Responsible Breeding
Know the facts
before breeding your dog!
It is extremely important to learn the facts and possible
consequences in advance if you are contemplating breeding your dog. In
today's overcrowded world, we, the wardens of our domestic pets, must
make responsible decisions for them and for ourselves. The following
points should be reviewed carefully.
**QUALITY**
Canine
Association registration is NOT an indication of quality.
Most dogs, even purebreds with papers, should not be bred. Many
dogs, though wonderful pets, have defects of structure, personality, or
health that should not be perpetuated. Animals used for breeding should
be proven free of these defects BEFORE starting on a reproductive
career. Breeding should only be done with goal of IMPROVEMENT - an
honest attempt to create puppies better than their parents. Ignorance
is no excuse - once you have created a life, you can't take it back,
even if deaf, crippled, epileptic, or a canine psychopath!!
**COST**
Dog
breeding is NOT a money-making proposition when done correctly.
Health care and vaccinations, diagnosis of problems and proof of
quality, extra food, adequate facilities, stud fees, advertising, etc.,
are all costly and must be paid BEFORE the pups can be sold. An
unexpected Caesarean or emergency intensive care for a sick pup will
make a break-even litter become a big liability. And this is IF you can
sell the pups.
**SALES**
First-time breeders have no
reputation and no referrals to help them find GOOD buyers.
Previous promises of "I want a dog just like yours" evaporate.
Consider the time and expense of caring for pups that may not sell
until four months, eight months, or more! What WOULD you do if your
pups DID NOT SELL? Send them to the pound? Dump them in the country?
Sell them cheap to a pet shop who may resell them to laboratories or
other unsavory buyers?
**JOY
OF BIRTH**
If
you're doing it for the children's education, remember the whelping may
be at 3 a.m. or at the veterinarian's office on the surgery table.
Even if the children are present, they may get a chance to see
the birth of a monster or a mummy, or watch the bitch scream and bite
you as you attempt to deliver a pup that is half out and too large.
Some bitches are not natural mothers and either ignore or savage
their whelps. Bitches can have severe delivery problems or even die in
whelp - pups can be born dead or with gross deformities that require
euthanasia. Of course there can be joy, but if you can't deal with the
possibility of tragedy, don't start!
**TIME**
Veteran
breeders of quality dogs state that they spend well over 130 hours of
labor in raising an average litter.
That is OVER TWO HOURS PER DAY, every day! The bitch CANNOT be left
alone while whelping and only for short periods for the first few days
after. Be prepared for days off work and sleepless nights. Even after
delivery, the mother needs extra care and feeding, and puppies need
daily checking, weighing, and socialization.
Later, grooming and training, and the whelping box needs lots of
constant cleaning. More hours are spent doing paperwork, pedigrees, and
interviewing buyers. If you have any abnormal conditions, such as sick
puppies or a bitch who can't or won't care for her babes, count on
double the time. If you can't provide the time, you will have either
dead pups or poor ones that are bad tempered, antisocial, dirty, and/or
sickly -hardly a buyer's delight.
**RESPONSIBILITY**
It's
midnight - do you know where your puppies are?
There are THOUSANDS of unwanted dogs put to
death in pounds in this country EVERY YEAR, with thousands more dying
homeless and unwanted through starvation, disease, car accidents,
abuse, etc. Nearly a quarter of the victims of this unspeakable tragedy
are purebred dogs "with papers." Any breeder who creates a life is
responsible for that life. Will you carefully screen potential buyers?
Or will you just take the money and not worry if the puppy is chained
in a yard all of its life or runs in the street to be killed? Will you
turn down sales to irresponsible owners? Or will you say "yes" and not
think about the puppy that you held and loved now having a litter of
mongrels every time she comes in heat, which fills the pounds with more
statistics - your "grandpups?" Would you be prepared to take back a
grown puppy if the owners can no longer care for it? Or can you live
with the thought that the "baby" you helped bring into the world will
be destroyed at the pound?
***PLEASE THINK
CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO BREED YOUR DOG***
Permission is
granted to copy and share to anybody
who wishes
to help educate people about responsible breeding)
Contact & Inquiry Info
Fran Hussey-Allen
Email: lareine@westnet.com.au
Brags
Congrats
to Fyreburst Femme Fatale on her recent BOB win at the Sydney Royal.
"Cricket" is a grandaughter of CH Llancarfan Arctik
Gold.
Congratulations
to Hero (CH Llancarfan Arctik Hero) and Siska
(CH Llancarfan Before
Dawn)- #1 and #3 Mittels for 2007!
Congrats
to Milo (CH Llancarfan Milo)- #1 Mittel Puppy
for 2007!
Puppy News
Our next litter is in the
works! Check out the puppy page for details
- this should be a really special litter!
Jaffa's puppies have
gone to their new homes, but you can still view photos on their litter page
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