Facts to Know Before Breeding Your Dog

KNOW THE FACTS BEFORE BREEDING YOUR DOG

The Doctors at Claws & Paws Veterinary Hospital® feel that it is extremely important to learn the facts and possible complications in advance if you are contemplating breeding your dog. In today’s overcrowded world, we, the stewards of our domestic pets, must make responsible decisions for them and for ourselves. The following points should be reviewed carefully.

QUALITY

AKC, or other breed registrations are NOT an indication of quality. Most dogs, even purebred, should not be bred. Many dogs, though wonderful pets, have defects of structure, personality, or health that should not be perpetuated. Breeding animals should only be done with the goal of IMPROVEMENT of the breed – an honest attempt to create puppies better than their parents. Ignorance is no excuse – once you have created a life, you can’t take it back, even if blind, crippled or a canine psychopath!!

COST

Dog breeding, if done correctly is NOT a money-making proposition. Healthcare and vaccinations, diagnosis of problems, proof of quality, extra food, facilities, stud fees, advertisement, etc. are all costly and must be paid by you, the breeder, BEFORE the pups can be sold. An unexpected C-section or emergency intensive care visit for a sick pup will make a break-even litter become a big liability. And, this is IF you can sell the pups.

SALES

First-time breeders have no reputation or referrals to help them find buyers. Previous promises of “I want a dog just like yours” evaporate. Consider the time and expense of caring for pups that may not sell until four to eight months old or more! What would you do if your pups did not sell? Send them to the pound? Dump them in the country? Sell them cheap to a dog broker who may resell them to labs or to unsavory buyers? Veteran breeders with a good reputation often don’t consider a breeding unless they have cash deposits in advance for an average-sized litter.

JOY OF BIRTH

If you’re doing it for the children’s education, remember the whelping may be at 3:00 in the morning or at the vet’s on the surgery table. Even if the kids are present, they may get a chance to see the birth of a ”monster” or a “mummy”, or watch the bitch scream and bite you as you attempt to deliver a pup that is half out and too large. Some bitches are not natural mothers and either ignore or savage their puppies. Bitches can have severe delivery problems or even die during whelping. Pups can be born dead or with gross deformities that require euthanasia. Of course there can be joy, but if you can’t deal with the possibility of tragedy, don’t start.

Veteran breeders of quality dogs state that they spend well over 130 hours of labor in raising an average litter. That is over two hours per day, EVERY DAY! The bitch CANNOT be left alone while whelping and only for short periods for the first few days afterwards. Be prepared for days off work and sleepless nights. Even after delivery, mom needs care and feeding, puppies need daily checking, weighing, and socialization sessions. Later, grooming and training need to be done. Also the whelping box needs lots of cleaning. More hours are spent doing paperwork, pedigrees, and interviewing potential buyers. If you have any problems, such as sick puppies or a bitch that can’t or won’t care for her babies (fairly common), count on double the time commitment. If you can’t provide the time, you will either have dead pups or poor ones that are bad tempered, antisocial, dirty, and/or sickly – hardly a buyer’s delight!

It’s midnight – do you know where your puppies are? There are three and a half million unwanted dogs puts to death in pounds in this country each year, with millions more dying homeless and unwanted through starvation, disease, automobiles, abuse, etc. Nearly a quarter of the victims of this unspeakable tragedy are purebred dogs “with papers”. The breeder who creates a life is responsible for that life. Will you carefully screen potential buyers? Or will you just take the money and not worry if the puppy is chained in a backyard or junkyard all of her life or runs the street to be killed? Will you turn down sales to irresponsible owners? Or will you say “yes” and not think about the puppy you held and loved, now having a litter of mongrels every time she comes into heat to fill the pounds with more statistics? Would you be prepared to take a grown puppy back if the owners can no longer care for it? Or can you live with the thought that the baby you helped bring into the world will be destroyed at the pound?