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Fancy Talk
Interview with breeder Elena Siegman Rockydell French Bulldogs
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Fancy Details Whether or not to buy a stud dog Patricia Sosa
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Fancy Details
When Should I Breed My Bitch EXACTLY Gale Golden
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Fancy Health
I’ve Got your Back part 3: Back Talk Lori Hunt DVM
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f ancy beginnings
Hi there, and welcome to our 16th edition of the worldwide #1 French Bulldog source - The Frenchie Fancy! With this edition, we complete our fourth year running! What a ride it has been!
Remember that you can order your Frenchie Fancy magazine hard copy online, or purchase a full year subscription with a special price! For more details, please access our website: www.FrenchieFancy.com
We would like to thank all of the breeders, judges and friends who have helped us and supported our publication throughout these four years. It is a challenge to have a project like this running for so long, but we truly do it out of love for our amazing breed!
Our next issue will be out around July, so start planning your ads and reserving your spots now! For now, just sit back, relax and enjoy some of the very best French Bulldogs of the world.
Please know that we always take into consideration (and encourage) constructive criticism, ideas, suggestions and collaborations. We want to publish what YOU want to be reading. We have exciting plans ahead of us, so we hope everyone is enjoying our publication! Feel free to drop us a line on info@frenchiefancy.com or start a chat on Facebook. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts!
With love from your Frenchie Fancy team...
This month, our breeder interview is with Elena Siegman from Rockydell French Bulldogs - USA. Elena has been in our breed for over 20 years and has bred and shown many Champions. She is soon applying to be an AKC judge as well. Dr Lori Hunt wraps up her series about French Bulldog backs, Gale Golden talks some more about reproduction and Patricia Sosa has some great insight on whether or not you should start out buying a stud dog.
Fernanda Barlow, Matthew Dover, Vivianne Mello The Frenchie Fancy Team
Send us a message! info@frenchiefancy.com www.frenchiefancy.com | facebook.com/frenchiefancy
FRENCHIE FANCY Creative Director Vivianne Mello info@frenchiefancy.com
Advertising Director Fernanda Barlow ads@frenchiefancy.com
Marketing Director Matthew Dover mkt@frenchiefancy.com
Contributors Gale Golden Lori Hunt, DVM Patricia Sosa
Distribution
EUROPE
AUSTRALIA
Ana Jagtiani (Spain) Anna Denisova (Italy) Bitten Oldereide (Norway) Magnus Berglin (Sweden) Sarah Ventham (UK) Jakko Broersma (NL) Toni Saira (Finland) Daniela Akkad (Austria) Tove Rasmussen (Denmark) Mourning Chang (Taiwan)
Kelly McClelland UNITED STATES
Photography Fernanda Barlow RedDogFoto.ru
Matthew Dover (East) Fernanda Barlow (West) Vivianne Mello (South)
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SINGAPORE TEO, Jermaine .................................................... 54-57 UNITED STATES BARLOW, Fernanda (CARAMURU) ....................... 96 - 101 BERREY, Dave (HOMEWOOD) ... 24, 46, 47,109, Back Cover BERRY, Pat (PETITE CHERIE) ...................................... 25 BELOCK, LuAnn (FAYME) ........................................... 50 BROTT, Karen (CHAMBORD) ................................. 12, 13 BUTTERFIELD, Shannon (FANTASIA) ......................... 48 COVALUCCI, Billy (CAMPCOVO) ............................. 93-95 DALTON, James (Fabelhaft) ........................ 8-11, 16, 17 DENNY, Nicole (PINNACLE) .................................. 50, 51 DOVER, Matthew (BELLA LUNA) ............................ 93-95 ECARIUS, Debra (SUIRAC) ................... 103, Back Cover FITZGERALD, Melissa ................................................ 49 GOLDEN, Gale (MORGAN MANOR) ............................ 73 HILSMAN, ROXANNE (HILSMAN) ........................... 102, 103 HULSEY, Vivianne (VIXBULL) ................................ 96 - 101 HUNT, Lori (ASSISI) ............................................ 68, 69 JENO, Andrea (DE LILLE) .................................... 92, 93 JOHNSON, Carol (IMAGINE) ........................................... 7 KOTT, Jody (GYPSY CANYON) .................................. 62, 63 LEGER, Sheree (BYDEZYNE) ........................................ 79 LEWIS, Penny ............................................................ 45 LITIZINGER, Dr. Dana ................................................... 7 LUCAS, Mark ........................................................... 67 MATTINGLY, Debra & Kenneth ............................... 85-87 MILLER, Stephen (PECHE MIGNON) ........................ 85-87 MOCHEL, Laura ..................................................... 108 NEWCOMB, Nancy & Bob (NEWCOMB) ................. 64, 65 NOWICKI, John (ADORE) ......................................... 67 PIERCE, Lesa (BIGSTAR) ........................................ 48 RAFFIO, Bill (SANS PAREIL) .................................... 75 ROSARIO, Rodney (STORMY MOUNTAIN) .............. 106, 107 SCHOTT, Monica (HOTSCHOTT) ............................ 58, 59 SHAW, Patricia (DIVA) ............................................ 10,11 SIEGMAN, Elena (ROCKYDELL) ................................ 24 SIMON, Susan & Dick (EPIC) ............ 108, 109, Back Cover SMITH, Robert (PECHE MIGNON) ............................ 85-87 SINIBALDI, Gus (WINDSOR HILL) ................................ 45 SOSA, Patricia & Luis (BANDOG) ....................... 104, 105 THOMAS, Kim ...................................................... 82, 83 WOLFGANG, Linda (LWOLFRANCH) ........................ 84 VENEZUELA CELIS, Diego (MOKAODC) ........................ Cover, 8, 9, 15
this issue’s stats > Frenchies from 14 countries, in 110 pages.
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FANCY TALK - ELENA SIEGMAN
the ancy talk interview with elena siegman rockydell french bulldogs told by the breeder that he was the show puppy -that he really wanted it to be shown... My husband said “oh how hard can that be?” and the rest is history!
When you started out in the breed, who would you say were your mentors?
When and how did you start your history with showing and breeding French Bulldogs? Did you come from another breed? No, I didn’t come from another breed... I actually had no intention of showing or breeding when i got my first Frenchie. At the time, the early 90s, i owned two mutts, adopted from the shelter, and I was a volunteer at the New York City ASPCA. One day, a bug eyed, evil, pied frenchie was in the back, found as a stray. He was adopted by the Director of Dog Training, and over the years, I came to know and love “Larry” and decided I had to have one of these funny little guys. A few years later, In 1994, I went to a local breeder, Desmond Robertson, “Yellowvail”. He had a litter sired by Sonit Mario. Long story short, i went to get a female, as a pet, my husband fell in love with the male. We were 20 frenchiefancy.com
Starting out, with my first frenchie in 1994, I did a lot of research ino the breed. I read and re read the French Bullytin, and studied pedigrees, etc... I would say that during my early years, I was fortunate to meet some very experienced Frenchie breeders and they were kind enough to share their knowledge and opinions and educated me on structure, movement, the importance of soundness, the value of good foundation stock, the attributes of pedigrees (some lines known for their heads, some for their longevity, some for their bone , etc) -- and so I’m very grateful for people like Carol Hawke, Dorit Fischler, Sally Monroe, Karen Cram, Elsie Copeland for sharing their knowledge and experience with me over the years.
What is your general process to evaluate a show puppy? What age are they when you start looking at them for show traits? As any breeder will tell you, you always evaluate the litter. From minute one, you look, compare, etc.. But for me, i think the tell tale age to really evaluate is at 8 weeks... Carol Hawke once told me, what you see at 8 weeks is what the dog will look like as an adult, so look at the pup at 8 weeks, then close your eyes, and stick the dog away in a closet til it’s 18 months.. They will morph, and change
FANCY TALK - ROCKYDELL FRENCH BULLDOGS
throughout their puppyhood.. And it is true... One week they’ll be leggy, one week they’ll look like you put their nose in a pencil sharpener, one week they’ll loook long, one week they’ll look like you put their head in a vise... So at 8 weeks I look at their overall structure, head shape, ear set, width of muzzle, shape of the eye, the front, the shoulder placement, the rear, angulation etc.
What would you say has been your most successful breeding to date? I’ve been breeding for over 20 years, so to pinpoint one breeding as “most successful” is dificult, and also depends on what you define as successful... If I look back, breeding Willa (BISS Am/Can Ch. Sonit Willa Steele) to Troller (Jaquella Terrible), a Danish dog, imported by Dorit Fischler and who graciously allowed me to use him on Willa -- in that litter, I kept 2 females, a brindle and a pied, though the brindle became a champion (Ch Rockydell Jessica Rabbit), the pied sister (Rockydell Merveilleux) was never shown (because of her markings) If I had her today I’d have shown her and probably finished her but she was considered mismarked in those days). Anyway- that pied bitch, Pippin, was the bred and produced (in 2 different litters) - bitches that became the foundation of what is Rockydell... So to me that was a most successsful breeding, because it produced two bitches that were the foundation of what became Rockydell. In terms of defining breeding success as most successful in the show ring -- I would cite my breedings of Spanky - Ch. Rockydell Bit of Steele Van Riper - Group placing, AOM winner at Westminister. Ch. Rockydell Navin Johnson, AOM Westminister, Gr Ch. Am/Can Ch. Rockydell Cloak and Dagger with Homewood, who recently won an AOM at the 2017 FBDCA Nationals under breeder/judge Robin Stansell... and Ch.Rockydell Homewood Mission Impossible, (co bred with Dave Berrey) at 6 months WD and AOM at the 2016 FBDCA Specialty in NY and an AOM at the 2017 FBDCA Frenchie Specialty under breeder judge Robin Stansell.
Elena Siegman’s first frenchie - ch. yellowvail thief of hearts
Ch Rockydell Instant Karma, Ch Rockydell Jessica Rabbit, Ch Rockydell CharisMATTic One
Is there a French Bulldog not bred or owned by you, living or not, that you admire? Well, certainly I can think back and say that I admired many of the great dogs in the breed -Fearless. Oscar LeBeau, TailGator, Benvenuto, Phoenix, Luke, Simba, Bullett, Gambit, Marc, Romeo, Ringo, Dante...
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FANCY TALK - ELENA SIEGMAN
What has been the Frenchie bred/co-bred by you that has come the closest to the standard in your opinion? I would say Ch. Rockydell Charismattic One, “Mack”, Ch. Rockydell Bit of Steele Van Riper, “Spanky”, and most recently Ch. Rockydell Homewood Mission Impossible, “Moo”.
What is your French Bulldog structure pet peeve? I cannot stand a bad front.
In your opinion, what should French Bulldog breeders in North America be working together to change? Is there a fault that you see repetitively? Bad rears.
Painting of Ch. Rockydell Mz Maybelline Foundation Bitch of DK French Bulldogs (Marcel Daignault)
How do you feel about collaborating with breeders from other continents? Could you name some tips for a successful partnership? I have been very fortunate in my limited dealings with breeders from other countries. I’ve purchased a dog from Switzerland from Sabine Jorg (Ch. Yaguard de Soleure). He came here as a pup, and will be 9 years old this December... He has been a solid addition to my breeding program, producing not only sound, correct pups, but they share his fabulous temperament. More recently in collaboration with my friend Dave Berrey, we have had a very good working relationship with Revaz Khomasuridze of Avigdors. I think any good relationship between breeders from either outside the country or within, is trust and honesty and mutual respect.
Ch. Rockydell Homewood Mission Impossible “Moo” Co bred with Dave Berrey
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BISS Am/Can.Ch. Sonlit Willa Steele owner/hander: Elena Siegman
Ch. Rockydell Navin Johnson - AOM Westminster
LEFT - TOP TO BOTTOM: 1. Rockydell Homewood Fatal Attraction, Moo’s sister - co bred with Dave Berrey 2. “Spanky” Ch. Rockydell Bit of Steele Van Riper, AOM Westminister 3. Willa daughter, “Pippin” - Rockydell Merveilleux 4. Ch. Kelmars Rockydell Hello Kitty - daughter of Ch. Yaguard de Soleure and Ch. Kelmars Here Comes Sunshine
Rockydell Moonbeams in a Jar, Daughter of Ch. Yaguard de Soleure - BOS FBDCA Sweepstakes , breeder/judge Karen Carm
You are a successful French Bulldog breeder and exhibitors. Do you aspire to judge? Yes, I have completed all the requirements, I just have to complete the application -- but procrastination is my middle name... I hope to get it all done and be provisional by end of this year. There is a great need for more breeder judges.
What has been the biggest honor or achievement with French Bulldogs in your breeding and showing life? Well I guees it would be owner handling Willa. BISS Am/Can Ch. Sonlit Willa Steele -- She was a once in a lifetime dog. I owner handled her to both her American and Canadian Championships. I won BOS at Westminister with her and of coruse won the National.
If you had to give one advice for those starting out with their French Bulldog breeding programs, what would it be? I would say learn about the breed. Read and re read the standard. Learn pedigrees. Buy the best bitch you can as a foundation. Listen, and learn from experienced breeders - Develop in your minds eye what you feel is correct, and work towards creating it... Do not be swayed by the fads of what is winning... What wins is not necessarily correct or sound.. be true to yourself. Be open and teachable.
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Whether or not to buy a stud dog written by PATRICIA SOSA, BANDOG French Bulldogs & AKC Judge
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started to write this article quite a while ago, and kept rewriting it, as something just did not seem to make sense. I keep talking about why you should not buy a stud dog, especially if you are new to a breed, and realized everything I was writing not to do, was exactly what I did. So I said to myself: “Let me examine this again to see why I did not practice what I was preaching”.
Then it hit me; the light bulb moment. When I started 30 years ago, things were very, very different. Back then the gene pool was very small, and depending on where you lived, it could be almost non-existent. Frenchies were either shipped in the belly of a plane (yikes) or driven to the stud of choice (yikes again). Shipping of fresh semen as well as freezing semen had started but not always with great success. What one would see is heavy concentration on certain dogs or lines geographically because of the breed’s heat limitations or would you say health concerns. So many times you were left with few options. Now we come to my start, and living at the time in Hattiesburg Mississippi back in the late 80’s, need I say more?? I tried shipping my bitch a time or two without success. I then decided at the time that if I wanted to breed good dogs, I was going to have to own my own stud dogs. After much studying of pedigrees, and finding how I would plan my map, I found what I considered to be the dog to base all of my breeding on. I keep going back to Herschel Cox’s Ace and Andy. So, I contacted Herschel to see what he had out of each sire, I thought with one out of each brother I could do some half brother/half sister breedings and stamp my “look” pretty fast. Then just cross fingers that the look came as planned! The first dog I bought was a dog called Pierre, Ch Cox’s Goodtime Pierre of K & D. The next one was Ch K N D’s Foxy Joe of Cox’s Goodtime. Pierre was out of Andy, a bigger little longer backed brindle boy. The other one Joe, was polar opposite. Cream very short backed lighter boned dog, but out of Ace, Andy’s litter brother. I then did a smart thing and bought a brindle girl from Herschel, Angel. She was an Andy daughter. Actually the dog that mesmerized me the most was
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the sire of the 2 boys, Ch Adams Unique Physique. My first bitch I ever had gotten was out of Ch Adams Gambler of Linewood. My start was with these 3 dogs primarily, and it gave me a fast dominant stamp. As I always say, it was lots of luck along the way. Fast forward to today, and all I can say is wow! Things are so much more advanced, not only has the gene pool grown, but now with frozen and chilled semen, 10 day chilled kits (yes, it will stay alive 10 or more days!) we as breeders have options. Options not only due to veterinary advances, but actually to the internet, and Facebook. The French Bulldog has become a very global breed, with breeders from all over the world now able to share their dogs and gene pools. This is such an exciting time especially for me to see how the breed and the options have evolved. I was talking the other day to a very enthusiastic new-comer to the breed. One of the last things I had said to them was, “whatever you do, do not buy a stud dog”. What did they do: Bought a male. To me there is a difference in owning a male, and a stud dog. For me the same rule applies to decorating a new home, as does to breeding dogs. Live in it for a while and see what moods or “looks” you want to live with before you go and decorate your house, only to decide in a year or two, it really was not you. Then you start over. Same concepts go for breeding. When you do get your first dog, live with it, study the pedigree of not only your dog, but of other dogs you like the look of. Then build from there. I feel it is most important to start with buying the best bitch and pedigree you are able to find, that does not mean it will be a top show dog, as the two do not always go hand in hand. Back to the boys. A few problems I see with running out and buying a male or two to start a breeding program. If you are buying from an established breeder (hopefully a very line-bred animal) they more than likely will try and have you start with one male before anything else. Hopefully they
will guide you as far as how they made their breeding decisions. Secondly, you can be prepared to have some restrictions attached to your dog. It is really to help guide you to make smart decisions. They have been around longer than you and probably have a good idea of which lines, or specific dogs will compliment what you have from them. Why try to reinvent the wheel? It is also to protect the breed and their breeding program. Many times people follow the “5 year plan”. People are in and out of a breed within 5 years, especially when dealing with a breed which can be challenging as the Frenchie. Many are looking for instant success and are not willing to pay their dues. With our boys, we always hold stud rights, so we can breed to the dog or freeze him for our own use. You will see that all breeders are a little different, and they have developed a plan that works for them. This ensures breeders that they will get something of benefit for one’s breeding program. I guess it gives a breeder the incentive to sell a dog that they can incorporate in future breedings. From past experience, a lot depends on how many girls you own, or what size breeding program you have. If you have a male and breed him to one of your girls, do you really plan on using him on another one of your girls? You more than likely will not use him on his female get. The soonest you will probably use him again is another 4-6 years down the road, which would be to his grandchildren. If you do use him on another girl (hopefully not a littermate to girl 1 you already used him on) you probably would not want to duplicate the pedigree you already have. The bigger problem is, in a few years down the road, you could be in a corner as far as your breeding program goes. Not to mention health issues that could also show up. The bigger problem is if you have said male and use him, what do you do if the puppies are only just ok? Let’s say put the weight on the bitch, try him again to another bitch, and again he produces just ok puppies. You are really set up now for serious decision time. Do you cut your losses and place your male, get a new bitch, or try again? Sometimes even dogs with exceptional pedigrees will not combine well with certain lines. More important some dogs just cannot produce no matter how good their
pedigree or show record might be. I am an advocate of close line breedings, but you should only do this if you are getting correct dogs for your standard. Linebreeding on bad faults is never a good thing. I too many times hear people say they will breed back to such and such because it is a linebreeding. Many breeders will sell puppies at 4 months old. In my experience it is not always easy to tell how they will develop, or if they will even be a possible asset to your breeding program. A few things I see wrong with this is, your puppy has no breeding history for you to know where his strengths or weaknesses will be. I am a strong believer that as far as my own studs, I breed my boys and will grow their puppies up to be able to determine what strengths and weaknesses they will produce. Not all dogs mesh well with other lines. Some dogs need to be bred to a very specific type. We had a male that had to be bred to a strong headed bitch or he would never be able to produce a quality head. I have also had one male who could produce quality when bred to only a specific body style. One of our dogs produced exceptional quality with outcross bitches, but not to our own girls at the time. Remove a few generations and that dog is a wonderful producer with the use of frozen semen. Some breeders follow the practice of not having stud dogs at public service, or very limited service. I follow this practice but for the reasons being, until I have been able to track a stud dog’s history and possibly his get, I am uncomfortable in letting other breeders being part of my experiment, because that is what it is with a young unproven dog. Now once you have some dogs or even 2 generations you can be more forthcoming whether or not your dog will help others in reproducing dogs of standard quality, and health. Someone asked me a very interesting question a few weeks ago. Would I consider using reverse psychology in picking a stud dog for a certain bitch? I had not thought of it that way. The issue was the dog was as near to perfect other than the eye. Not sure if it was set, color or shape. The bitch had a correct eye so my answer was yes. This
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brought me to another approach I have always taken. I do look at pedigrees in hopes of having as tight a linebreeding as possible. I then look at the faults that my bitch has and do the males in consideration have the same faults or not? If I am trying to fix something I will never double up on the fault as then you are only stamping it in deeper. I will be much more forgiving of a bitch than a dog. For me the dog must be as nearly perfect to the standard, as he will be used much during his breeding years, and produce many more offspring than a bitch will. Most bitches will only be bred 2-3 times at most, so will probably produce an average of only 10-14 puppies in their lifetime. I often suggest to both new breeders and longer established breeders to attend National Specialties if possible. Now with live streaming, we also have opportunities to view dogs from all over the world. With the use of photoshop many dogs we see in print are not always as they are. Even without enhancements, you can get lucky and make an ok dog look great. This also holds true in the opposite direction. I have personally had many a great dogs that took awful pictures. We are fortunate to also have video for archival purposes. I love to revisit older videos as one does forget certain features. Go to a National not to see who wins, but look for the dogs you fall in love with and want to take home, then look to their sire. That is where you want to start. A winning record is never the mark of a great producer. A great producer is one that has been tracked and followed and understood how and who to breed him to, in order to produce the best and closest to the breed’s standard as possible. Type before hype and you will never go wrong. I think if we look at very successful long time breeders, and I am talking about not just frenchies, but all breeds,
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you have very similar thought process as far as stud dog management. After talking with many breeders with over 20 years of continued breeding success, winning national specialties, allbreed groups and best in shows, many give their strength to generations of winning by line breeding. That is why when one see’s a top winning dog, I would look at his sire to see his history. It has never mattered to me if he was a champion or not. It is really not that important to me. Now with that being said, you will be looking to see the strength of his get in the show ring or performance ring. Now I will give you my personal best way to close out this article. We own a silly dog named Parker. He is almost 11 years old. He was a Joy son, Joy did allot of winning in her day. We bred her 2 times, and other than 1 lovely bitch, never really got anything wonderful from her. Or so we thought. She had this silly dog, Parker, with a big white blaze on his big cream head, and the biggest pink spot on his nose you would ever see. He had many lovely things about him, but one of the most lovely was his pedigree, being a half brother sister on a dog we felt was influential as a great representative of the breed. He has always been a happy go lucky guy, big pretty head, lovely outline, and would float when he moved. He still had that pink spot on his nose, even though the pigment was closing in. It took till he was 2 years old to fill in, and by that time he was such a goof ball, we figured why bother showing him, it did not matter to us. As a proud mother, and with limited and selective breeding he now has gone on to be a very successful and strong producer in the breed, producing multiple Group, Best in Show and National Specialty winning get and great get that have gone on to be influential in others’ breeding programs. The old saying of never throw the baby away with the bath water holds true. See you next time, Patricia Sosa
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When Should I Breed My Bitch – EXACTLY? written by Gale Golden, Creator of the Breed Smart Program – 4 Steps to Bigger Litters and a Better Breeding Program
TRACK YOUR WAY TO TIMING SUCCESS When your reproductive specialist starts off a conversation around the timing for breeding this way -- if your dog reads the book -- you know you are in for a very interesting ride. Bostons, Frenchies, Bulldogs and many bullie breeds are notorious in the canine breeding world for their interesting cycles and tricky timing. In other words, they don’t always read the book and cycle in the normal average way. Because of this “endearing” trait, they can often cost their owners – TIME - with missed breeding MONEY – crazy rounds of expensive testing FRUSTRATION – small litter size So, what can we do to help make your unpredictable dog more predictable? In this article, I will discuss how a simple notebook can help you pinpoint important patterns. This information will help you and your repro team test more efficiently, insure better timing and create more productive results.
START SIMPLY WITH PEN AND PAPER You already keep records on your dog. Registration papers, win photos, vaccination certificates, health testing results, etc. But I would bet almost no one can tell me the most important thing when it comes to breeding. How do each of the four hormones that impact the estrus cycle and your breeding timing play out for your bitch? By keeping simple records and notes, you will be able to determine HOW and more importantly WHEN each of these hormones are at play and pinpoint optimum breeding timing. So get yourself a simple bound blank notebook, grab a pen and let’s get started.
FIRST THINGS FIRST – NEVER FLY BLIND When will your bitch come into season? I am often surprised at how many people can’t tell me when they expect their bitch to begin a fertile season or even how often she comes in. The first thing you can begin tracking in your notebook BEFORE you begin a planned breeding is information about your girl’s seasons. Simple information and easy recordings can net you some great pre-breeding
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observations and patterns that will benefit you and your repro team greatly when you head into a real breeding cycle. Page one in your notebook might look like this… ______________________________________________ BITCH NAME: Juicy Fruit DATE OF BIRTH: 01/01/15
Age
Start
Finish
Notes
12 m
1-1-16
1-21-16 Didn’t eat much and was scooting before bleeding began. Bled heavy for 7 days then just a trickle after that.
19 m
8-1-16
8-21-16 Same as first cycle
Next cycle expected
2-1-17
Observations: 7 month cycles. Duration 3 weeks. Pre-cycle signs are lack of appetite and scooting. _______________________________________________ Source: Fictitious data, for illustration purposes only
Congratulations! You are now tracking the clinical signs of an important hormone - Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) which rises and falls just before a season begins telling your bitch to start bleeding. Also, by simply tracking her seasons and looking for patterns, you have identified behaviors that signal the beginning and end of the fertile period. Just this simple data tells you pre-bleeding signs, how long she will bleed, bleeding tendencies and the potential length of her fertile period. Further, if there are irregularities, this may be indicative of an issue you should address with your repro specialist or breeding mentor. In any case, this simple, inexpensive tracking approach will be a great base for you to build on when you start the real thing!
UNDERSTANDING HOW THE HORMONES DANCE
There are four hormones that rise and fall during every estrus cycle. They are Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH), Estrogen, Luteinizing Hormone (LH) and Progesterone. They each cycle in that order too. But knowing about them
and their role in predicting timing, you can make better breeding decisions with just a notebook and a few blood tests. Here is a quick primer on the role of each hormone and how they hand off to each other –
HOW YOUR HORMONES CYCLE
ROLE IN PLANNING YOUR TIMING
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH)
Rises and falls prior to bleeding. Its role is to stimulate the ovaries to produce egg follicles. When it’s rise and fall is complete, it signals the next hormone estrogen to surge. This is this likely the scooting or lack of appetite period noticed in your notebook. You can test for it but most do not. It is not necessary to track this but observing signs will let you know a fertile period is about to begin. Great for alerting the stud dog owner that you are about to begin.
Estrogen
Rises and bleeding begins. During the release of estrogen, the blood is typically very heavy. You will notice spotting on pads and floors. This period can last 7+ days. In our notebook, we noted the color of blood being bright and heavy during this initial period but lightening around day 10. This lightening of blood in amount in color is typical as the LH surge begins. But, not all girls will lighten.
Luteinizing Hormone (LH)
The LH surge is a short but intense cycle. Typically happens in just 24 hours. Its role is to tell the ovaries to release the egg follicles. Knowing the LH surge can really help you plan timing. While you can run a blood test to identify this surge and you should if you are planning a frozen semen breeding, a simple progesterone test in the 2.0-2.5 range typically indicates you are at the LH surge point.
Progesterone
Progesterone rises and stays high until delivery of the beginning of the next season. It signals ovulation is underway. Clinical signs are usually less blood, lighter color or even no bleeding, and flirting behaviors with a male. Most professionals agree that a blood test of 5.0 signals ovulation has commenced if the number doesn’t back down. My experience with Frenchies is that while that number may signal ovulation, I get bigger litters if I wait for progesterone numbers in the double digits 10-15 range. If you try breeding at 5.0 and get missed or small litters, this may mean you need to be patient as well. If you couple progesterone with cytology to tell you if you are still in season, you will cover the breeding period with better success.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER IN YOUR NOTEBOOK The average breeding cycle and timing might look like this Day 1 Bleeding begins – estrogen is cycling, alert stud dog owner and your reproductive team. Day 7-10 Determine LH Surge with a blood test or a progesterone test. Typical surge indicators are in the 2.0-2.5 range if you use progesterone. Ovaries are being stimulated to release eggs. Two days after LH surge ovulation occurs.
Day 10+ Determine if progesterone is rising with a blood test. Most professionals agree that once you have a 5.0 that continues to rise ovulation is underway. Two days after ovulation, eggs are mature enough to be fertilized and breeding should begin. If you try to breed two days later than 5.0 and you miss or get a small litter. Do a second or third progesterone test to be sure you hit double digits. The use of cytology at this point until the season ends can also be very helpful. Day 21 Cytology indicates cells are now back to normal with little to no sharp corners or edges. Fertile period closes. Knowing how the typical cycle works, you can now use your notebook and this sample table to plan your breeding.
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day of season
test conducted
results
day 1 - date
None
N/A
Alert stud dog owner and reproductive team
DAY 7 - DATE
PROGESTERONE
Looking for 2.0-2.5 which typically lines up with the LH Surge
If lower, wait 1-3 days and test again. Once in the right range, plan the dates. 2 days after LH surge is likely ovulation.
DAY 9 - DATE
NONE
N/A
Ovulation should bE taking place
observations / actions
Eggs should be ready for breeding. Small or missed litter may mean you should wait for double digit test result of 10-15 before breeding.
DAY 11 - DATE
PROGESTERONE
Looking for 5.0 or higher
DAY 13 - DATE
PROGESTERONE
10-15
Begin breeding. 5-7 days after ovulation most dogs cycle out of season. Breed days 13-15.
DAY 17 - DATE
CYTOLOGY
STILL CORNIFIED
COULD BREED AGAIN
DAY 19 - DATE
CYTOLOGY
NO CORNIFIED CELLS
SEASON HAS ENDED
Observations
3 progesterone and 3 cytology
20 days
Confirm pregnancy via ultrasound 28 days after last breeding. Confirm due date with reproductive team.
Source: Fictitious data, for illustration purposes only.
BASIC EQUIPMENT, BIG RESULTS If all went according to plan, you have 5+ puppies on the way! Even if it didn’t, you know so much about your bitch and her cycle. This is great information to share with breeding mentors and reproductive teams. The data can be used to troubleshoot issues for the next round or to make
improvements as your ability to track gets better. Over time, these notebooks become priceless as you can track patterns through generations of breeding. So off to the Dollar Store for a notebook and let’s get started! It will be the best most costeffective piece of equipment in your breeding arsenal. Till next time,
- Gale Golden
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f ancy health i’ve got your back
part 3: back talk written by LORI HUNT, DVM
I
drawing courtesy of JANICE GREBE
n the last two issues, I talked a lot about back disease in frenchies. The signs, symptoms and causes. Now I’d like to talk about what we can do to make things better. This final part is less fact and more of the editorial opinion of its author.
In the OFA study done by Dr. Keller in 2004, a total of 245 dogs were radiographed and submitted. Of those dogs, 95.1% of those dogs were found to have at least one anomaly. 941 anomalies were found in the 245 dogs, which averages out to almost 4 anomalies per dog. 95.1% of these anomalies were found to be in the thoracic area. 19% of these dogs had 6 or more anomalies in the spine. 70% of the anomalies were located between T5-T9. Approximately 75% of the dogs had 3 or less in a row. 7 dogs in the study had herniated discs apparently unrelated to
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the anomalies. In my humble opinion, I feel these may be related in a way that isn’t readily apparent, in that the rest of the back takes on some extra work due to anomalies in other areas which stresses and weakens the disc, perhaps leading to herniation. Intervertebral disc disease is thought to be highly heritable in many breeds, like dachshunds, so it’s likely the same in ours. I also believe that vertebral anomalies and their placement are at least somewhat inherited. Some is due to the mere fact of being a french bulldog and the conformation that comes with this breed.
So how can we eliminate back problems in french bulldogs? Well the honest answer is that I am not sure we can completely... I do however have some ideas I think will benefit the breed as a whole. When I started in Frenchies, I made a promise to myself that every breeding i did would be for the “betterment of the breed”. I was determined to make my dogs healthier. So I’m going to share some things I have tried over the years. I have noticed a significant difference within my line. None of these will guarantee perfection, but I believe they can help. I have statistics from over 15 years and 8 generations since my first litter. I have seen a compelling improvement in the spines of my dogs, with a decrease in both the average number of anomalies and back incidences as they age. Here’s 10 common sense ideas you can do to attempt to lessen back issues within your breeding program as well as individual dogs. (These are the author’s opinion) 1) Don’t breed to dogs or from bitches who’ve had back problems and/or surgery. 2) Find a knowledgeable veterinarian who can really read spine films, when in doubt send to OFA or a radiologist. Radiograph all your puppies, even ones you don’t keep. When you have an opportunity to choose between several quality pups, try to keep the one with the least anomalies with which to move forward. 3) Keep in contact with your puppy owners so you can hear what issues develop. Often breeders place dogs after they are done breeding and many don’t live with old dogs. Living with an old dog (or any age) with a back problem will certainly make you want to attempt to not produce it again.
5) Breed only to dogs who’ve had spine films done. Knowledge is power. 6) Breed to older males. Dogs over the age of 6-8 years old who’ve not had back trouble, can be a great asset in a breeding program. Obviously, this isn’t possible with bitches. 7) Share your results. With anyone and everyone. At the very least, share with those who breed into your lines. Similarly, ASK before breeding. Ask if there is a history or intervertebral disc disease, rear weakness or spinal stenosis before breeding to a dog 8) Breed for dogs with decent neck length, good rib length and a short loin. Long loins are unstable. The majority of back length should be made up of rib cage, which supports the vertebrae and as an added bonus, will allow the dog to breathe better too. 9) Consider keeping dogs intact. Sex hormones add a lot to their health, muscle mass and generally keep them in better shape. 10) Keep all frenchies at ideal body mass and give them regular exercise. As mentioned, these are my opinion and strategies and have been incredibly successful in my line. I’d love to get feedback from folks who start implementing these ideas and hear about your success. - Dr. Lori Hunt, DVM
4) Breed for less extreme back length, instead breed for a more moderate back length in balance with leg length. This almost certainly will come with less anomalies.
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