White German Shepherd Dog
Copyright 2006 WGSDAV |
Breeding Ethics / Should you breed your dog?
BEFORE YOU
CONSIDER BREEDING YOUR DOG, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING Almost everybody loves puppies. Who could
resist that sweet puppy breath or soft, downy fur? Many
breeds in the past that have become popular have had inexperienced breeders
or puppy mills start breeding dogs who are not breeding quality to fulfill
the public demand. What this has done is created a large number of dogs for the
demand but at the expense of the breed itself and the families receiving
those puppies. The results are devastating with a large increase of genetic
defects and unstable temperaments which arise due to non-breeding quality
dogs being bred on by breeders who are inexperienced and make bad breeding
choices. De-sexing of puppies not only protects the buyer of an
unwanted litter and your puppy of possible cancers related to dogs being left
entire, but it is also a way to protect the development of the bloodlines for
future generations to enjoy. We are making our breeders responsible for only
selecting the very best dogs to leave entire and breed on from. Reasons People Should NOT Breed Their Dogs I want
another one just like my dog. I
want to make money. The costs of feeding the pups are huge!
Especially in an big litter. $100 per week is
average to spend on food in an average size litter. The puppies need their
first shots and microchips before going to their new homes (add $100 each pup
for this), the mother needs frequent check-ups to avoid infections and
mastitis, and heaven forbid if something goes wrong! It’s not out of the
ordinary to pay $50 for a vet, just for the consultation! Complications in
birth and pregnancies happen all the time. You could face losing your dog to
death, and all the puppies The $$$
Cost of Pups Pre puppy costs: Purchase of dog $800-1500 Equipment (bed, kennel, food etc) and
Maintentance (hydrobath/grooming/vaccinations/worming etc) $500 per year average Club membership costs: $20 per year (for single m/ship with our Club) Hip/Elbow scoring: $300 Ultrasound/x-ray to check for pups $150 Kennel prefix/kennel name registration $25 (with our Club) Travel (flight) to stud owner if not local $600 Progesterone tests to see best time for mating $50 per test (average a few tests!) Stud fee payable to stud owner $500-1000 Swab, health tests/anti biotics $150 Whelping box $500 Whelping equipment $250 Subtotal:
$3,600-4,800 When pups are born to 8 weeks
of age (assuming no complications that can range in thousands! i.e.
Trouble whelping pups, trip and consult to vet, emergency c-section,
mastitis, infection etc) Vet check on bitch and pups after whelping $80 Puppy formula $100 Vaccinations/Microchip (average sized litter) $600 Worming $50 Litter registration (average sized litter) $120 Feeding $800
Advertising the litter $50-600 Subtotal
$1,800-2,350 Before you
even sell any of the pups, you could be looking at spending $5000 to 6500!
Can you afford to outlay these costs up front? Importing frozen semen: To import frozen semen from overseas, add another
$2500 approx, per dog Frozen semen option: For all the tests and surgical procedure for
frozen semen, add another $1000 (which
does not always guarantee you a litter!) If you count all your time and effort raising the pups,
looking after them, making sure they all get a good feed, add $10 per hour
over period of at least 8 weeks! Also taking numerous phone calls with prospective puppy buyers
and making sure you feel confident that they can provide the best home for
your puppies, can be quite exhausting! The stress associated with whelping a litter for the first
time is enough to scare most breeders off. The blood, the impact it can have
on the bitch, fear hoping
the pups are going to be healthy and OK is quite scary! YOU WILL NEVER
MAKE MONEY OUT OF BREEDING IF YOU DO SO WITH THE DOG AND THE BREEDS BEST
INTERESTS AT HEART Whelping a
litter can put the bitch's life in peril from a dozen whelping related
diseases. Most of these diseases require that the Bitch be removed from the
puppies. This requires that you take care of ALL the puppies needs. This is a job which usually keeps the Bitch
occupied twenty four hours a day! If you cannot afford to give the puppies
this care, they will die! In short, it can be as much a lesson in death as it
is in life. Are
you prepared to get up every two hours during the night to feed all the
puppies? Awww, pups all nestled up next to Mom nursing
happily. This is the image most people have of what it's like to have a
litter of puppies. But what they don't see, or don't think about, is what happens
after those cute little puppies grow up a bit. Mum takes care of most of the
care (feeding/cleaning) for the first couple of weeks. After that it's up to
the breeder to feed them and clean up after them. A normal sized litter of
active, healthy puppies can produce a prodigious amount of waste and cleaning
is needed several times a day. Even if you have a strong stomach, it can get
every messy, tiring and unpleasant. Even under the best of circumstances
there is noise and odours to contend with. Will your neighbours and family
appreciate hungry screaming puppies at all hours of the day? I
want my children to witness the miracle of birth. The fear, and pain of whelping a litter has been
known to cause even the most placid and even tempered of dogs to panic and
growl, snap or even bite their owners when they attempt to assist a delivery.
This tends to be more common Along She's just so nice all my friends want
one of her babies and I want one just like her. Those friends who just have to have one of her
pups have a strange way of back peddling when the time comes to actually
purchase the puppy. And there's no guarantee that you'll have a puppy even
remotely like your dog or bitch. So is it worth all the expense to take the
chance? It's a lot cheaper to just go to a reputable breeder and buy another
dog! Puppies
are cute, there's always people who want puppies. She
should have one litter before she is spayed/he is altered. WRONG! There is absolutely NO medical, physical
or emotional reason that a dog or bitch needs to reproduce. More reasons What about sexually-transmitted diseases? That
stud dog you had picked out may have one. They are more common than you
think. How about genetic diseases? What about if one of
the puppies develops a genetic disease such as hip dysplasia, and the new
owner ends up taking you to court and suing you over it? 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 you know what diseases are common to the breed
and how they are passed on? Do you know what conformation is and how your dog compares to the breed standard? What diseases and faults are in your bloodline?
What bloodlines are out there that would be a good
mix for your lines that do not have the same problems. Do not breed your dog if you have no
information on the health and fitness of both the parents of your dog, and
its prospective mate. You need more than a single generation to make a
good decision. Research the pedigree for your dog (and any prospective mate).
Find out the health and temperament of your dog's siblings, half siblings,
cousins, aunt, uncles, parents and grandparents. The more information you
have the better quality decision you can make. Never
breed a bitch with a bad temperament i.e. that is shy/fearful or aggressive. Her
puppies will learn this behaviour from her from a very early age and will
also grow up with temperament problems. 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,
conformation, flyball . . . The goal is to increase the probability that the
dogs you bring into this world will make a good companion. You do this 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. There is no dog free of disease in any breed or
bloodline in the world. Actually, on average, your dog will carry at least 7
genetic diseases! That’s pretty high
odds! A person who cares about producing the very best
out of their puppies will limit their breeding. In most breeds that means no
more than one litter at a time because one litter is about all the time one
human has for proper socialization. Contribute to the future well being of the breed.
Support and participate in programs designed to collect and maintain
information on the health of the breed. The Genetics Project provides a tool
to better enable thoughtful breeders to spot and avoid problems. How does your dog compare to other specimens in
the breed? Have you had your dog evaluated by a knowledgeable breeder or
judge? You may think your dog is super and a great pet,
but more than likely it will have many faults and may not even resemble what
a good example should look like. Know
your breed before you breed it. Lots of research is needed to make a decision
whether you should breed your dog and if you can actually handle the work,
money and time. There are plenty of good "just pets" in the
shelters, if that is the best you can produce you aren't making the world of
dogs any better.
A bit about my first whelping experience After my first experience whelping a litter, I swore I would never do it again!
Before the due date, we had an x-ray done on the bitchs tummy so we knew how
many to expect (a good idea!). The first puppy was born at home at about 11am
and happened to be the largest boy out of the whole litter. Poor mum was
screaming with every contraction and when he came out, she didn’t want to
know him at all! I had to open his bag up, cut the cord and get him breathing
and dried off. After 3 were born, I knew we had to
expect at least 7 more. Time went by and the bitch didn’t show too much
interest in her pups which caused me to worry! We had to constantly tell her
to let the pups nurse. After about the third puppy, she bled a LOT-it was
dripping out everywhere! A panicked call to the vet confirmed that it is
fairly normal to loose about 1 cup and a half of blood. After nearly 2 hours and no pups or
pushing, I began to get worried (not that I really needed to because she
wasn’t pushing, which indicates a puppy is stuck in the birth canal). Off we drove to Monash vet
with the new born pups and a messy mum. After an internal and the vet not
feeling any puppies in the canal, the subject of a c-section was brought up
which made my stress so much worse! Knowledge of what can go wrong does not
help a stressful situation! A shot of oxytocin and 5-10 minutes
later, contractions start again the next puppy is born. Phew! The next 6
puppies are delivered by my partner and I in the
back of the vets in the cages. They were approximately 45 mins apart. It was
also great that mum had finally started caring for her puppies! It was good
to know the vets were in the next room should we need them! After all 10 were born, 5 boys and 5
girls, my partner, thought he felt another puppy inside her, which was
strange because the x-ray a few days prior to giving birth, showed 10 little
skeletons. I suggested it could be some of the afterbirth because many were
retained. He was certain it felt like a puppy though! So we decided to get
the bitch on the x-ray table and check. While the x-rays were developing, we
went back to quickly check on her and she had just popped the last puppy out!
When the x-ray was developed, you could see one more little baby to
come! It was the lucky last little
girl! Off we went home at about 8pm when the vets were packing up, with 11
healthy newborns and a great new mum. BREED WITH THE
BEST, LOVE AND TRAIN THE REST Reasons to desex your male Stop of the dog developing testicular or
prostrate cancer; Cheaper council registration; Prevent him from being upset and stressed if a
neighborhood bitch is in season. A male will smell this from a long way away!
Less prone to wandering and escaping / getting
hit by car; Less likely to develop aggressive tendencies and
fight other dogs; Less likely to mark his territory and peeing on
everything even in your house; So that he (and you!) will never be responsible
for a litter when someone is careless, leaves the door open and he's off to
mate HE won't care that he's been desexed,
he'll be much happier and more content without the stress of overactive
hormones that will never be satisfied. Common myths about desexing expelled
A
desexed pet will become fat. Pets
lose their personality after desexing. The
operation is painful. Females
should have one litter first Dumping puppies and kittens carries a penalty of
up to $1000. Apart from being inhumane, these animals could add to the stray
and feral dog populations. When should a male be bred?
When he has passed all the health screenings for
the bitch mentioned above. When you've decided if you can live When you are knowledgeable enough about
pedigrees, conformation, health and temperament to know if the bitch being
presented to him is a good match, or have a knowledgeable mentor who does. When you have the fortitude and tact to turn down
a bitch if you don't feel it would be a good breeding or if you don't feel
she's of breeding quality. |
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