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Lots of purebred dog owners entertain thoughts of breeding their dogs. Reasons can vary from wanting to recoup money spent on the dog, creating "one" just like precious Fido, experiencing puppies or a million other reasons.
In the United States, we have a serious pet overpopulation problem. Purebreds are not exempt from this problem. The HSUS estimates that at least 25% of dogs in our country's shelters are purebred.
Take a hard look at your reasons of wanting to breed. Do they warrant adding to that population?
Purebred fanciers want to see their breed continued, so dogs do need to be bred. However, not every dog should be bred, nor should every dog owner be a breeder.
What makes you and your dog stand out above the crowd, to be the ones creating future generations? Is your dog an excellent example of his/her breed? Are you skilled enough to make that decision in an unbiased fashion?
Poor reasons to breed:
Recouping your investment. Breeding is an expensive venture. If you want to be a responsible breeder, you will need to perform the appropriate health tests to ensure your dog is free of major genetic problems prior to breeding. You will also need the dog evaluated by more than one educated and unbiased person. Typically the easiest way to do that is by showing the dog. These things are not cheap and quick.
Without cutting corners (to avoid putting future generations and owners at risk), one will not realize a profit on breeding dogs.
The litter will most likely create more than one dog. The HSUS estimates the average dog litter is 6-10 puppies. In six years, one female dog and her offspring can theoretically produce 67,000 dogs. That is a little more than "one" just like him/her. Once you sell the puppies, their owners may decide to breed them as well. What if the original breeding pair had a major health problem that didn't arise until after the breeding? All of those future dogs could be affected or carriers of the problem. Yikes, that is a lot of heartbroken owners!
If you would like to educate your children about the "miracle of life", consider videos and books dedicated to the subject. Why make your dog a science project?
If you still aren't convinced, read this compelling hard-fact article.
There are, however, numerous health benefits to spaying/neutering your dogs.
All potential breeders should read about the risks of breeding.
Do you have the Traits of a Responsible Breeder?
Read more articles for potential breeders.
Breeding your own dog - what you need to know
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