Mating Season or Not?
Breeding around 1200 puppies a year        involves a lot of hard work in every stage of the process and planning matings is no     exception. When a bitch comes into season, the first decision to make is whether the bitch in question should be mated, assuming she is fit and in good health. There are some general guidelines that we follow,            summarised well in our Breeding Code of Ethics as follows:
Guide Dogs will:

  • Only breed bitches between the age of 22 months and seven years; we will not breed from any bitches once they are over eight years of age. No bitch will be mated so as to whelp before she is two years old, unless there are exceptional circumstances and then only if she is considered mature enough to raise a litter of puppies. No bitch will be mated so as to rear a litter after her eighth birthday.
  • Ensure that bitches will not normally rear a litter on consecutive seasons or have more than one litter in any 12 month period, unless in exceptional    circumstances.
Examples of exceptional circumstances may  include times where pup supply is very low or where specific qualities of an aging bitch are recognised and this season is the last opportunity to obtain progeny from her before she retires. Or it may just be that a particular bitch seasons    irregularly or has large intervals between        seasons on a regular basis. All such factors are looked at before making a decision to mate or not and every situation is assessed on it's own

merits and with advice from the supervisor and/or vets when necessary. Of course, we also take into account our volunteers needs/requests and will always make every effort to help if we can, but unfortunately there will be times when we are unable to assist in our strive to achieve our twin aims of supplying quality guides in         sufficient numbers to meet client demand.
Planning the Mating
Much like a human dating agency, we endeavour to find the most suitable and compatible matches that we can! Much research is          conducted into every planned mating and the following is a list of some of the areas we look at and considerations before selecting a partner for a bitch in season:

  • Is she a maiden? May prefer to select a more experienced male
  • If she has had litters previously, what has been their progress? Have they been   successful or are there patterns of        behavioural or health problems that give us cause for concern or that we at least need to be mindful of, when selecting a mate
  • Do we need to pure mate or cross? The national picture in terms of pup supply may influence this, as might the need for taking breeding stock from the resultant litter.
  • Pedigree mix - we look at the ancestors of both bitch and male to determine if the pairing is likely to be successful, combines well and retains an appropriate level of genetic diversity.
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