and still problems creep up. I
know of some breeders that do not health test and don't seem to have any
problems. I am not one to tell others what they should or should not be doing,
but I do believe that a person should stand behind the choices that they make.
As for me, I choose to test what I breed. After all, it is my responsibility
to the breed. How can I do anything for the 'betterment of the breed' if I
don't use all the resources available to help me make the best decisions.
DOG SHOWS:
I am fairly new to the dog show experience, but here's my perspective of it
thus far. First and foremost, while at ringside, keep your ears open and your
mouth shut. Don't let the 'snarky' ringside comments get to you, don't let the
'biased' judge get to you, just go and have fun with your dog. He doesn't
care if you win or lose...all he knows is that he gets to run around the ring
with you by his side. And if you get a ribbon or the coveted points...icing
on the cake for you.
BREEDERS:
All I can say on this subject is....
MORE TO COME....