Our Breeding Program began in 2003 with the registration of our kennel name EGERTON. Lily was sold to me on a CKC non-breeding contract with provisions to have it lifted if we decided we wanted to breed her. The conditions required were to earn CKC Championship and Field titles on her and have her hips and eyes OFA certified. (Now we require heart, elbows and thyroid be certified as well as hips and eyes). She was required to have correct structure, sound temperament and meet the CKC requirements for standard.
Next my mentor helped me choose a suitable male – he also had to be a champion, have a field title and have passed his OFA certifications. We had it narrowed down to 2 choices, the first choice only had hips done but agreed to have the eyes done as well. This was a valuable lesson for both my mentor and me – this beautiful boy did not pass his certification (CERF) for eyes, he had an inheritable disease. Had we done the breeding without doing the testing, that may have been passed on to his pups. Our 2nd boy met all requirements so when Lily came in season we brough her to him where she spent a few days with her beau. We continue to breed to the same standard we did back then, making sure temperament, structure and conformation meet our requirements and OFA certification for hips, hearts, eyes, elbows and thyroid have passing scores.
PUPPIES
When our Vizslas turn 2 years of age and they have developed into what we hoped they would, we complete OFA testing and they are entered into our breeding program. By the time our girls come into season, we have decided on who we will breed them to. Sometimes it is one of our males and sometime we go outside our kennel to find what we are looking for (any male we choose must be of sound temperament, meet the CKC standard for vizslas have passed OFA certification as required by Vizsla Canada, ).
Our pups are whelped and raised in our home. They are handled daily from the time they are born. for the first 10 – 14 days they can neither see nor hear, using their nose to find mom and the milk bar. Once the ears and eyes open they get more active. This is when they are introduced to normal household noises, as well as their surroundings. This is when we start inviting visitors to help socialize the pups. We puppy test at 7.3 weeks (or as close to that as possible). The vet visit icludes microchip implant, well puppy checks and initial vaccines. Our pups start leaving at 8 weeks.
Our pups are sold to approved homes on a CKC non-breeding contract which can be lifted if all criteria are met. This process starts with filling out and submitting out puppy questionnaire.
