Choosing a Puppy Daddy

So how DID we choose who we’d like to breed to? Needless to say, it’s an important decision and one that Kathy and I took very seriously. We want puppies that conform to the breed standard AND who are happy, healthy, well-adjusted dogs.

I’m co-breeding this litter with Lexi May’s breeder/co-owner, and we spent a LOT of time looking for the right (or what we hope is right) match for Lexi May. This work started with health clearances. We knew about Lexi May’s genetic watch-outs since she was tested as puppy, so the first round of cuts was made based on genetic screening – to make sure we avoided the things we needed to avoid.

We also watched how Lexi May matured.  We evaluated her structure, determining we like and what we’d like to improve.  This information helped us narrow the field down even further, as we looked for stud dogs who were consistently producing what we’d like to improve on and retain, while trying to avoid things we’d rather not have. Temperament was again a big factor, as Kathy and I, and all the future puppy owners, need to live with the dogs for many years.

When we had the field narrowed down to a few dogs, we contacted the stud dog owners to learn more about the dogs, and make sure the stud dog owner also saw Lexi May as a good match for their dog. It was also important to us that the stud dog owner would be a good match for Kathy and I, because even though we’ll be doing the work of whelping and raising the puppies, we need a stud dog owner who is honest, has a good reputation in the breed, and is willing to work with us throughout.

After agonizing over who to choose (maybe a little too much ;-) ) we narrowed down the field, and were lucky enough to meet our top two “candidates” in person at the Cardigan Welsh Corgi National Specialty. It’s nice (but not always possible) to see the dog in person and meet the stud dog owner. It gave us a chance to “get our hands on” the dogs, watch them move, and get a feel for temperament, helping us make the choice.

In case you're curious, here’s a link to the pedigree: http://www.cardiped.net/testmating.php?dam=93988&sire=93982

Stay tuned for an update on our work last week to get Lexi May pregnant…