The Complete Book of Dog Breeding. Dan Rice
language, covers all aspects of breeding and raising dogs.
By definition, a breeder is “one who is engaged in the breeding or propagation of a specific organism.” This book is intended to inform and assist four different groups of people, described below, all of whom may be considered dog breeders or potential dog breeders.
Note: Webster’s dictionary defines bitch as a female dog. It is so used throughout this book as generally accepted canine terminology. Don’t be offended by it. Also, graphic details of all aspects of canine reproduction are discussed, including the breeding act, male and female genitalia, parturition, cesarean sections, and other similar topics.
• Experienced, established dog breeders will benefit from reading this book. It will update their knowledge and provide new ideas and concepts. Breeding soundness examinations are covered to remind you of proven, fundamental ideas and techniques that may have fallen into disuse. Professional dog breeders, kennel operators, dog handlers, and trainers will all benefit from the information contained herein. Those of you who produce and sell puppies should consider sending a copy of this book with each puppy raised and sold. It covers the benefits of spaying and neutering, puppy and adult diseases, and vaccinations.
• Novice dog breeders will find a wealth of information about breeding animal selection and how and when to breed them. You will acquire important knowledge about canine estrous cycles, infertility problems, and natural and assisted breeding as well as normal whelping, dystocia emergencies and how to handle them, and the care of newborn puppies. A special section is devoted to raising orphan puppies. Sections of the book cover nutrition of the brood bitch before breeding, during breeding, while nursing, and when weaning puppies. Puppy nutrition and how to start them on solid food is also discussed. Other sections explain pre-breeding examinations, vaccinations, general health of breeding animals, health emergencies, and medical problems associated with dog breeding.
These two healthy German Shorthair puppies are waiting for a hunting home.
• Dog owners with accidentally or unintentionally bred dogs will find this volume invaluable. You may be one of those (sometimes frantic) readers looking for help in caring for your family pet who capriciously entertained a suitor one moonlit night. These pages are filled with information relative to pregnancy determination and termination. Risks and benefits are weighed, and guidelines are established for making informed, appropriate decisions. You will discover how to make the best of an accidental and perhaps undesirable situation.
• Potential dog breeders and dog lovers of the world who are not currently involved with dog breeding—even those of you who don’t own dogs—will find interest in this book. Perhaps you are considering purchasing a dog and want information about breeding. Or maybe you are planning to purchase a show dog and want to know more about raising puppies. This book will satisfy the academic and practical curiosity of all those who are interested in breeding dogs.
Pet Stewardship
Pictographs on prehistoric cave walls illustrate the association of humans with wolves. Over the course of untold centuries, those tractable canines (wolves) and their progeny were tamed and domesticated to assist human beings as companions, meat hunters, home protectors, and flock herders. Those canines, possessing slightly less intelligence than the humans they assisted, accepted a subordinate family or pack role, and eventually became dependent upon humans for all their needs. Responsible CEOs of those human packs accepted their roles as alpha leaders of both their human and canine dependents.
Modern mankind realized the value of our canine associates and by selective breeding, continued to fine-tune those malleable wolf descendants to meet humans’ needs and desires—in both form and function. We now enjoy our selective breeding efforts of the canine and take pleasure in the many different dog sizes, shapes, colors, and functions that we have created. Thus we are responsible for what we have developed, and we must be judicious stewards of our canine friends. We must love, nourish, protect, train, and control them to maintain our mutually advantageous and symbiotic lives.
Animal husbandry is among the oldest professions in the world. Management of animals has always been, and continues to be, of great concern to all cultures in every country.
When we think of our responsibility to manage the world’s animals, our first thoughts might be of domesticated meat, milk, wool, and leather-producing animals. If conservation minded, we might also reflect on the many threatened and endangered wild species. Those are certainly very serious considerations for all of us, but of equal importance is the stewardship of our pets.
Overpopulation
The American Veterinary Medical Association estimated the United States pet dog population to be more than 60 million in 2006, which had risen from 52.5 million since 1991.
The actual numbers of American dogs that are humanely put to sleep (euthanized) every year are not readily available. However, the American Humane Association estimates that 9.6 million small-animal pets are euthanized annually in American shelters. Those figures do not reflect the hundreds of thousands of abandoned and unwanted American pets that die because of accidents or neglect or are destroyed by irresponsible owners. Those figures are overwhelming!
The thought of arbitrarily killing millions of helpless, harmless, loving pets brings tears of anguish and roars of indignation to our country’s animal-loving population. Who can change those horrible statistics? You and I.
How can we change them? By applying wisdom we all possess, specifically, by exercising common sense in our management of pets.
Reasons for Breeding
Most dogs should be neutered before they reach breeding age. Only a select few should be bred, and then only when the breeder accepts responsibility for placing the offspring into carefully selected, loving homes where they will be properly cared for. Unfortunately, most dogs euthanized are adults. Some people love furry little pups, but fail to establish long-term relationships, and are anxious to be rid of them when they reach adulthood. That is especially true in large breeds.
Miracle of Birth
The poorest reason I ever heard for breeding a pet bitch was “to give the children firsthand knowledge of the miracle of birth.” In fact, more information can be obtained from videos and books that offer professional explanations of the process. The limited impression of a few moments of reproductive education obtained by watching the birth of a puppy is not likely to earn a lofty place in a child’s memory bank.
Economics
As most conscientious professional dog breeders will affirm, there’s not much profit in producing top-quality puppies. Even popular purebred puppies, produced from carefully selected parents, are often difficult to place in appropriate homes. Producing healthy, strong puppies, whether purebred or mongrel, is expensive business. The necessary investment in food, health care, including vaccinations, and time is rarely recovered. As a fulltime business, purebred dog breeding might show a modest profit, but as a hobby or sideline, it rarely does.
Dog Competitions
Breeding purebred dogs can’t be separated from showing your breeding stock. Exhibiting and competing in contests of many varieties, such as weight pulling, tracking, obedience, herding, and conformation classes are among the greatest ways to share your time with your pet. Those exhibitions and competitions are intended to showcase the finest characteristics of dogdom. The winners exemplify the best of the best. Dog shows, obedience trials, field trials, and other competitions are the best possible places to see the finest dogs of dozens of different breeds, but dog showing is expensive! The cost of exhibition of potential breeding stock is a necessary overhead expenditure