Responsible Dog Breeding.....
BREEDING THE ..."RIGHT WAY”? WHAT MAKES A RESPONSIBLE DOG BREEDER?
BACK TO BACK, WHEN TO START AND STOP BREEDING, BREEDING CHALLENGES, RETIRING AND REHOMING DOGS, WHAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE NUMBER OF BREEDING DOGS TO HAVE, LITTERS, RETIRING, BREEDING GOALS, LINE BREEDING/INBREEDING, AND BEST DAYS TO BREED.
Many "people" are quick to express their opinions on what are good or bad practices when it comes to breeding. Many of the most opinionated vocal people are ironically enough, Novice Breeders or Pet Owners that have never bred. Novice breeders tend to breed "by the book", or the way they are "told" or "heard" is the right way. Novice Breeders can quickly "parrot" what they have read on other Breeder's web sites, but when asked to clarify with their "rational" behind their thoughts, they are unable to.
Experienced Breeders: Make many discoveries and venture into new territory, helping others along the way sharing the knowledge that they have accumulated and the rationale behind how they gained their insights, in magazines, newsletters and or educational web pages where they are often invited to contribute.
Experienced and Reputable Breeders spend time and money, educating themselves, because they are willing and wanting to learn how to be better Breeders, how to better their breed and of course how to produce the next generation of quality pups for their breeding program.
Experienced Breeders know that the learning never stops and readily admit that they do not know everything and are open-minded enough to "continually" learn from others.
Breeder Goals: Some breeders are breeding to perfect type or color, qualities, temperament or health or working ability. Some Breeders put two dogs together for the long-term goal of using their own creative efforts. How far in advance and how much vision goes into some breeder's goals for their breeding program depends on many different beliefs, practices and directions they will take in order to best meet their breeding goals. As a result, not every breeder will breed the same way.
Challenges: Creative choices and breeders should be able to exercise their choices. As long as the mental and physical health of their dogs and puppies are ensured above all else. A breeder should be constantly improving and getting closer to the ideal, for their breed and what characteristics they are trying to achieve with their goals. Some breeder's achieve nothing with their dogs other than producing puppies and they feel totally justified in selling the pups for breeding purposes, to others. These breeders feel that as long as their puppies are selling, than this is good enough for them and it is up to the puppy buyers to decide.
Number of Dogs: Often "people" will site that how many dogs a Breeder owns will define a good or bad breeder. In reality no matter how many dogs a breeder owns, each and every dog should be well cared for and be mentally and physically in good condition which usually in itself, will self limit a breeder to a manageable number. In order to breed for improvement, a breeder MUST have more than a couple females to breed and should be breeding with the intention of keeping pups for themselves, for their breeding program. As a result a breeder will have a few females, in order to be breeding towards goals. Some breeders are also working on different lines, or colors which will mean them owning more dogs than someone working on just one line or color. Responsible breeders are breeding to better the breed and their lines, by keeping puppy(s) out of their breeding(s) to constantly improve on the next generation.
Rehoming Retired Dogs: Often breeders will have adult dogs that are done in contributing towards the Breeder's program. A good Breeder knows their limit. So often, when they have a retired dog they will want that cherished dog to enjoy the benefits of being in a home, where they can enjoy the "undivided" attention of a family and the new family benefits by not going through the trials and tribulations of puppy hood and getting a well-trained, beautiful and loving adult.
~Retiring a loving friend to another home is not an easy choice for any Breeder ~But being a responsible Breeder means always remembering what is best for their dogs at all times.
The number of dogs that a Reputable Breeder has or owns can constantly fluctuate, as will the numbers of litters they produce because reputable Breeders are constantly trying to achieve different goals towards improving their breeding lines.
Litters Produced: Often "people" will site that how many litters a year a breeder has, will indicate if a breeder is good or bad. In reality, all litters should be produced responsibly no matter how many litters are produced. This means that ALL pups must be mentally and physically in good condition, well socialized and have good loving homes lined up. Numbers of litters should not be a sign of a good or bad breeder. Rather the goals in producing the litters, the care and health of pups produced, the condition of the facility or home that the puppies are raised in, the condition of the pup's parents and the breeder's ability to have all the pups placed in quality loving forever homes should be indicative of the quality of the Breeder in question. Which again will usually in itself, will self-limit a breeder to a manageable number of litters that Breeders can properly raise and care for.
BREEDING BACK TO BACK HEATS: Breeder is breeding every heat cycle (back to back) or breeding every other heat cycle should NOT be a sign of a good or bad breeder. Rather the goals in doing the Breeding, the Mental and Physical state of the mom, the Breeder's ability to have loving homes lined up for all pups produced should be indicative of the quality of the Breeder in question.
~ In breeding there is no "cookie cutter" way to breed. ~
Research On Back to Back Breeding to Support the Science Recently at an AKC Dog Breeding Discussion held at Michigan State University with key note speaker Dr. Claudia Orlandi Ph.D. (AKC's breeder of the year and author of The ABC's of Dog Breeding) shocked many breeders when it was disclosed that there have been scientific studies to show that it is detrimental for dams to skip heat cycles. It was shared that once you have begun to mate a dam that you should NOT skip any heat cycles until she is completely finished breeding. A dam is said to be "finished" breeding when her litter size is drastically decreased. The study involved following females that were bred every heat cycle and females that were bred every other heat cycle. After they were "finished" breeding, the dams were spayed and their uterus dissected.
Those showing most stress, and damage of the uterus were the females that were bred "every other" heat cycle. Part of the rational that skipping heat cycles is harmful stems from the fact that with consecutive heat cycles there is no "flushing action" of the uterus, which normally occurs by having a litter of puppies. The female will go through Estrus no matter if she is bred or not and by breeding a healthy dam back to back, can lessen the chances of the female experiencing pyometra, infections and false pregnancy. The choice to breed or not, should be contingent upon the goals the breeder has and for sure the mental and physical health of the female, above all else. The important information to take away from this study is that a breeder with healthy females does have "choices".
What Age to Breed: Some people will say, "You should not breed a female before 2 years of age".
However many experienced Breeders, will bred healthy females at 1 year of age or a female's second heat. Many "experienced" Breeders believe that breeding when the female is mature will avoid Pyometra and fertility problems that can happen when the female goes through too many heat cycles and is not spayed, or not bred.
AKC registers litters from: Females 8 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC registers litters from: Males 7 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC considers these ages "acceptable practice." "Physically" a female should not be bred before she is physically mature.
Physical Maturity: Determining when physical maturity depends on when a female comes into heat or estrus. The magic age of "2" years of age came about when X-raying and grading hips through OFA began in an attempt to eliminate or reduce the chances of Hip Dysplasia being passed on to puppies from affected parents. In order to have a dog's hips evaluated and certified a dog must be 2 years of age on the day the X-ray is taken. This is the ONLY reason that 2 years of age became common practice and no other reason. Some females are mentally and physically ready to have pups at 1 year of age and some others not until they are 3 years or more.
Every female is different and it is up to all breeders to know their dogs and do what is best for them. A lot of breeders experiencing problems with conception or infections, because of letting their females go through too many heats without being bred.
WHEN TO RETIRE BREEDING DOGS
AKC registers litters from: Females 8 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC registers litters from: Males 7 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC considers these ages "acceptable practice".
Canine Reproductive specialists will say that a healthy female can be bred until the number of pups in her litters is drastically decreased. Some breeders spay their females after a certain number of litters have been produced or until they have reached their breeding goals with that female. Some other breeders have bred their females until a certain age. Experienced breeders have bred HEALTHY females at 8+ years of age. The choice to breed or not, should be contingent upon the goals the breeder has and for sure the mental and physical health of the female, above all else. So really, a Breeder has "choices" of what age they will breed their female(s) till.
INBREEDING, LINEBREEDING, OUTCROSS BREEDING: Inbreeding, line breeding or out cross breeding choices. In the 2000s, online pedigrees and COI programs became readily available to the public. COI stands for Coefficient of Inbreeding and is the calculation used to determine the level of inbreeding on an individual dog or puppy. The higher the number for COI the closer the dog or puppy was inbred. Public access to this information was met with great enthusiasm, with some Breeders deciding to avoid all Line and inbreeding, equating a litter with a high COI as being an undesirable breeding. Some breeders decided that knowing the COI on each of your proposed breeding was a valuable tool to consider but that it would not be the deciding factor in doing or not doing a breeding. Some breeders decided that they would construct a breeding, using the COI to find out if the breeding would be close enough on a common ancestor of merit, to enhance their breeding program, knowing that a higher COI on healthy lines could really bring forth desirable qualities. Online pedigrees and COI programs are a wonderful tool available to breeders, enabling them to make educated choices for their breeding program, however how well the knowledge is used, is limited upon the Breeders knowledge and experience.
~ GOALS, ARE WHY REPUTABLE BREEDERS, BREED ~
Goals are why all Reputable Breeders breed and how each Breeder attempts to get to those goals will differ greatly. I am sure most of us have had moments in our life where we have felt self-righteous, usually when we first start out breeding and were very naive, before we found experienced Breeders to use as mentors. We have looked at what someone else is doing with his or her breeding practices and thought "Wow how awful they are doing that" New Breeders learn fast that they do not know everything. They cannot possibly know what others are trying to accomplish in their breeding goals unless they ask, not judge. New Breeders usually learn as they make their own mistakes and mentally mature in the process usually eating a good helping of "humble pie" along the way. New and experienced Breeders should keep their minds open to learning opportunities, from where ever they come from, including breeders of other breeds, breeders of other species, but especially learning from those Breeders who have been, or are successful, in their breeding programs. Bottom line is that a Breeder cannot be open to learning, advancement or growth, if they are too busy being critical of those around them.
Breeder has also had to consider that "just because you can, doesn't mean you should". Breeders should use common sense and consider the short and long-term consequences for all their actions. By Tanisha Breton
BACK TO BACK, WHEN TO START AND STOP BREEDING, BREEDING CHALLENGES, RETIRING AND REHOMING DOGS, WHAT IS AN ACCEPTABLE NUMBER OF BREEDING DOGS TO HAVE, LITTERS, RETIRING, BREEDING GOALS, LINE BREEDING/INBREEDING, AND BEST DAYS TO BREED.
Many "people" are quick to express their opinions on what are good or bad practices when it comes to breeding. Many of the most opinionated vocal people are ironically enough, Novice Breeders or Pet Owners that have never bred. Novice breeders tend to breed "by the book", or the way they are "told" or "heard" is the right way. Novice Breeders can quickly "parrot" what they have read on other Breeder's web sites, but when asked to clarify with their "rational" behind their thoughts, they are unable to.
Experienced Breeders: Make many discoveries and venture into new territory, helping others along the way sharing the knowledge that they have accumulated and the rationale behind how they gained their insights, in magazines, newsletters and or educational web pages where they are often invited to contribute.
Experienced and Reputable Breeders spend time and money, educating themselves, because they are willing and wanting to learn how to be better Breeders, how to better their breed and of course how to produce the next generation of quality pups for their breeding program.
Experienced Breeders know that the learning never stops and readily admit that they do not know everything and are open-minded enough to "continually" learn from others.
Breeder Goals: Some breeders are breeding to perfect type or color, qualities, temperament or health or working ability. Some Breeders put two dogs together for the long-term goal of using their own creative efforts. How far in advance and how much vision goes into some breeder's goals for their breeding program depends on many different beliefs, practices and directions they will take in order to best meet their breeding goals. As a result, not every breeder will breed the same way.
Challenges: Creative choices and breeders should be able to exercise their choices. As long as the mental and physical health of their dogs and puppies are ensured above all else. A breeder should be constantly improving and getting closer to the ideal, for their breed and what characteristics they are trying to achieve with their goals. Some breeder's achieve nothing with their dogs other than producing puppies and they feel totally justified in selling the pups for breeding purposes, to others. These breeders feel that as long as their puppies are selling, than this is good enough for them and it is up to the puppy buyers to decide.
Number of Dogs: Often "people" will site that how many dogs a Breeder owns will define a good or bad breeder. In reality no matter how many dogs a breeder owns, each and every dog should be well cared for and be mentally and physically in good condition which usually in itself, will self limit a breeder to a manageable number. In order to breed for improvement, a breeder MUST have more than a couple females to breed and should be breeding with the intention of keeping pups for themselves, for their breeding program. As a result a breeder will have a few females, in order to be breeding towards goals. Some breeders are also working on different lines, or colors which will mean them owning more dogs than someone working on just one line or color. Responsible breeders are breeding to better the breed and their lines, by keeping puppy(s) out of their breeding(s) to constantly improve on the next generation.
Rehoming Retired Dogs: Often breeders will have adult dogs that are done in contributing towards the Breeder's program. A good Breeder knows their limit. So often, when they have a retired dog they will want that cherished dog to enjoy the benefits of being in a home, where they can enjoy the "undivided" attention of a family and the new family benefits by not going through the trials and tribulations of puppy hood and getting a well-trained, beautiful and loving adult.
~Retiring a loving friend to another home is not an easy choice for any Breeder ~But being a responsible Breeder means always remembering what is best for their dogs at all times.
The number of dogs that a Reputable Breeder has or owns can constantly fluctuate, as will the numbers of litters they produce because reputable Breeders are constantly trying to achieve different goals towards improving their breeding lines.
Litters Produced: Often "people" will site that how many litters a year a breeder has, will indicate if a breeder is good or bad. In reality, all litters should be produced responsibly no matter how many litters are produced. This means that ALL pups must be mentally and physically in good condition, well socialized and have good loving homes lined up. Numbers of litters should not be a sign of a good or bad breeder. Rather the goals in producing the litters, the care and health of pups produced, the condition of the facility or home that the puppies are raised in, the condition of the pup's parents and the breeder's ability to have all the pups placed in quality loving forever homes should be indicative of the quality of the Breeder in question. Which again will usually in itself, will self-limit a breeder to a manageable number of litters that Breeders can properly raise and care for.
BREEDING BACK TO BACK HEATS: Breeder is breeding every heat cycle (back to back) or breeding every other heat cycle should NOT be a sign of a good or bad breeder. Rather the goals in doing the Breeding, the Mental and Physical state of the mom, the Breeder's ability to have loving homes lined up for all pups produced should be indicative of the quality of the Breeder in question.
~ In breeding there is no "cookie cutter" way to breed. ~
Research On Back to Back Breeding to Support the Science Recently at an AKC Dog Breeding Discussion held at Michigan State University with key note speaker Dr. Claudia Orlandi Ph.D. (AKC's breeder of the year and author of The ABC's of Dog Breeding) shocked many breeders when it was disclosed that there have been scientific studies to show that it is detrimental for dams to skip heat cycles. It was shared that once you have begun to mate a dam that you should NOT skip any heat cycles until she is completely finished breeding. A dam is said to be "finished" breeding when her litter size is drastically decreased. The study involved following females that were bred every heat cycle and females that were bred every other heat cycle. After they were "finished" breeding, the dams were spayed and their uterus dissected.
Those showing most stress, and damage of the uterus were the females that were bred "every other" heat cycle. Part of the rational that skipping heat cycles is harmful stems from the fact that with consecutive heat cycles there is no "flushing action" of the uterus, which normally occurs by having a litter of puppies. The female will go through Estrus no matter if she is bred or not and by breeding a healthy dam back to back, can lessen the chances of the female experiencing pyometra, infections and false pregnancy. The choice to breed or not, should be contingent upon the goals the breeder has and for sure the mental and physical health of the female, above all else. The important information to take away from this study is that a breeder with healthy females does have "choices".
What Age to Breed: Some people will say, "You should not breed a female before 2 years of age".
However many experienced Breeders, will bred healthy females at 1 year of age or a female's second heat. Many "experienced" Breeders believe that breeding when the female is mature will avoid Pyometra and fertility problems that can happen when the female goes through too many heat cycles and is not spayed, or not bred.
AKC registers litters from: Females 8 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC registers litters from: Males 7 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC considers these ages "acceptable practice." "Physically" a female should not be bred before she is physically mature.
Physical Maturity: Determining when physical maturity depends on when a female comes into heat or estrus. The magic age of "2" years of age came about when X-raying and grading hips through OFA began in an attempt to eliminate or reduce the chances of Hip Dysplasia being passed on to puppies from affected parents. In order to have a dog's hips evaluated and certified a dog must be 2 years of age on the day the X-ray is taken. This is the ONLY reason that 2 years of age became common practice and no other reason. Some females are mentally and physically ready to have pups at 1 year of age and some others not until they are 3 years or more.
Every female is different and it is up to all breeders to know their dogs and do what is best for them. A lot of breeders experiencing problems with conception or infections, because of letting their females go through too many heats without being bred.
WHEN TO RETIRE BREEDING DOGS
AKC registers litters from: Females 8 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC registers litters from: Males 7 months of age until 12 years of age
AKC considers these ages "acceptable practice".
Canine Reproductive specialists will say that a healthy female can be bred until the number of pups in her litters is drastically decreased. Some breeders spay their females after a certain number of litters have been produced or until they have reached their breeding goals with that female. Some other breeders have bred their females until a certain age. Experienced breeders have bred HEALTHY females at 8+ years of age. The choice to breed or not, should be contingent upon the goals the breeder has and for sure the mental and physical health of the female, above all else. So really, a Breeder has "choices" of what age they will breed their female(s) till.
INBREEDING, LINEBREEDING, OUTCROSS BREEDING: Inbreeding, line breeding or out cross breeding choices. In the 2000s, online pedigrees and COI programs became readily available to the public. COI stands for Coefficient of Inbreeding and is the calculation used to determine the level of inbreeding on an individual dog or puppy. The higher the number for COI the closer the dog or puppy was inbred. Public access to this information was met with great enthusiasm, with some Breeders deciding to avoid all Line and inbreeding, equating a litter with a high COI as being an undesirable breeding. Some breeders decided that knowing the COI on each of your proposed breeding was a valuable tool to consider but that it would not be the deciding factor in doing or not doing a breeding. Some breeders decided that they would construct a breeding, using the COI to find out if the breeding would be close enough on a common ancestor of merit, to enhance their breeding program, knowing that a higher COI on healthy lines could really bring forth desirable qualities. Online pedigrees and COI programs are a wonderful tool available to breeders, enabling them to make educated choices for their breeding program, however how well the knowledge is used, is limited upon the Breeders knowledge and experience.
~ GOALS, ARE WHY REPUTABLE BREEDERS, BREED ~
Goals are why all Reputable Breeders breed and how each Breeder attempts to get to those goals will differ greatly. I am sure most of us have had moments in our life where we have felt self-righteous, usually when we first start out breeding and were very naive, before we found experienced Breeders to use as mentors. We have looked at what someone else is doing with his or her breeding practices and thought "Wow how awful they are doing that" New Breeders learn fast that they do not know everything. They cannot possibly know what others are trying to accomplish in their breeding goals unless they ask, not judge. New Breeders usually learn as they make their own mistakes and mentally mature in the process usually eating a good helping of "humble pie" along the way. New and experienced Breeders should keep their minds open to learning opportunities, from where ever they come from, including breeders of other breeds, breeders of other species, but especially learning from those Breeders who have been, or are successful, in their breeding programs. Bottom line is that a Breeder cannot be open to learning, advancement or growth, if they are too busy being critical of those around them.
Breeder has also had to consider that "just because you can, doesn't mean you should". Breeders should use common sense and consider the short and long-term consequences for all their actions. By Tanisha Breton
A good Breeder is committed from the moment the puppy is born... throughout the dogs ENTIRE lifetime...
FROM THE AKC: it's not unreasonable for a breeder to make a house call after the puppy has had time to settle in with its new family. Note for breeders: Important qualities to look for in potential puppy owners are interest and inquisitiveness about you and the dogs you breed. A person or family truly committed to responsible dog ownership will want to learn about the breed and how to care for it. Now comes the best part of being a breeder. (No, it's not putting away the newspapers and puppy food.) It's having those great families you selected call you with news of puppy's first lost tooth, veterinarian visit, first dog event, first win! (yes, it'll always be yours) smack in the middle. But now can come the worst part, too. It's the nice young couple who is divorcing and neither person can keep the dog. It's the distraught owner calling from the veterinarian with news of an unforeseen illness. Responsible breeders are there for all situations - both good and bad. They know they were responsible for this puppy being born, so they are responsible for it until the day it dies. They are willing to provide guidance and answer as many questions as they are asked. They are always concerned about their puppies. One breeder once said the most satisfying phone call she received came 14 years after she bred her first litter. The caller said one of "her" (the breeder's) dogs had died of old age. At that moment, the breeder knew she was responsible for bringing years of the same kind of love and joy she experienced from her dogs into someone else's home. www.akc.org
