Leave Dog Breeding to the Professionals

[Micheal Jorden]

Hip bone dysplasia. Deafness. Progressive retinal atrophy. Hard working liver shunt. Epilepsy. These are all canine diseases that can be passed, at least in part, through medicines in dogs. It's not easy to breed a kitty of puppies and be responsible for them. It's not easy to produce puppies that don't have diseases or health problems. In fact, to breed healthy puppies it takes breeders who are willing to spend the time and money to health test their dogs, go through genetic screening to eliminate health problems, and try to produce puppies in each generation that are free from disease.

What dog propagation isn't, or mustn't be, is simply putting two dogs together so they are able produce as many puppies as possible without thinking about the consequences. Reputable professional breeders do consider the consequences of their propagation decisions. That's why they carefully choose the mother and father of each kitty. They study pedigrees. They consider what each dog has recently produced to try to avoid problems.

Aside from possible health problems in the puppies there are the possible conditions that can always occur during whelping. Even the healthiest, most beloved female dog can experience problems during labor. Uterine inertia can cause a mother dog's uterus to stop pushing during labor, leaving puppies undelivered inside her womb. When this happens it may mean an unexpected emergency trip to the vet for an expensive C-section
itsaboutdog. A mother dog may develop eclampsia, an infection of the mammary glands, keeping her puppies from nursing. The breeder must hand-feed the pups at any hour or find a female dog that has lost a kitty to exchange the mother in feeding the pups. And, there is always the possibility that a mother dog may die during labor. It doesn't happen often, but it can happen.

These are some of the reasons why the average pet owner shouldn't engage in propagation their dog. It takes study to plan a propagation to avoid health problems in puppies. It takes money and work to health test the mother and father and other family members to make sure that they are healthy to breed. It takes more money to health test the puppies to see if they should be sold into pet homes. And, it's always a little frightening to actually do the propagation and go through labor with a dog because of the possible problems.

Not only if you are able to read and understand your dog's pedigree but you should have a good grasp of medicines before you ever think about propagation your dog. Dog medicines are as complicated as any mammal's, and maybe harder than some animals' because of the addition of coat color medicines. There are some 400 genetic diseases found in dogs! If you are interested in propagation dogs, there's a lot to know before you ever think about doing a propagation.

If you are interested in dog propagation you should read as much as you can about dog propagation and canine medicines. Read books on the possibilities of dog propagation and the practical issues with delivering and raising puppies. Before you ever think about propagation your dog you should have her evaluated by people who are familiar with your breed to see if she should be bred. You should have the normal health tests done for your breed. You should check the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals http: //offa. org/ to see which tests are recommended for your bred. Given that your dog passes all of the recommended tests should you consider propagation her. After that you will have to try to find a suitable mate -- one who in addition has passed all of the appropriate health tests. Then you can see how nervous it can make you to breed your dog and wait for a kitty.

If you're lucky and everything goes according to plan, you may have a kitty 63 days after the propagation (sometimes the propagation doesn't take). Sometimes you may lose some puppies. There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing newborn puppies. You may never know why they didn't make it. They may have been too small. They may have had canine herpes virus or some other mysterious virus in the whelping box. Even if you have your vet join in a necroscopy you may not get a response. But, with all of your hard work, you may have a kitty. By this point, though, you are continuing your journey to being a "professional" breeder. You have gone through the pains to prove it.