Before Breeding a Dog

Video Transcript

"Hi, my name is Pam Nichols. I'm with the Animal Care Center in Bountiful, Utah. I'd like to talk to you about a few of the things that you need to do to be a responsible pet owner before you breed your dog. It's really important to have a few genetic screens done, depending on the breed of dog that you're trying to breed, and it's really important that only the best temperamented dogs around are allowed to breed. And so, if your dog has any kind of social behaviors that are not acceptable; either fear biting, or separation anxiety, or anxiety in general, she's a barker, a digger, a chewer; those are all reasons to not breed your dog. We only want the best temperaments out there. The next step is to talk to your veterinarian. Your vet will offer a series of tests to decide if your dog should be bred. So for example, if you're breeding a Labrador Retriever, you might be testing for CNM, you might be testing for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, progressive retinal atrophy. There are a number of genetic diseases that really need to be screened out before you breed. All of those breed specific genetic tests can be found on the web at the CHIC website. It's chic.org, Canine Health Information.org. The CHIC website will offer for every single breed a specific list of genetic screens that should be done before that dog should be bred."