BEARDED COLLIE BREED CLUBS - CODE OF ETHICS.

The Bearded Collie Breed note correspondent for "Dog World" had been reading through the codes of ethics produced by some of the Breed Clubs and was interested to note that most require bitches to be at least two years old before producing their first litters. Whilst the breed writer agrees that this is a good minimum age for a Beardie to have its first puppies. They were a little surprised that there are no guidelines on an upper limit for a first litter, and believes that any experienced breeder or vet would agree that a bitch having puppies for the first time at five or six years of age is at a significantly greater risk than one of, for example, 18 months.

There is little doubt that recent years have seen a trend towards achieving a bitch's potential in the show ring before introducing it to the whelping box. Deciding on the best time for a litter can be a very difficult balancinf act and not really an area where rigid rules can be applied.