How to decide whether to Breed Your Dog

How to decide whether to Breed Your Dog

You have probably read enough on the subject and seen all the reasons not to breed your dog. The main reason being, there are so many dogs in need of a home already, and that is so true and something to take into consideration. There are definitely pros and cons and after reading this article, hopefully your final decision will be clear.
Take into consideration the economy. As you know is not the greatest. Do some research on your breed of dog and see what the current asking price is, and see that the dogs puppies are actually selling. You can look in your local newspaper for puppies for sale (or even online in the classified ads.) Find your breed of dog and read the ads. If the puppies are 3 months old, they may have not been selling. If the price is low, they may not be selling. Feel free to call ads if you want to.

Make sure your dog is healthy and mating her would better the breed.

How to decide whether to Breed Your Dog, Finding a stud

Find a stud.
You can call your local vet and ask if they know of any Stud services for your breed of dog. They normally keep a list. If our vet does not know of any, call all the vets near you.
Call the stud owners.
See what their policy is and what their fee is. Ask what happens if your female does not get pregnant.
For the most part, you will bring your female dog to them 8 days after they start bleeding. This is on average, they may have you bring your dog to the vet for a test and an exact day to bring your dog to them. They may breed on that day, skip a day, breed again the next day, skip another day, and then breed one more time. Again this is just an idea for you. All dogs are different, and the days they can get pregnant vary. The test at the vet is a good indicator of when to breed, and if you have a good stud, he will breed when the female is "ready."

How to decide whether to Breed Your Dog, artificial inseminating

Your other option is to artificially inseminate.
This is alot easier than you may imagine. The vet does this at his office and extracts the semen from the male and simply puts it in the female, she is awake and it is not painful at all. Simply done is 5 minutes.
Prepare for the puppies. Approximately 60 days after her first breeding you can expect puppies.
You may choose a C section or deliver puppies on your own.
If you deliver puppies on your own, please have two of you there and atleast one of you with experience. The female dog sometimes needs help and you want to be prepared for any problem or issue that may arise.

After delivery, you will want to take Mom dog in that day for a shot to expel any afterbirth left in her still. This is a must do, you do not want her to get an infection.
Taking care of the newborn puppies.
You want to weigh the puppies 2 times a day to make sure everyone is gaining weight. If a puppy is not gaining weight properly, you will know immediately and be able to make sure the puppy is nursing correctly and not getting pushed off by other puppies.

How to decide whether to Breed Your Dog, The Big Question
Do you have time? 


We have English Bulldogs we breed. I work from home, so when we have puppies, I put my work to the side and focus all my attention on the puppies. If your female has a small litter and the puppies are all well besides cleaning the area, you should not have to do too much the first couple weeks. Everything does not always go that easy. Our Jordin has big litters. I actually sleep in a bed right by them and get up every two hours to make sure everyone is eating.

If you have a large litter of puppies, you may want to do groups. Separate the puppies into 2 groups. Make sure you remember who is in which group so no-one gets left out. Maybe Girls are group 1 and Boys are group 2.
 You may also have a sick puppy you need to nurse. If you are not home and have 24 hours a day to take care of puppies, do not breed.

How to decide whether to Breed Your Dog, The work begins
At about 4 weeks (depending on your breed of dog) you will start introducing food. If you will be using Puppy Chow, Mix Puppy chow with nursery water in your blender. At first you will need more water than puppy chow. Mix well so there are no lumps at all.
To begin, you may need to put the puppy chow on a very flat dish, maybe a plate, and put it on your finger. It is a gradually process, but in a few days they will be eating on their own and not off of your finger. You can also introduce water in a separate dish. All puppies are ready for this step at different times, so you may find half of your puppies are ready and the other need a few more days of just Mom's nursing. Gradually as the weeks go on you can add less water. You will soon be able to put Puppy Chow just soaked in water and not mixed, and by 7 1/2 weeks they should be able to eat the puppy chow on their own.

How to decide whether to Breed Your Dog, Keeping the area always clean!

Along with the feedings comes the POTTY! Yes, as should be feeding the puppies 4 times a day, spread out, every 3 to 4 hours, you will also have to clean their bedding and all their potties 4 times a day. It is a job in it's own. At about 7 weeks you will take all the puppies in for their first round of shots and deworming.

Selling the puppies.
You can place an ad in your local newspaper or make a website. Print up a receipt for the new owners and sell your puppies to local folks only, do not ship. Unfortunately, this day and age their are many scams. DO NOT accept any form of payment other then cash. Meet the new families and be choosy. You have raised these puppies with complete love and chances are you may get attached to them. make it clear in your ads you prefer to sell your puppies to families without small children, that may be too rough with puppies. Also prefer that someone will be home and both parents will not be working. A dog should be part of one's family and tending to NOT locked up all day long and NOT left outside. Be strict! Send the new owner with a receipt and a bag of Puppy Chow. If your dog is AKC, make sure to send them with their AKC registration. (If your dog is AKC, 2 weeks prior to them ready to leave, go online and fill out the paperwork. they should get mailed to you in 5 to 7 days.)