Breeding for a cause...I think??

[hogaholicswife]

Alright, this one will be one of those 'old timer' is it a wives tale or does it hold some truth kind of questions.

As a child, my grandfather swore that a gyp needed to have puppies to mature her up and make her a better dog.  He would always let his gyps have one litter before he put them to work, generally second heat.

Now, we have Lucy who is  a good dog but at 2.5 hasn't learned to slow down and use her nose.  She will beat the bushes down but it just seems like she is hunting too fast for her own good, she does find her own hogs and has the ability to stop them but it always seems like she is missing some as well because she is 100mph 100% of the time.

I do not, I repeat do not like to raise puppies....as a matter of fact I cringe at the thought of ever having a litter or bringing one home, I prefer them about 7 months old when they are ready to start tagging along.

Any how, when we bred our Tana gyp she slowed down quite a bit...almost lazy for a good year after the puppies were weaned and she still has her days where she isn't getting off the box until either she feels like it or one of the brothers bumps a hog.

I presented to my husband the other night that we should give the puppy route a shot to see if it slows her down providing she is sound enough to deliver (she was run over as a puppy so x-rays are in her future should we proceed).  If not I have told him he needs to spay her and get her to some one who hunts palmettos / woods where it may be beneficial for a dog like her (or open fields because the heifer can flat out move).

The cross would be to one of our dogs and because of who she 'is' would be acandidate to make sure she iis bred via the vet by our Goober dogo but I almost feel like it is a crap shoot.  We would keep most of the litter for ouselves and I know we could easily place other puppies so that isn't an issue but I just wonder and am kicking around whether a crap shoot like this would even be worth it...so what have any of you experienced from breeding your gyps? or is this a wait until she is about 5 or 6 years old and slows down on her own kind of situation?

[Noah]

Interesting thought, having a litter can certainly change how a dog hunts...  not sure how that works exactly, but seems it changes their drive/mental attitude about things in some cases for sure... got a friend whose best gyp(4-5yo)... best dog he has had for a long time... finally had a litter with her and 6mnths later he's ready to cull her because she just about quit hunting all together... just a different dog now it seems...  so... can it change a gyp?  Certainly... for the good or the bad seems to be the variable

[hogaholicswife]

And that is why it just seems like such a crap shoot, Tana was all but worthless a year after having the puppies but she had proven herself enough in the past that it wasn't an issue aside from aggrevation of knowing she was just being lazy.

I wonder what it will do but then I don't necessarily want to be bothered with puppies based on a crap shoot when I could spay her and send her packing because she isn't a bad dog just not fit for what we hunt because it is becoming less of just winding them and the hog being a 'few yards in' but rather winding them and then having to take the time to work it out...if that makes sense.

I guess it is a question that I know the answer to but just had to get it written down so I can stop thinking about it  I have been mulling this over for about 2 months now.

[spazhogdog]

I have heard the same thing about a litter will mature a gyp.  I think alot depends on the gyp.  If you decide to send her packing let me know