If you are wondering about breeding your dog, you probably do not have a champion show dog. These dogs are expensive and very time consuming.

Sometimes questions are their own answers. If you are wondering about breeding your dog, you probably do not have a champion show dog. These dogs are expensive and very time consuming. Also, you would know a lot about breeding just by talking with other owners. If this is your first champion, find a good mentor. Breeding fine show dogs requires the knowledge that only experience can bring you. Your local dog club will be able to help you find someone to mentor you. If you bought a “pet quality” dog from a breeder, then you should have had to sign a contract agreeing to spay or neuter your dog. If none of this sounds familiar, you have some thinking to do.

Breeding your dog is not an instant process. I am going to assume that you own a bitch. Most people do not consider intentionally breeding their male dogs unless they are show dogs. Your dog will have to experience pregnancy. For some bitches, as for some women, pregnancy is an easy process. For other bitches it is hard and debilitating. She will need special care and a good diet. She will go to the vet often. She may even die. After she gives birth, she will then have to care for the puppies without much help. The dog that you love so much will have less time for you. Not to mention nausea, accidents, moodiness and other symptoms of pregnancy. Don’t do this to your dog just to amuse your kids, it is too mean.

Once you do have the puppies, you will need to find something to do with them. Contrary to your dreams of riches in the world of dogs, many puppies go unsold. Are you willing to raise and live with a litter of dogs for the rest of their natural lives? If your life is busy with one dog, how much worse will 8 make it? And you know that your children will not help take care of them. So you will be left caring for these dogs. Not to mention that very few breeds are naturally house trained. Are you ready to face 8 accidents 4 times a day (that’s 32 messes)? There are also vet bills to consider. When you have multiple dogs, they often pass around illnesses. So you get to pay for medicine for all the dogs every time one puppy is sick. This can get very expensive very quickly.

Are you ready for those puppies to be the wrong breed? Unless you are very careful, your bitch may not give birth to pure bred puppies. Often, this makes the dogs hard to sell. Mutts are great dogs, but can have a hard time finding homes. Be ready for a disappointing surprise.

With all the reasons why you should have your dog spayed or neutered, is there a reason to breed a dog? Yes, to better the breed. Most breeds have health or behaviour problems. For example, Toy Fox Terriers tend to have bad knees. So if your Toy Fox Terrier has great knees and other attributes, adding her to other bloodlines would strengthen them. You want the healthiest dog that you can get, and the way to get that is to breed healthy dogs together. This is an excellent reason to breed a dog. If this is your case, you won’t have any trouble finding help, encouragement and homes for your puppies. Good luck.

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Author: National Missing Pets Register

Na, if I do decide to breed my dogs, I would want to keep them in the family. It would be disheartening for me to give one up anyway. Is that a good thing?

I used to have a female dog prior to the one I have with me now. We never breed her because my father said her body will be deformed once she gave birth so she remained single for 15 years of her life

(27-02-2007 11:30 PM)juol7 Wrote:  Na, if I do decide to breed my dogs, I would want to keep them in the family. It would be disheartening for me to give one up anyway. Is that a good thing?

If you are prepared to take care of more doggies, I think it's wonderful. What can be better than having around cute puppies, raise them, and then NOT have to give them away?