How to Become An Ethical Dog Breeder

There is nothing easy about becoming an ethical dog breeder. However, it is rewarding if your heart is in the right place and you possess a certain level of common sense. I am the author of GUIDE TO ETHICAL DOG BREEDING and while I can't throw it all out there in a simple eHow article, I will attempt to give you a basic outline.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Research skills
• Ability to communicate well
• Dog safe environment
• Start up capital
• A great vet

1. Decide if breeding dogs is right for you.
   
   This is NOT a get rich quick scheme. If you go into this with the thought of simply making money, you will certainly fall flat on your face. I am not like the slew of other breeders out there and I will tell you like it is. It is possible to make a profit by raising dogs PROPERLY but it takes hard work and patience to get there. Raising dogs ethically will take a great deal of research, time, expense and total dedication to taking all the right steps.
2. Decide which breed is best for you.
   
   There are many factors to take into consideration. Please do not decided based on which breed you feel is the most physically attractive or sells for the most money. You will surely fail quickly if you do it that way.
   You must consider things such as your own personality; what breed will mesh well with you. Make a list and then start researching each one and then eliminating ones who have traits or risks your not willing to deal with.
3. Dealing with established breeders.
   
   You not only need to deal with them in order to get your first dogs but you will do well to attempt to convince at least one of them to mentor you. For this reason among many others, the wisest move would be to choose the breeder before you choose the puppy/dog.
4. Buying your first dogs.
   
   There are many decisions to be made when you decide you want to start breeding. You need to start out with the best possible dogs/lines that you can. You need to know what your looking for and what questions to ask.
5. Feeding your dogs.
   
   If your going to demand performance and production from your dogs they need to be in optimal health. This starts with a well thought out diet. You need to research canine nutrition now, not when you have dogs already ringing their dinner bells.
6. Vetting.
   
   You need to choose a good vet... a *breeders vet* and you need to have some inkling of the basic care your chosen breed will require and about how much this will cost you in maintenance. Then factor in that you are going to have costly surprises along the way if you choose to breed dogs. Plan for this ahead of time.
7. Grooming.
   
   Whether you wish to show or not, grooming is vital to any responsible dog ownership. Add breeding to that demand and you have more grooming responsibilities and likely more dogs to groom as well. This is not just brushing. This is proper coat and skin care, eye care, ear care, paw care, and everything else from anal gland cleaning to cleaning of the teeth. All directly effect your dog's health, not just their looks.
8. Housing your dogs.
   
   There is SO much to learn about housing your dogs whether you are keeping them in your home with you or if you plan to build a nicely run kennel. I'd be writing for a month if I were to explain each area of housing your going to need to research and decide upon. It's wise to get all this done before you attempt to go forward towards your first breeding.
9. Showing your dogs.
   
   You will hear it time and time again... "A good breeder shows their dogs". To this I say HOG WASH!! Total bunk! Many good breeders do not show for various reasons. This does not mean they do not have breeding quality animals worthy of being used to improve their breed.
   
   However... showing your dogs is a valuable tool towards your goal (or should be your goal!) of improving first your own line and second, the breed in general. Any breeder who doesn't consider it as a valued tool is a fool.
   But there is more than 'beauty shows' to consider as being valuable. If you have hunting dogs, hunt! prove them in that regard!; avid agility breed - compete in agility; carting breed - cart! Etc.. etc..
10. Then you need to know basic dog breeding anatomy and calendars. Hope you enjoy science!
11. Speak with your mentor, maybe even sit in on a few whelpings or ask the vet to watch c-sections. Then after you think your prepared for what can happen on whelping day... think again! Every single litter will be different. Some will have wonderful surprises but many will have their share of "Oh No!" moments. Try and be prepared ahead of time for such cases.
12. Raising the litter until they are old enough to leave your care is tedious, time consuming and can at times feel thankless, and expensive with shots, wormings, extra hungry mouths, etc. One thing that I say is when you have pet dogs, you own dogs. When you breed dogs they own you! Your time is no longer your own. You will need to dedicate 24/7 to their needs. Placing them first at all times. I, myself, spend the first 2 weeks day and night with my litters. Even sleeping on a cot next to them. After my many, many years of raising dogs, I assure you this is not for pure enjoyment of being their slave but because it's what is in the best interest of my dogs and for the litters I ASKED TO COME INTO THIS WORLD.
13. It may seem like the last step but now you need to learn how to properly advertise your litter. You won't want your hard earned new fuzzy pups to go to just anyone with an open wallet. Your going to need to know how to question them, field their questions, perhaps ship, and also how to nicely say no when your not comfortable with having one of your pups go live with them. This also means you need to be prepared long before they litter hit the ground that you could be raising each one of these puppies as your own ... for life.. and without resentment.
14. And finally, you need to be there for the life of that puppy even after they go live with someone else. After sale support hopefully for the next 10-15 years or so. If you do all these things properly, years later you will find yourself with a higher percentage of repeat puppy buyers than dealing with strangers as I am now blessed.
15. If you'd like to dive into more detail on all these steps and learn TONS of tips and tricks; check out my new book. Guide To Ethical Dog Breeding. See the links at the bottom of this page for a link.

Tips & Warnings

• If you enjoy the camaraderie of like minded folks who are totally passionate about what they do, this may be worth looking into for you.
• Attend handling classes.
• Attend dog seminars on reproduction, training, showing, etc.
• If you have a weak stomach, dog breeding is not for you.
• If you don't have the ability to take off approx. 2-3 wks from work or your everyday life, dog breeding will not work for you.