George Hopkins Jan 3, 2010:

Dictionaries again I'm not in the habit of doubting or contradicting standard dictionaries, or trying to read an asker's thoughts, I try to answer a straightforward question.

Sven Petersson Jan 3, 2010:

I doubt that ... I doubt that "The asker is looking for the correct terminology for the female canine kept for the purpose of breeding." I would rather think that the Asker is looking for the translation into English of the cynological term " Bästa Avelstik", which is a title awarded at some dog shows. A simple phone call to Svenska Kennelklubben (08 - 795 30 00) will confirm the correct translation, which is "Best Brood Bitch".

Anna Herbst Jan 3, 2010:

Correct terminology The asker is looking for the correct terminology for the female canine kept for the purpose of breeding. The accepted term for this is brood bitch as has previously been explained on this page and which can be confirmed by looking up for example the very reliable references suggested below by Sven.
Do not expect to find answers to this type of specialist terms in a general Swedish-English dictionary which by nature is limited in what it can include. They are more likely to be found on a web site dedicated to the topic - in this case dog shows.

George Hopkins Jan 2, 2010:

Dictionary Is the discussion drifting away from the Asker’s question which refers to avel, ie, breeding?
Prisma sv-eng gives breeding bull for 'avelstjur', and accordingly 'avelstik' would resonably be breeding bitch. However, Prisma offers several variants with the prefix 'avels-' perhaps giving rise to some confusion with regard to usage.
After producing her last brood a bitch is no longer a breeding animal.

Stefan A. M. Adamek Jan 1, 2010:

Another kind of test... 43,800 for Best Brood Bitch on Google

George Hopkins Dec 31, 2009:

No longer No longer a breeding cat then at that age -- no more kittening, but she can look back happily at her various broods.

Anna Herbst Dec 31, 2009:

Mother Sven has found a couple of excellent sites for professional dog terms. With those at hand, the need for guessing becomes quite unnecessary, don't you agree, George? Much stronger evidence than Google hits.
I'd like to return to the word brood, though. As I pointed out in my comment to George's answer, it can function as an adjective as well as a noun, and in the case of brood bitch the function is adjectival. The adjective brood is described as follows in Merriam Webster on-line:
Function: adjective
: kept for breeding <a brood flock>
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brood[2]
and in Dictionary.com:
adjective
8. kept for breeding: a brood hen.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/brood

I am writing this with my cat - retired brood queen and mother of 35 - in my lap.

Sven Petersson Dec 31, 2009:

@ George, Please read http://www.thekennelclub.org.uk/download/6913/singlebreedltd... and http://www.akc.org/about/glossary.cfm

George Hopkins Dec 31, 2009:

Weak acid Google is excellen but by no means an acid test. At a guess, 'best brood bitch' refers to the bitch of a winning litter of puppies (brood is a synonym of litter).

Sven Petersson Dec 31, 2009:

The acid test '"Kennel club" "best breeding bitch"' yields 10 Google hits (none published by a kennel club); '"kennel club" "best breeding bitch"' yields 2830 Google hits.