Dog Breeding

Why you should think twice before becoming a dog breeder

Dogs have been man's best friends for thousands of years, and if it weren't for breeding, there wouldn't be any quality dogs around for you or your family to enjoy. Obviously, we need someone who is willing to go through the process of breeding, so why would we discourage you from mating your own dogs?

The fact is that there are too many people who, although unqualified to bring quality dogs into the world, decide to go ahead and get into the breeding business because they think it will be profitable. The fact is that making a profit in the breeding business is much more difficult than you may have imagined.

Think about the step-by-step process of breeding high quality dogs that people would want to purchase, and you can see how incredibly expensive it can all be. You have to buy extra dog food (both for the pregnant mom and for the first few weeks of puppy life), veterinarian examinations for the pregnant mom, vaccinations, certification that rules out congenital defects, and much, much more.

If you want to make this business profitable, you have to know what you're doing. It requires a great deal of experience. More importantly, if you want to breed healthy dogs, you need to have the training and experience over a number of years. Inexperience can lead to tragic health issues and unwanted dogs.

So many people decide to enter the breeding business without adequate knowledge and without considering what this can do to their dogs. We have far too many dogs who end up being euthanized in a shelter because no one wants to adopt them. There are simply too many dogs being bred for the wrong reasons - too many appalling puppy mills that exist solely for quick profits without any care or passion for the breed, and too many ill-prepared families who think only of how cute the puppies will be without any notion of the work and skill required.

By the way, it isn't just mixed breeds being put down either. There are plenty of purebred dogs who end up dying because they can't find a home. Please consider this carefully when deciding whether to get your dog spayed or neutered.

In addition, many dogs end up with congenital health problems as a result of irresponsible breeding methods. These kinds of health problems can often be eliminated by more experienced breeding. This process of breeding, after all, was meant to bring out desirable characteristics in a dog and eliminate unwanted attributes.

Dogs can also end up having unwanted temperaments, like aggression or extreme shyness and nervousness. As a result of poor and irresponsible methods, even a breed which has an excellent reputation can end up being ruined by its popularity.

Are you discouraged yet? We aren't trying to force you to give up the idea of becoming a breeder, but we do want to prepare you for the responsibility. If you're still interested, here's a beginner's overview of the breeding process.

The Breeding Process - The cycle of a dog's life