- 1.Care about each dog you bring into this world. Treat it as part of your
extended family when you place it in a new home.
- 2.Take positive steps to make sure the dogs you create will never land in a shelter or in rescue.
- •Make sure that you have homes for the puppies before the sire and dam ever meet. Require deposits to encourage commitment.
- •Interview interested parties to ensure they are a suitable match for the dogs you will be placing.
- •Be honest about the qualities of the dogs you are placing. Explain the good points, and the not so good.
- •Promise to take in, or help place, dogs or puppies you have caused to be created, no matter how old they are.
- •Remain available to serve as a resource, advise and support for typical problems encountered in raising, training and caring for your dogs.
- •Interview interested parties to ensure they are a suitable match for the dogs you will be placing.
- 3.Take positive steps to ensure that the dogs you produce are a source of joy, not sorrow.
- •Know the typical genetic diseases for your breed. Test for them, and do not breed a dog that may pass on serious genetic disease.
- •Do not let your love for your dog make you blind to your obligation to others. Your dog may be healthy, but may still pass on serious genetic disease. Do what you can to avoid causing heartache.
- •Do not breed your dog if you have no information on the health and fitness of both the parents of your dog. You need more than a single generation to make a good decision.
- •Do not let your love for your dog make you blind to your obligation to others. Your dog may be healthy, but may still pass on serious genetic disease. Do what you can to avoid causing heartache.
- 4.Make sure that the dogs you produce are capable of a full and happy life, sound in mind, body and temperament.
- •Understand that your love of your dog can make you blind to its faults.
- •Obtain an objective evaluation of the health and fitness of your dog by testing it in a manner appropriate to the breed, in some activity, e.g. obedience, agility, hunting, tracking, search and rescue, stockdog work, conformation, flyball . . . The goal is to increase the probablity that the dog will make a good companion by demonstrating skills taking intelligence, problem solving ability, dedication or persistence, bidability or desire to please, stability of temperament among other things, and showing soundness and physical fitness.
- •Even if you love your dog very much, and can forgive its faults of temperament, do not breed overly timid or agressive dogs. Most lead overly restricted lives, and many are killed long before their time, far better they never exist in the first place.
- •Obtain an objective evaluation of the health and fitness of your dog by testing it in a manner appropriate to the breed, in some activity, e.g. obedience, agility, hunting, tracking, search and rescue, stockdog work, conformation, flyball . . . The goal is to increase the probablity that the dog will make a good companion by demonstrating skills taking intelligence, problem solving ability, dedication or persistence, bidability or desire to please, stability of temperament among other things, and showing soundness and physical fitness.
- 5.If you don't want to have the same responsiblity for the progeny of your dogs then insist the dogs you produce be spayed or neutered. Remember, you are the one in control. You can require agreement by contract. If someone insists on irresponsbile breeding you don't have to be a part of it. Use your power of contract to educate, and to enforce, your role as a responsible breeder.
from "The Muppets Movie"
Consider The
Responsible Breeder
I think 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.
My Standards
And
What I Believe In:
Considering Getting A Dog? Another Resourse!
There are lots of different sources for dogs. The animal shelters are overrun with dogs produced by irresponsible breeders. I encourage most people to take a chance on dogs from shelters or from rescue. Many, if not most, can make wonderful companions. If, however, you really want a higher degree of predictability of temperament, health, working ability, size, coat and other factors you can increase that by seeking a well bred dog from a responsible breeder.These comments are just my opinion, as well as my personal experience with breeding Shih-tzu....think BEFORE you Breed!!
Fondly
Scarlett
There is no such thing as a *mini* Shih Tzu.
I don't breed "Teacups" or "Imperials" because they bring many health problems into the Shih Tzu breed. ASTC sent out a publication with their magazine about "Mini's, Imperials, etc." I think it would be worth your while, if you were thinking of getting a Shih Tzu, to go and read what the ASTC (AMERICAN SHIH TZU CLUB) site has to say about "Imperial" or "Teacup" Shih Tzu.
ASTC
The facts about "Imperial" or "Teacup" Shih Tzu
Ten Commandments For A Responsible Pet Owner!
1. My life is likely to last 10-17 years. Any separation from you will be very painful.2. Give me time to understand what you want from me.
3. Place your trust in me; it is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment. I have only you!
5. Talk to me even if I don't understand your words. I understand your voice and when it's speaking.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I'll never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, remember I have teeth that could easily crush the bones in your hand, but I choose not to bite you, because I love you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food; I've been out in the sun too long; or my heart may be getting old and weak.
9. Take care of me when I get old. You too will grow old.
10. Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say, "I can't bear to watch it" or, "Let it happen in my absence." Everything is easier for me if you are there. REMEMBER, I LOVE YOU.
Basic Breeding Principles
~Author unknown~
2. You can choose only two individuals per generation. Choose only the best, because you will have to wait for another generation to improve what you start with. Breed only if you expect the progeny to be better than both parents.
3. You cannot expect statistical predictions to hold true in a small number of animals (as in one litter of puppies). Statistics only apply to large populations.
4. A pedigree is a tool to help you learn the good and bad attributes that your dog is likely to exhibit or reproduce. A pedigree is only as good as the dog it represents.
5. Breed for a total dog, not just one or two characteristics. Don't follow fads in your breed, because they are usually meant to emphasize one or two features of the dog at the expense of the soundness and function of the whole.
6. Quality does not mean quantity. Quality is produced by careful study, having a good mental picture of what you are trying to achieve, having patience to wait until the right breeding stock is available and to evaluate what you have already produced, and above all, having a breeding plan that is at least three generations ahead of the breeding you do today.
7. Remember that skeletal defects are the most difficult to change.
8. Don't bother with a good dog that cannot produce well. Enjoy him (or her) for the beauty that he represents but don't use him in a breeding program.
9. Use out-crosses very sparingly. For each desirable characteristic you acquire, you will get many bad traits that you will have to eliminate in succeeding generations.
10. Inbreeding is a valuable tool, being the fastest method to set good characteristics and type. It brings to light hidden traits that need to be eliminated from the breed.
11. Breeding does not "create" anything. What you get is what was there to begin with. It may have been hidden for many generations, but it was there.
12. Discard the old cliché about the littermate of that great producer being just as good to breed to. Littermates seldom have the same genetic make-up.
13. Be honest with yourself. There are no perfect dogs (or bitches) nor are there perfect producers. You cannot do a competent job of breeding if you cannot recognize the faults and virtues of the dogs you plan to breed.
14. Hereditary traits are inherited equally from both parents. Do not expect to solve all of your problems in one generation.
15. If the worst puppy in your last litter is no better than the worst puppy in your first litter, you are not making progress. Your last litter should be your last litter.
16. If the best puppy in your last litter is no better than the best puppy in your first litter, you are not making progress. Your last litter should be your last litter.
17. Do not choose a breeding animal by either the best or the worst that he (or she) has produced. Evaluate the total get by the attributes of the majority.
18. Keep in mind that quality is a combination of soundness and function. It is not merely the lack of faults, but the positive presence of virtues. It is the whole dog that counts.
19. Don't allow personal feelings to influence your choice of breeding stock. The right dog for your breeding program is the right dog, whoever owns it. Don't ever decry a good dog; they are too rare and wonderful to be demeaned by pettiness.
20. Don't be satisfied with anything but the best. The second best is never good enough.
Important Breeder Links
 |
 |