PUPPY & BREEDER LINGO/TERMS...

When searching for a new Vizsla puppy you may want to know the lingo. There are quite a few terms you'll hear in the course of speaking with a Vizsla breeder. This list of common terms and definitions provides important puppy & dog breeding lingo that will help a beginner better understand the entire process.

Bitch: This the correct term for a female dog.

Dam: This is the designation given to the mother of a litter.

Stud: The stud is the male dog that performs the breeding on the bitch.

Sire: This is the designation given to the father of the litter.

Litter: This term applies to a group of puppies that are born from the same pregnancy.

Heat Cycle: This is the active period of a bitch's reproductive cycle. It's characterized by a bloody discharge, the release of eggs for fertilization and a period of active willingness to breed.

Ovaries: These are reproductive organs that release ovum for fertilization during a bitch's heat cycle.

Eggs: This is the common term for reproductive cells that are created when ovum are released from the ovaries and are fertilized by sperm. A fertilized egg is known as a zygote and develops into an embryo once it implants in the uterine wall.

Sperm: These are minute organisms produced by the male that fertilize the bitch's eggs and deliver the stud's DNA.

Vulva: This is the opening to the bitch's reproductive tract. The vulva swells considerably at the beginning of the heat cycle and then softens to facilitate breeding.

Penis & Testicles: These are the stud's reproductive organs designed to produce and deliver sperm.

Gestation: This term applies to the entire period of pregnancy.

Whelp: This is a term used to describe a newborn pup.

Whelping: This is the act of giving birth, and it is also simply known as "labor."

Whelping Box: This is a prepared box in which the bitch gives birth. You can purchase a commercial whelping box, or you can create one yourself from a cardboard box, a small children's pool or by using blueprints to build one from wood.

Contractions: These are spasms of the uterus that are designed to propel the pup along the birth canal toward delivery.

Water Bag: This is the thin yet durable membrane or "birth sac" that surrounds each puppy in utero. Nearly all pups are born in this protective sac which must be broken immediately after the pup is born or it will suffocate.

Umbilical Cord: This is the fleshy cord that is attached between a pup's abdomen and the placenta. It must be severed after the pups' birth either by the mother chewing the cord or by cutting it with sterilized scissors.

Uterus: This is organ wherein the embryos attach and grow throughout the pregnancy.

Placenta: This is the organ that attaches each embryo to the uterine wall. It supports each pup's growth and development by delivering oxygen and nutrients, and also by carrying waste away via the umbilical cord. When a puppy is born, its umbilical cord is still attached to the placenta. The placenta may be delivered with the pup, or it may take a few minutes longer to be delivered with the next contraction.

Line Breeding: This term refers to a planned breeding between family members used to secure desirable qualities in the progeny. Line breedings include breedings between grandparent/ grandchild, uncle/niece, aunt/nephew half-brother/half-sister and breedings with relatives even further apart.

Inbreeding: These are breedings between closely related individuals including mother/son, father/daughter and full-brother/full-sister. Such breedings are typically undesirable and may produce congenital defects in the pups.

Outcrossing: A breeding between two non-related dogs.

Tie: This term is used to describe the swelling near the base of the dog's penis that temporarily binds the dog to the bitch during intercourse. As the swelling develops, the bitch's muscles clamp down around it to hold the organ in place. This helps to ensure proper delivery of semen, and though not completely necessary for producing a litter, it does increase the chance for fertilization.