04/27/2023
BREEDING!
Puppies are absolutely adorable. Who eventually turn into adult dogs and members of families. There are three ways people typically bring a dog into their home: going through a shelter/rescue, an ethical breeder or back yard breeders.
I have plenty of clients who have mentioned they have wanted to breed their dogs because they think it would be fun, cute and they just love puppies and want a mini version of their dog(s). If this is the thought process behind why you want to breed your dog, you would be a backyard breeder.
Ethical breeding: the intent is to pair two dogs with the intention of improving the breed. This is making sure the dogs being bred have proper structure, no physical ailments, no illnesses, no behavioral problems, all the proper health testing, great temperament, and depending on the breed and the purpose, different drives because all of these things are passed along to their puppies genetically. Breeders look at the different characteristics of each dog and pair them with a specific dog that would compliment it best.
Also, not to mention, but breeding is a LOT of time and expenses. Having to ensure the puppies are clean, cleaning their whelping box multiple times A DAY, monitoring and ensure they are all getting enough food, none of the puppies are sick or showing any problems, possible C-section if complications, possibility of losing the mother to birth, etc the list could go on and on.
Breeding should be left to those who are ethical and know what they are doing. If breeding is something you are interested in getting into, find a QUALITY breeder who is doing all the right things and see if you can shadow or if they are willing to teach you what it takes to breed.
Please do not contribute and become a backyard breeder.