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 that conscientious dog breeders must accept.
Learning About Dog Breeding
Dog breeding is a very gratifying occupation if we study the breed of choice, make our breeding stock selections carefully, and apply good management techniques to our breeding program. Before beginning, we should learn as much as we can about the breeding process and raising puppies. As we study our particular breeds of dogs and what makes them great, we must also study the specifics of canine reproduction.
This book was designed to walk you through the many phases of breeding dogs in a generic way. We mention a few specific breeds as they relate to breeding or whelping problems, but our purpose is to educate you in every aspect of dog breeding, regardless of the breed you choose.
We have an ulterior motive as well. Sometimes, in spite of your best intentions, you find yourself with a pregnant bitch. She may be an expensive purebred, or a shopping basket give-away mongrel, but she is a well-loved member of your family. Quite by accident, your female puppy suddenly became a mature young lady who spent an adventuresome half hour romping in the park with some canine friends. A few weeks later it becomes obvious that she is in a “family way.” After consulting with a veterinarian (see Pregnancy Termination, page 74), you decide to accept the responsibility of raising a litter of unwanted puppies.
This book was also written for you. It discusses the prediction of whelping time, normal deliveries, whelping problems, and emergencies. Whelping assistance techniques are described. You are told when to observe, when to intervene, how to help solve a problem, and when to call professional help.
Owner Responsibility
No matter whether you are a professional dog breeder, a novice, a potential breeder, or a pet owner who is unintentionally thrown into the dog breeder class due to the indiscretion of your female dog, you must accept the responsibility to care for your dog and her offspring to the very best of your ability.
After accepting that precept, I offer you many years of practical experience and knowledge on the following pages.
Chapter 2
When to Breed
Seasonality of Heats
Canine reproductive biology is somewhat unique. The bitch is monestrous (having one estrus period each season), showing no seasonality of estrous cycles in most breeds. Unlike some wild carnivores, environmental temperature and climatic changes have little or no effect on domestic canine estrous. They may start their first heat period at any time of the year, whether kept in your home, outside, or in a kennel.
It is generally accepted among breeders and canine reproductive specialists that the preferred time to breed a bitch is two days after ovulation. As you will see, calculating that time in an individual bitch is not quite as easy as making the generalization.
Possible Breeding Times
Bitches can be bred during any normal heat cycle, including their first. It is a generally accepted precept that first-heat breeding is a poor practice, but sometimes it happens in spite of our good intentions. The best rule to follow when intentionally breeding a bitch is to be sure she is physically mature and mentally stable. That means she is over a year old, and depending on the breed, perhaps closer to two years, by which time she should be in her second or third heat period.
Most professional dog breeders do not include animals in their breeding program until they prove their superior qualities in bench shows or obedience competition. Working and hunting breeds likewise are rarely bred before they compete and win in the field. Certainly the overpopulation
