We are lucky to have a hardy base stock , but occasionally have to seek outside bloodlines . It took 20 years of work , hardships , & determination to maintain a kennel of Cardigans , that meet the CWCCA AKC standards , to produce Cardigans the ancient Welsh farmers would approve .
Over the decades we had strange requests ! A man wanted to rent a litter of puppies for his daughter's birthday party . Several wanted me to ship a puppy to Europe & would pay $5000 . . . later . One woman had several children in diapers & thought a Cardigan puppy would be nice for her children to play with . Some people think we run a petting zoo . One woman wanted a Cardigan puppy to housebreak her Pembroke puppy ?
A most common request is people want their Cardigan , male or female , to have puppies ! One motive is money . People believe there's lots of easy money in dogs ! Where ? Yes there is lots of money in dogs ; feeding dogs , showing dogs , AKC registrations , housing dogs , equipment , fencing , taxes , transporting , & veterinarian care . Then you throw in for free , sleepless nights & labor . Now before you can get all this easy money , you have to have it all ready in advance to cover expenses . You'll make more if you just left it in the bank ! Another motive ; the Disney belief their dog , male or female , wants to have puppies & raise a family . Problem is neither the animal or human half of this dream , is prepared ! What happens to the puppies ? How do you place them ? Animal shelter ? Are you prepared to spend weeks searching emails & phone calls from 100s as crazy as you ?
Breeding & showing Cardigans is a rare blessing & curse . You will meet some of the craziest & nicest people . Few can handle the stress & joy of whelping a litter at 12am . Few people or dogs have the temperament , strength , of financial resources for this magical madness . Advice : start small . Get the best puppy you can , after intense research . Show the dog & meet people in the game . Then with a background of experience decide , are you crazy enough to breed Cardigans ?
A litter from the past .
It's something I'd like to learn more about. I can't do it now, but if I'm lucky enough to retire, I'd love to do my part to help preserve the breed.
ReplyDeleteRetiring is too late to start . Cardigans have a 15 - 16 year life span . If you retire at 62 , you'll be 82 by the time you have 20 years experience ! Like our dogs , we too slow down with age .
Delete