Glossary
Glossaries
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Whelping | Whelp is a synonym for puppy as whelping is a synonym for breeding or birth. Therefore whelping will produce whelps. |
| Water bag | This is the protective sac that surrounds each puppy while they are in the womb, it is essentially a sac filled with liquid. Once each puppy is born, the bitch regularly licks away the water bag and then consumes it for added nutrition. This is also performed to clear each puppies’ airway after birth. |
| Tie | A tie is achieved when the male penetrates the female, ejaculates and his penis has swollen so it is temporarily unmovable. The male and female are stuck together during a tie for usually a duration of fifteen minutes. This is a normal factor in canine mating. |
| Stud book | In dog breeding, a studbook is a collection of breeding males available for hire. You can pay for a mating between your bitch and a stud in the book, or for a sample of the stud’s sperm. |
| Stud | A stud is a male dog who is sexually mature and viable. |
| Sire | Your dog’s father is known as a sire. This term is regularly used when discussing hierarchical trees. |
| Sibling | Your dog’s sibling is one who has the same parent’s as your dog. A half-sibling is a dog that has one parent shared. |
| Show quality | A show quality dog is one who breeders deem worth to breed from as they match breed standards. |
| Purebred | A purebred dog, also known as pedigree, is one who’s lineage is that of the same breed at a minimum of 87.5% |
| Pet Quality | The term pet quality refers to a dog that the breeder feels is not appropriate to breed from as it does not show worthy quality. |
| Outcrossing | When two distantly related dogs are bred, the puppies have been produced through outcrossing. |
| Line breeding | A synonym of selective breeding, where humans deliberately mate two individuals to produce offspring with desirable physical or behavioral characteristics. |
| Kennel Club | Kennel clubs standardize breed types, allows for formal registration of individuals and litters, and organizes and judges many dog shows. |
| Inbreeding | When two closely related dogs are mated, the puppies produced are inbred. |
| Gene | This is something that determines the characteristics of a puppy. It is transferred from parent to puppy. |
