Max von Stefanitz. Guide for German Shepherd Breeders.

1. Breed this breed out of love for her, for your own joy and joy, but never for the sake of profit , since then you are greatly mistaken in your calculations. Strive to ensure that your pets and their youngsters are near you as often and longer as possible, do with them as much as possible, give them more freedom, movement, cultivate and monitor their physical and mental development. Only perfectly healthy and with strong nerves are suitable for breeding. Only then will your dog become a real German shepherd, necessary for our service and watchdog purposes, if it is tolerant not only in its environment, in the circle of your family, but also when it is closely welded to you by the soul, then you will experience full and true joy and will acquire a real right and foundation for a promising kennel and the correct and beneficial use of your dog and work with her.

2. Always remember that breeding a German Shepherd should be breeding an exceptionally socially useful dog, and let this task always stand in front of your eyes: a dog with good inclinations, with a perfect body and a willingness to work.

3. Strive for the highest perfection of the breed – do not chase after a large litter at the expense of the health and vitality of your breeding specimens and their breed, always remember about the future, not about your personal benefits.

4. We should strive to breed not “winners” and “champions”, but dogs to raise the average level of the breed, to equalize, consolidate and improve good qualities, smooth out or completely eliminate shortcomings. Since they do not allow a dog to be bred, it is not necessary at all to use every dog ​​for breeding, but only recognized as fit for this purpose. Therefore, it is necessary to breed only with selected producers.

5. Dogs originating from the mass divorce of kennels and city factories are not suitable as factory specimens. Bitch- the basis of your future nursery – choose from a strong, healthy, well-working and already trained family and select the appropriate male for mating with it. Show champions and winners are not always the best and most reliable breeders, especially bitches. Selection gives a great guarantee.

6. When making up a factory pair, one must keep in mind blood, general health, exterior, character, training, ie. training and adaptability to work, while the dog does not have to be your property either. Faint-hearted and cowardly dogs are not suitable for divorce, as well as those who have suffered serious diseases (plague, rickets) with the consequences, since painful inclinations are inherited. Healthy, well-kept dogs have good healthy jaws, a well-fitting coat, clear clean eyes and a lively, cheerful disposition and disposition.

7. Breed only blood dogs with good blood, but do not get too carried away with inbreeding… It is quite enough if the producers will have relatives in the fourth or fifth generation. A closer relationship is left to the experienced breeder, who can judge whether to expect from such a relationship the strengthening of the desirable qualities of both producers, or, conversely, the shortcomings hidden in the blood and implicitly expressed in these producers. If you yourself are not yet sufficiently informed and not sure about the choice of blood and sire, contact your breeding manager.

8. Pay attention to whether sexual characteristics are pronouncedyour sires: bitches or bitches are not suitable for divorce. Both in height and in the backbone, both manufacturers must match each other. Specimens deviating from the average size (standard – 60-65 cm for a dog and 55-60 cm for a bitch) are not suitable producers. Do not breed with dogs that are too old or too young. Males are suitable for breeding purposes only after reaching the full two years, by this time they have fully developed. A bitch can only be used a few months earlier. In males by the end of the eighth year, and in bitches a little earlier, in most cases, the ability to reproduce decreases. First of all, don’t chase the champion just because he has collected prizes. The champion was the best only at this show, but this does not mean that he is the best for breeding too,and the bigger question is whether he is the right mate for the bitch.

9. Look out for your bitch in advance and pick up a suitable male , but not when estrus has already begun. Also ask the owner of the dog in advance about his consent to provide him for mating . Condition in advance in writing, observe exactly the conditions worked out and pay honestly: to breed does not mean to be unscrupulous.

10. Watch carefully for the onset of heatand for the bitch herself, protect her at all times of estrus, both before and after mating, from being covered by another dog. An old Arabic proverb says: “It is a thousand times more difficult to protect and monitor a hunting bitch than it is to take a whole bag of fleas.” Accidental, unwanted, erroneous mating in hunting bitches is always possible. If such a misfortune has already happened, nothing will help, but mating will not leave harm for further litters. First, do not try to hide such an accident. Our breeding is based on complete mutual understanding and trust, and therefore try not to shake the trust in you. If your blood bitch was covered with a male of a different breed, then her litter should be considered non-purebred. Carefully keep a book of your kennel, in which you carefully enter all the incidents in it. Subsequently, you will learn from it a lot of useful things for yourself.

11. Do not delay mating for a long time in the hope of more males in the litter – this is a prejudice, which usually results in weaker puppies, besides, the perception of semen may already be bypassed. Besides, we also need good bitches. Cover your bitch only if she is absolutely healthy and there is no plague or other infectious diseases in your kennel. Regardless of everything, make sure your bitch does not have a vaginal disorder by inviting a veterinarian. One coat is sufficient.

12. Weak and painful bitch ever does not cover– hold her back. A strong and well-built healthy bitch can be knitted in every heat, that is, twice a year, but then it must be especially taken care of during puberty. Restrained bitches are prone to obesity, and overweight dogs are unsuitable for breeding, since they are often bachelor when covering.

13. Pregnancy bitch is noticeable only in the fifth week, and therefore watch her, give her enough movement, but do not overwork her, do not allow her any sudden movements and jumps, chase crazy, etc. Feed her well and satisfyingly. Meat, steep oatmeal, and not liquid give plenty, gradually accustom you to large portions of dairy products, do not forget to add mineral dressings with calcium and phosphorus, but do not overfeed. Divide its daily portion into 3-4 parts, in order to avoid burdening the stomach and aggravating the back, which is already burdened with a laid offspring. Before coating, give an anthelmintic on the advice of a specialist, not a “home” one. Don’t overlook the grooming of your coat. By the time of whelping, the bitch must be completely free of insects – parasites. As a rule, the bitch puppies on the 62nd day.

fourteen.For whelping, it is best to adapt a box with bedding, put it in a dry place without drafts. A hardened bitch is free to whelp in a well-equipped street booth even in winter. Growing hardened droppings is much better than weak, frail useless ones. Train the bitch in advance to her puppy bed.

15. Do not bother the bitch during whelping, it is best to leave her to herself, in most cases everything goes well. As a last resort, invite a veterinarian. Unconditionally remove all outsiders, all other animals. A few hours after whelping, or the next morning, the giving birth bitch must be taken out into the yard so that she recovers, while inspecting the droppings yourself at this time. Weak or unsuccessful puppies must be destroyed immediately, as well as excess ones. A healthy, strong bitch, whelping once a year, should not be left with more than five to six puppies, while a bitch who is covered in every estrus should not leave more than four to five puppies, while it is best to leave two or three puppies for primiparous. If there is no nurse at hand, the rest of the puppies need to be culled and destroyed, but so that the bitch does not notice it. The nurse must be prepared and adapted in advance,to give her the opportunity to get used to the new environment. It is necessary that she puppies at about the same time as your bitch, but puppies should get their first milk from their mother. It happens that puppies fed by a nurse come out unsuccessful, although such cases are rare, but not to mention artificially fed ones, which are almost always unsuccessful. Therefore, under no circumstances should you try to artificially feed the droppings if you do not have a suitable wet nurse. Of course, you and your family do not have as much free time as you need to spend on artificial feeding of puppies. At best, the puppies will come out weak, frail, easily susceptible to all kinds of diseases. The large litter left by the mother is very easily exposed to diseases, since even a strong and healthy bitch will not be able to feed him properly.Show the litter to a specialist and ask him for the necessary advice.

16. During the period of feeding the puppies by the bitchfeed her as much as she can: meat, oatmeal, oat soups, whole milk – all this with the addition of mineral dressings. Never make drastic changes in diet, daily check the udder of the bitch and watch her stomach. While the bitch is feeding, she herself takes care of the cleanliness of her nest, but then the breeder must take on this responsibility. Cleanliness of both the nest itself and the bitch and puppies is necessary to avoid the appearance of parasites. If they start, it’s a problem: the puppies become weaker and lag behind in growth and development and become easily susceptible to all kinds of diseases. In addition, cleanliness is necessary to protect the puppies from worms: make sure that the bitch does not recover in the room where the puppies are. Shortly after birth, the dewclaws on the puppies’ hind legs, if any, should be cut off with scissors.

17. If milkiness bitch begins to subside, you can start feeding the puppies with raw meat from the end of the third week, and it is better to wait with this until the fifth week. In addition to meat, in the future, feed with liquid oatmeal soup or meat broth. While the bitch feeds herself, do not give any other milk to the puppies. By the end of the sixth week, the puppies need to be planted and fed 5-6 times a day, and the bitch should be allowed to visit them only for the night, and then not allowed at all. Gradually increase the portions of meat, accustom to cow or goat milk, and add mineral supplements all the time. Puppies raised in this way, accustomed to independence, will be very strong by the end of the seventh week, and by the end of the eighth week they can already be distributed. During the last days before the puppies are completely deposited from the bitch, she should be fed as little as possible,wash the nipples with vinegar water and give it as much movement as possible in the air.

18. If, with such care, the entire litter or a single specimen develops poorly(all puppies must be weighed regularly), the coat is not smooth or the puppy is lethargic, whining a lot, tired – call your veterinarian. Perhaps the puppies are tormented by worms; if the litter develops strong, it is necessary to wait a little with anthelmintics and let the puppies grow up. Do not use any of your own means, only a doctor can provide the correct treatment. When the puppies begin to climb out of the nest on their own, give them this opportunity completely – air, light, sun, games and movement are very useful for them, for them this is everything. Take care of tamped and dry running ground so they can play freely. For rest, take a place not in the sun itself, accustom them to regularity in food, to cleanliness, after the puppies have taken food, take them out on the grass for growth. Anyway, by his treatment of puppies,by trusting them, evoke their love and confidence in yourself, with this you will lay the foundation for a useful, necessary German shepherd.

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