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We think
it is extremely important to learn the facts and
possible consequences in advance if you are
contemplating breeding your dog. In today's overcrowded
world, we, the wardens of our domestic pets, must make
responsible decisions for them and for ourselves.
The following
points should be reviewed carefully.
QUALITY:
AKC registration
is 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 be proven free of these defects BEFORE
starting on a reproductive career. Breeding should only
be done with the goal of IMPROVEMENT - an honest
attempt to create puppies better than their parents.
Ignorance is no excuse. Once you have created a life,
you cant take it back, even if blind, crippled or a
canine psychopath!!
COST:
Dog breeding is NOT a
money-making proposition, if done correctly. Health
care and shots, diagnosis of problems and proof of
quality, extra food, facilities, stud fees, advertising,
etc., are all costly and must be paid BEFORE the pups
can be sold. An unexpected Caesarean or emergency
intensive care for a sick pup will make a break-even
litter become a big liability. And this is IF you can
sell the pups. [the AKC recently estimated that a
breeder loses an average of $1700.00 on
each litter.]
SALES:
First-time breeders have
no reputation and no 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 months, eight months
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
other 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 AM or at the vets on the surgery table. Even it the
kiddies 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 whelps.
Bitches can have severe delivery problems or even die
in whelp pups can be born dead or with gross
deformities that require euthanasia. Of course there can
be joy, but if you cant deal with the possibility of
tragedy, don't start.
TIME:
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 after. Be prepared for days off work and
sleepless nights. Even after delivery, mom needs care
and feeding, puppies need daily checking, weighing and
socialization. Later, grooming and training, and the
whelping box needs lots of cleaning. More hours are
spent doing paperwork, pedigrees and interviewing
buyers. If you have any abnormal conditions, such as
sick puppies or a bitch who can't or won't care for her
babes, count on double the time. If you cant provide the
time, you will either have dead pups or poor ones that
are bad tempered, antisocial, dirty and/or sickly,
hardly a buyers delight.
HUMANE RESPONSIBILITIES:
Its
midnight. Do you know where your puppies are? There are
about FOUR MILLION unwanted dogs put 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 junkyard all of
its life or runs in the street to be killed? Will you
turn down a sale 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 in
heat, which fills the pounds with more statistics your
grand-pups? Would you be prepared to take a grown puppy
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?
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