Welcome back to part two of the first class in our Badass Breeder Mentorship! 

In this segment of the course, we will be covering everything you need to know when it comes to choosing breeding stock. One of the main takeaways from this session is that when choosing breeding stock, it is important to use a holistic approach based on the goals you have in your specific program. What this means is that before you pick a mare or sire, you need to assess all the different features of the candidate using the purpose you have in mind for your puppies as a reference point. 

In Jeanette’s case, she is breeding therapy, facility, and service dogs, so we learn about how she has tailored her choices to this goal. Jeanette takes us through a list of the most important considerations relating to coat, size, health, pedigree, intelligence and trainability, structure and confirmation, and more. We also take a deep dive into what to look for when doing a temperament test of an older breeding dog you intend to bring into your facility. 

Be sure to join us for this installment of the Badass Breeder Mentorship today!

Key Points From This Episode:

• What a good breeder needs to consider when choosing breeding stock.
• The value of having a plan relating to choosing stock and picking a sire that supports your program.
• The mistake of focusing on one aspect of breeding and the need for a holistic approach.
• Remembering that every good program has a varied pedigree.
• Knowing the dogs that display the desirable breed traits.
• Whether it is wrong to buy a puppy that doesn’t meet show standard colors.
• Pros and cons of three different ways to get your breeding stock: keeping a puppy, buying a puppy, and buying an adult.
• Whether Jeanette uses AKC standards to determine the pedigree of her dogs.
• How to find quality puppies and breeders to work with you when starting out.
• Avoiding breeders who are over-eager to sell and use overused lines.
• Guidelines for assessing breeding stock based on Jeanette’s goals.
• Looking at temperament holistically and remembering there is no perfect dog.
• The standards for health testing that Jeanette uses.
• Why intelligence and trainability, as well as pedigree, are important to Jeanette based on her goals.
• Learning to assess structure and confirmation as well as color and coat holistically.
• The ethical journey Jeanette made when thinking about breeding smaller sizes.
• What to do if a dog fails the purpose you intended for it.
• Looking at cost versus risk when assessing choices for breeding stock.
• The difficult process of considering where a guardian will live.
• What to look for when do

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Jeanette Forrey

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