Do you think its okay to breed a crossbreed dog in this situation?

[SpotTheCat]

please note: in the UK dogs that help people with disabilities are called assistance dogs not service dogs


I have a giant schnauzer cross Labrador, Fanta who is currently 6 months old so I still have a long time before decisions need to be made! She is in training to be my assistance dog and is doing really well, I am considering the possibility of breeding her. There are a few issues and things I need to weigh up before I making the final decision but I was wondering what other peoples opinion where?

why I would want to breed her

-my plan would be to keep one puppy and make sure the rest go to working homes. I am looking in to whether I can rehome them through a assistance dog charity. I wouldn't breed her unless I am sure I have homes for the puppies

-I found it very difficult to find a reputable breeder who would sell me a puppy, not because I would be a bad home but because I wanted a assistance dog

-I also found it difficult to find a breed that was the correct size and temperament, I had very few options

-pedigree puppies cost a lot! I understand why but thats a lot of money to spend on a dog that might wash out. I couldn’t find many breeders that bred therapy or assistance dogs, the ones I did find had huge waiting lists and bred breeds that where not what I was looking for

-Fanta has her issue but is doing really amazingly. She can go from loads of energy to laying flat on the floor (which I didn’t tell her to do) all most anywhere. And I have done practically no training on calmly laying down

-She is from a accident litter both her parents are registered and have a low chance of elbow or hip issues. So I do know her parental background, she isn’t just a random mutt I have decided to breed


I am also going to try and get more information and experience with giant schnauzers so I can see if she is worth breeding or not

 

[SmiYa0126]

Hello! I say go for it! Dogs should be bred once they're two years old and if you want more than one litter, you should do one every other year up to three times.

 

[SpotTheCat]

Hello! I say go for it! Dogs should be bred once they're two years old and if you want more than one litter, you should do one every other year up to three times.

@SmiYa0126 do you know what the latest you would want to breed a dog for the first time is?

If I decided to breed her, she will have her hips and elbows tested as well as any dna tests she would need for both Labradors and giant schnauzers

 

[SmiYa0126]

I looked up giant schnauzer, looks like the first time she'll go into heat is at 18months with similar intervals between heats, so you'll be waiting another interval of 18 to 24 months. I can't find how long they're fertile though. I'm guessing seven years old? She'll be 49 in human years.

 

[SpotTheCat]

I looked up giant schnauzer, looks like the first time she'll go into heat is at 18months with similar intervals between heats, so you'll be waiting another interval of 18 to 24 months. I can't find how long they're fertile though. I'm guessing seven years old? She'll be 49 in human years.

Umm I don’t quite understand. I think you might have miss understood my question. I want to know what the oldest a dog should be when they have their first litter not when they should retire from breeding if that makes sense, so a dog should be at least 2 before breeding but whats the maximum age

 

[SmiYa0126]

Umm I don’t quite understand. I think you might have miss understood my question. I want to know what the oldest a dog should be when they have their first litter not when they should retire from breeding if that makes sense, so a dog should be at least 2 before breeding but whats the maximum age

You're right I misunderstood. Since schnauzers don't go into heat until they're almost two years old I think it's ok to breed her in her first heat. The dogs my grandparents had went into heat once a year, they were mutts.

 

[igorsMistress]

please note: in the UK dogs that help people with disabilities are called assistance dogs not service dogs


I have a giant schnauzer cross Labrador, Fanta who is currently 6 months old so I still have a long time before decisions need to be made! She is in training to be my assistance dog and is doing really well, I am considering the possibility of breeding her. There are a few issues and things I need to weigh up before I making the final decision but I was wondering what other peoples opinion where?

why I would want to breed her

-my plan would be to keep one puppy and make sure the rest go to working homes. I am looking in to whether I can rehome them through a assistance dog charity. I wouldn't breed her unless I am sure I have homes for the puppies

-I found it very difficult to find a reputable breeder who would sell me a puppy, not because I would be a bad home but because I wanted a assistance dog

-I also found it difficult to find a breed that was the correct size and temperament, I had very few options

-pedigree puppies cost a lot! I understand why but thats a lot of money to spend on a dog that might wash out. I couldn’t find many breeders that bred therapy or assistance dogs, the ones I did find had huge waiting lists and bred breeds that where not what I was looking for

-Fanta has her issue but is doing really amazingly. She can go from loads of energy to laying flat on the floor (which I didn’t tell her to do) all most anywhere. And I have done practically no training on calmly laying down

-She is from a accident litter both her parents are registered and have a low chance of elbow or hip issues. So I do know her parental background, she isn’t just a random mutt I have decided to breed


I am also going to try and get more information and experience with giant schnauzers so I can see if she is worth breeding or not

I love her name!

To me the temperament and intelligence matter far more than breed selection. Size of course can be a factor and standard schnauzers, as we call them in the US, are pretty much perfect. Not too big or too small. Both breeds are incredibly intelligent and tend to be quite trainable. The fact that you would provide them to charity for other families in need of assistance dogs speaks volumes and I would think people would welcome the opportunity.

I think the purebreds have become incredibly inbred and this has created a lot of issues that are being passed down through the generations. The fact that she’s a mix would be a huge plus in my mind. We have owned papered dogs in the past, but these days we avoid them in favor of mixed breeds for better overall health.

Good luck to you, I hope you can make this work!

 

[Finnie]

standard schnauzers, as we call them in the US, are pretty much perfect. Not too big or too small.

I got the impression she meant giant schnauzer, the largest of the 3 schnauzers, which when crossed with a Labrador would make a large dog suitable for a service dog.

To the OP, I do not know what the max age for a first litter would be for your dog. I do know that she needs to be at least fully mature, which will be at least 2 years old, and maybe 3. I don’t think you could get hip and elbow certification before 2 years old anyway. That gives you plenty of time to find out the answers you need.

 

[igorsMistress]

I got the impression she meant giant schnauzer, the largest of the 3 schnauzers, which when crossed with you

My bad, you’re correct. Still, they aren’t what I would consider giants lol.

 

[Finnie]

My bad, you’re correct. Still, they aren’t what I would consider giants lol.

Sorry for the glitch in my post. BYC froze up on me while I was typing and apparently posted only part of my message. I had to edit back in the rest.