The Reality of Breeding Dogs

with the help of lots of other people.

ABSOLUTELY BRAND NEW! - and an Internet First! If you haven't ever bred before, we have put up a new section called "Virtual Breeding" where you can experience on line the ups and downs of breeding your pet. See what has developed in the life of one person who is new to breeding and her story about her dog. Click here to enter this unique experience.

Site objective: The objective of this site is to provide you with some information directly related to breeding dogs. It also contains information directly related to things you need to know before you breed, events that can happen as a consequence of breeding, and even includes a section on what items (as recommended by some very experienced breeders) you should have on hand during birth and afterwards, so that you can be best prepared. There have been a lot of knowledgable breeders spend many hours with me, helping to get this site together. So when you read this, you can be assured that this is not just my experience, but that of many of the top breeders of dogs around the world. If you are looking to breed dogs as purely a money making venture, I'm not sure that you'll like what you read here. I'm not going to say all the nice things here that you'd like people to believe. No, for some of you, this might be a harsh look at reality.

Common Reactions to browsing this site: I get lots of emails from people who have read this site, this is the thing they commonly say: "Wow, I didn't realise there was so much to learn about breeding dogs" "I'm pleased you showed us both sides of the story, as many people just like to tell you that breeding dogs is full of joy" "My bitch just lost all her puppies. I will never breed again. I wish I had read this site before I bred my bitch" "Just writing to let you know that my dog had her puppies. We lost two, but it was great that we have 4 live ones. It was a lot of work though." "I thought I would make money out of having a litter, but you are right - it's almost impossible to even break even."

Out of Scope: It is not the objective of this site to answer all your questions. This site should just be one resource you could use. I strongly recommend that you look at other resources, including other web sites, read books, read breed specific dog magazines, speak to your vet, and speak to experienced breeders.

Email List An email list has been created in June 2000, to bring together experienced dog people and new people, in order to collect the wisdom and by such, make things better for everyone, and most importantly, the dogs. May I be so bold to suggest that if you don't have time to join this email list prior to breeding, then you definitely don't have the time to breed a litter. If you would like to join this group as either a mentor or new person, please click here.

New Page If you'd like a simple, frank, and straightforward breeding faq (frequently asked questions) page, please click here. Let me know your questions that I can add to this page! Click here. But make sure I haven't answered it first in the faq. (If you email me a question that is covered in the faq, I won't reply.... and you'd be surprised how many people fail to check this page first!)

Reality check: Breeding dogs can be a wonderful event. You've got a great looking animal which is very special to you, and you have found a great looking mate who is also wonderful, and between the two of them, you reckon that you can produce some wonderful pups. Unfortunately, the reality of life is that while beautiful puppies can result, in a large number of cases events happen during the breeding of a dog that far outweigh the much wanted puppies. A lot of people think that breeders make a lot of money. And sometimes that thought alone is enough for some people to put their beloved friend at risk. This site will attempt to abolish this myth too. I'm yet to make money out of breeding, and am already several thousand dollars in the red. This page attempts to give an realistic picture of what breeding is about both the good and the bad sides. There are several consistent themes running regardless of whether or not the breeding of the dogs results in "success" - however that word is defined. These points include: When you breed your dog, you put her at risk Breeding your dog is a costly event, and you will most probably have more expenses than you will have income from puppies Regardless of how much experience you have, you can still have disasters Expect to have a number of sleepless nights Death of just one pup, even in a large litter, can be heartbreaking. Expect to take some time to get over that too. No vet is perfect. It is almost impossible to get a fading puppy to survive, and you can lose a whole litter to fading puppy syndrome.

Feeding your breeding bitch and stud dog: Ever wanted to learn more about what you should be feeding your bitch before, during, and after pregancy? Ever wanted to learn about feeding puppies? Ever wanted to learn what a stud dog should eat (whether he is a top winning show dog, or the dog who shares you lounge? Well then, perhaps you should join the BARF list. This is a list dedicated to feeding dogs the raw natural way. NOT using commercial dog foods.   barfers     Enter your email address:       A service provided by SmartGroups.com   On this list you will find out why commercial dog food are certainly not superior for your dogs. Even if you don't feed the BARF way, you can join and find out more about it. For more information on diet options, click here. If you already feed BARF and want to join the BARF web ring, click here for more information.

Hip Ratings: Want to know more about comparing hip ratings? Click here

Line Breeding If you wish to learn more about what line breeding is, and whether you should do it or not, click here

Points to think about before you breed This page looks at the sort of things that you should consider before you breed. For example, if you think that since your dog has testicles/uterus it has a right to breed, there are a few more points that you should consider.

So is having puppies, really a joy? This page, not written by me, gives a tongue in cheek account of the "joy of birth". If you think having puppies is easy, perhaps you should read this. Click here to read. Note: this page is not for squeamish people.

How much does it cost? How much should I budget for to raise a litter? The objective is to give her a realistic outlook on how much it costs a respectable breeder to raise a litter of pups. Hopefully, for those of you out there who think there is money to be made, this will actually give you some real facts.

Some real life breeding stories with some awful outcomes: This is the "wake up and smell the roses" moment. This is the graveyard section, in which breeders will detail the horrors that they have had to deal with. Get your tissue box handy for this section. The story of Maggie the airedale - tragic story The story of Bliss the boxer - 8 dead pups (the whole litter) The story of a Shiba Inu bitch with a difficult birth The story of a Group Winning Curly Coat Retriever - 5 dead pups, 1 dead mum, 8 hand raised orphans. The story of Tia the boxer - 2 dead pups, 5 survivors The story of Alcy the boxer - mum had no milk so babies were hand-raised The story of Winnie the mastiff The story of a special girl, a boxer - 1 dead mum, and five hand raised orphans Miracle Holly - these guys did everything right, and still they had a disaster. Read about Holly, the Siberian Husky, and her five pups.

Resources you may need for whelping: Items you should have on hand at least two weeks before your pups are due. I have also just included a section on other breeders tips, in which experienced breeders are encouraged to contribute. Please email me if you have something to contribute to this section. Links This section provides links to other pages that people have set up that provide more breeding information. Sheila Boneham's page, features Australian Shepherds, but is relevant to all breeds. Whelping information page by Cathryn Ochs-Cline. This page has some excellent information, provided by a very experienced breeder. If you like to send anything to me on this to add to the page, please email me .

Spaying and Neutering There are a heap of articles on the web abour spaying and neutering your dogs. Here's a couple of articles that I have written which explain it in very simple terms: Should I spay my bitch? Should I neuter my dog?

What have you learned If nothing else, after reading these pages, and you still decide that you want to take the breeding risks, at least you should be better prepared for some of the things that can go wrong. If by reading this site, that a dog that may have died, doesn't, or one unwanted litter of pups was not produced, than something has been achieved.

Additional Reading: And if you'd like to know about some of the books I recommend you read before you breed, I've set up a page for you to read. And if you order a book from here, all profits go directly towards health research.