To Breed or Not to Breed

by Karen Peak
View Biography

I am not even going to start hounding you on the millions of animals euthanized each year in shelters or that die on the streets. No one ever thinks this could happen to a litter they breed. I am going to tell you what makes a responsible breeder and the major effort that goes into ensuring the best, healthiest critters possible. Breeding is not just putting two cute dogs together and sixty-three days later you have cuddly pups. Responsible breeding requires work. It is not to be jumped into headfirst.

What a Responsible Breeder Does:

Knows the breed standard

Each dog has a standard accepted by a kennel club that states what the ideal specimen of that breed should look like. It covers fur to teeth, color to structure. A dog not fitting the standard will not be considered for breeding. Also, they get out and show the dogs. Just because you think the dog may fit the standard, does not mean it is a good breed representative.

Only by having the dog evaluated many times can you truly get a feeling your dog is breeding material - this goes for males and females (what a dog show does as well as other competitions such a Schutzhund - I highly regard a dog who has achieved a SchIII - field trials, lure coursing, etc.).

Even if a dog is top notch physically, meets the standard well, but has temperament issues (shy, aggressive), it will not be bred. Many breeders also want to prove their dogs have brains to match the beauty. There are various sports that test a dog's working ability. A dog should have both form and function.

Know the pedigrees

Just because two dogs are great specimens does not mean they are compatible. Not all hereditary problems are a simple Dominant/Recessive gene thing. Some require a combination of multiple gene sequences before being expressed. So, two dogs could have parts of these sequences and if bred, the problem could be expressed though there is no sign in either dog's background of the problem.

(Continued on next page)