A Checklist to Breeding Your Dog

Being A Conscientious Breeder

Jeffrey Pepper, AKC Judge and Breeder of Sporting Dogs

Unfortunately, nothing in life is simple. Rather, with each new responsibility come many more. There are a number of different roles we must play and it seems we are constantly changing hats.

This is true of breeders as well. The role of a breeder is constantly changing. In its simplest terms, according to the AKC a breeder is the owner of a bitch at the time it was bred to a dog of the same breed, where that mating results in a litter. In truth, being a breeder today is much more complicated.

The individual who truly deserves the title breeder needs to be a protector of the breed, a social worker with potential purchasers, a public relations expert and educator, a socializer of puppies and trainer of adult dogs. He or she needs to be a student of genetics, knowledgeable about pedigrees and aware of health and veterinary requirements for breeding. Oh yes, they are also office and business manager and of course, sanitary engineers. Now that certainly is a lot of different hats to wear.

One thing a breeder is not is a breadwinner. When one calculates all the costs associated with selling a litter, raising and perhaps showing the dam, stud fee, veterinary fees, advertising and so on, not to mention the time put into raising and socializing a litter, selling puppies is at best a break even experience, and often is a money-losing proposition.

Are you a conscientious breeder? What was it that first attracted you to your breed? Very likely, it was meeting a dog of that breed, finding it attractive, enjoying its temperament and then discussing the breed with a breeder. It is this public relations hat that is perhaps the most important one a breeder wears.

Our responsibilities for the dogs we produce, as well as for all dogs, is a great one. That all-important first impression of a breed is often created by the breeder. If you were lucky, you first spoke with a breeder who really cared about their breed and you got an honest evaluation of the strong and weak points of the breed. The general public often has no real understanding of a given breed and the person seeking a puppy is filled with misinformation.

It is the breeder who often serves as mentor, explaining all the aspects of the particular breed and assisting the prospective purchaser in deciding whether or not they should have a dog and if this breed is right for them.

If the breed is appropriate, it is often the breeder’s advice over time that leads to a successful placement for the puppy and a happy dog owner. A breeder who gives poor advice, or worse, none at all, who promotes their puppies when they are not appropriate for a particular family, is doing a grave disservice to their breed and to dogs in general.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Being a conscientious breeder actually begins long before that first litter is even planned and well before the potential puppy purchasers are interviewed. The conscientious breeder is probably first involved in showing their dogs in some kind of competitive arena. For some it is the breed ring, for others, obedience, field trials or some aspect connected to the breed’s original purpose such as herding or hunting tests.

From this experience, the breeder learns what makes a good dog that meets the requirements of the breed standard. We learn which traits are desirable and should be sought in a breeding program, and which to avoid. As we watch other dogs compete, we learn which excel in some areas and which are weak in others.

We study pedigrees to learn which dogs seem to provide desirable traits in their progeny and which do not. As time goes on, we study genetics to learn how traits are passed on to offspring. All of these are steps we take along the road toward becoming a breeder.

During this phase of becoming a breeder, we wear several other hats: those of trainer, kennel help, groomer and exhibitor, veterinarian assistant providing needed information to our Vet and as always, public educator. But at the same time, we continue to wear the hat of a student as we strive to learn more about our breed and about breeding in general.

We read books on the subject. The wise breeder spends much time talking with those who have more experience in the breed. As we absorb the knowledge imparted to us based on years of experience, we filter the information provided to sort the basic truths from the biased opinions. We learn which of our peers has valuable information and which seeks only to promote themselves of their own dog.

As our knowledge increases we begin to study pedigrees, learning about the dogs that are behind our own charges so that we have information on each dog rather than a collection of meaningless names and titles. We try to see those dogs that are available and seek photos of those that are not. We learn which dogs produced what traits in their progeny and plan to use those that complement our own dogs and avoid those that carry undesirable traits. All new knowledge is filed away for future use.

After years of experience, it is time, perhaps to consider breeding a litter. After honestly evaluating our potential brood bitch's temperament and conformation and having the necessary test to ensure that genetic problems that can be passed on to her puppies are not present in our potential mother, we decide whether or not to breeder her. We evaluate potential stud dogs based on our knowledge. Finally, after much debating and sour searching, we might decide that now is the time to become a breeder as the AKC defines it. We make the decision to mate our bitch, with the hope of producing a litter that is worthy of the best of our breed.

If it is a male dog we are talking about, we still wear the same hats and have the same responsibilities (for even though a stud dog owner is not a "breeder" as AKC defines the word, he or she still has a strong responsibility to the breed). Rather than choosing which stud to use, however, the owner of a male has the task of deciding which bitches are worthy of being bred to their dog. Further we must decide whether our particular stud dog is the right match for each bitch being considered for mating.

If it is to mate stud and bitch, we change hats again and become breeding facilitator and handler, ensuring that a proper tie is accomplished.

Once mating has been accomplished, it's again time to put on a new hat. Now it's time to be a kennel person, keeping an eye on the bitch as the pregnancy runs its course and planning for the eventual whelping. Once the time for whelping approaches, the hat changes again as the breeder becomes midwife, preparing the whelping box and getting everything in order to assist the bitch during birth.

Rearing the puppies requires several hats: that of kennel person and sanitation engineer as well as the one you wear when socializing puppies. You'll also want your judge's hat as you choose the best puppies in the litter, but you will be wearing your behaviorist's hat at the same time, since selection will include temperament tests.

While this is going on, you will need your office manager's hat as you fill out the necessary papers to register the litter with the AKC, handle the advertising, screen puppy buyer phone calls and make veterinary appointments for the purpose your public educator's hat along with your social workers hat as you screen prospective puppy purchasers, providing all the information on the breed and raising puppies. In selecting puppies you attempt to match the temperament of the puppy with the temperament and expectations' of the new owner.

Quite possibly as you sit back and think about your new puppies, you realize you have come full circle and are now providing to others the basic information you learned as you, first started on the road to becoming a true breeder. You will have a large collection of hats by this time and you may be ready to help a novice learn. It's time to change hats again!
 

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