Read About the Dog's Heat Cycle  

 

Making Money   Breeding your female dog, and doing it right, can be an expensive enterprise. By the time you've picked out a good animal, waited for her to grow old enough, which is a minimum age of two years before breeding, then picked out the best dog to mate her with, gone through all the health checks she needs, ensured that the stud-dog you want to use also passes the same health checks, and has an acceptable history, you have invested a lot of time and effort. You still have to pay a stud fee, or offer the dog owners a 'pick of the litter'. A stud fee, especially for a large dog, could be as much as $1,000.00 or £5-700.00 - Premium Cost.  And of course you have the potential extra expenses during pregnancy. Not forgetting extra food and nutrients for your dam. You have the time and expense of whelping.      Thoroughbred - But with no Pedigree Of course you may not have papers for your dog, the Pedigree and it might even be a proper mongrel - a dog of no definable type or breed, and you want to breed it.  We will not judge or give opinion on whether this is good or bad. For the sake of dogs in general though, try to prevent your female dog from becoming pregnant if it is not what you, as an owner, has planned.  If your dog is definably of a particular breed, a thoroughbred, but without pedigree, you will not be able to sell the puppies for any premium, even though it would appear and be the truth that its lineage goes back many generations, uninterrupted by any other type of dog. It would not be worth paying a premium stud fee, as the puppies would have no papers. Prior to getting another dog of your dog's breed to mate, get a finite figure sorted out, as to what you will pay for any 'stud-fee'. This is usually the cost of one of the puppies, or a 'pick of the litter'.   A thoroughbred puppy, but without papers will sell for about a third of what you could expect for a dog with documentation. A mongrel per se, maybe impossible to sell and might sell between zero to a tenth of the cost of a premium dog.          The Stud Fee A stud fee is proportionate to what you can offer.  It is based on a puppy cost.  For a stud-fee expect the pick of the litter or the cost of the first puppy sold. A very good dog, that is a one with a champion pedigree could command £1000.00, OR $2,000.00,  as a puppy might sell for this. For a good large dog, with papers, expect £500 - £700 OR $1,000 - $1,400, for stud fee cost of puppy. In the case of a breeding with a similar good bitch without papers of similar markings,  and temperament might have puppies that could sell for £250 - £350. OR $500.00 - $700.00. However, this is no means a guide and many quite good dogs sell from nothing to whatever you can get. Advertise in your area, your dog - Whatever it is, being totally truthful - as a good for stud with / without papers. If you get a reply, do not mention fee but state you want the cost of the first puppy sold. Mention that ALL other cost are down to the bitch owner. Write a contract stating all this and get the owner to sign it.  If they sign contract put into contract that you will visit them up to three times, over a 5 day period. This will not only increase likelihood of pregnancy but puppy count, thus paying for your services without any visible loss to them. Make sure the other owners look kosher, and that the living conditions are clean and reasonable.  Of course if you can get the money after the job is done all well and good. YOUR MALE DOG AS A STUD Please note, as hard as it maybe to believe, it is extremely problematic to come up with a top quality stud dog, that dam-owners want to use. After all, they will look around and pick out the best stud-dog they can find. So your boy has to be pretty impressive to be noticed in the competition. Your male should be in top condition, to stand a chance. He should be certified clear of joint problems, so that means he has to be over 24 months old.  He should be free of any abnormalities that plague his breed. His eyes should be checked annually, and they should be clear and bright. No heart problems, having no seizures, or thyroid problems, etc. He should be clear of Brucellosis. His temperament should be good, and appropriate for his breed.  If you have such a dog, you will need to get your dog well known. This generally involves showing your dog off, by showing him. An unproven dog, that has not sired a previous litter will command a much lower stud dog fee than a proven dog, with a history of providing good offspring.

 

 

© Copyright  Roy G Symonds  2005/

 

 

Breeding Opportunities    Preferably, a female-dog should only be bred every other year and she should not be bred until over two years of age. The estrus show after the second birthday is a good one to start with; certainly no earlier than this. You should have noted her previous estruses and be organized. In some breeds, you may have to wait another season before commencement. By this time, she is better prepared mentally and physically for having puppies, more so than she would have been in her first few seasons. Her physical growth should be concluded and pregnancy should not endanger her health so readily, but this is provided that she is healthy to begin with. [ In breeds with a propensity to Hip Dysplasia, many people wait until after two years of age so that the parents can be certified or checked by a Vet. ] The rate of recurrence of breeding must be kept as low as possible. Even at most, you want to allow at least one clear non-breeding season between mating attempts. This will allow your dam to rest and recapture her strength and ability. A mother that whelps too often can produce weaker, sickly puppies who will be more likely to die before and after birth. Too many pregnancies in any animal are dangerous to general health. For males, they should have all the documentation required to confirm pedigree and health, and if both sire and dam are over two years old, everything should be in place. A male can actually breed at almost anytime, unlike bitches; in nature evolution has not prevented this as generally older more mature dogs will not allow young animals, to mate, but this will not stop them trying. Frequency for the male in most animals is not generally a problem, although high mating will reduce sperm production. If a dog mates everyday over a long period, they might not produce sufficient sperm to impregnate, as time goes on. If you own the female, it might be a good idea, to negotiate, if practicable, that the dog mates with your dam, three times over a 7 - 8 day period. But make sure that the dog is not being mated with any other dam at this time, or any reasonable period before. This practice might add extra puppies to your litter.   A short period prior to mating, both the male and female must be fed extra vitamins and mineral supplements, and as much as they can eat of top quality food.   Heat Cycle

Temperament    Whilst we believe that a lot of temperament problems are through nurturing and conditioning, caused by the lack of good training, nevertheless, there are inherent traits in some animals that cannot be trained out. And we do not mention any particular breed here. ALL DOMESTIC DOGS have members of their group who are as placid and well behaved as any other group, but then every type of dog has its rogue element as well. Read About Wild African Dogs So never breed any animal that has temperament problems. This has been the cause of much of the degeneration of many breed's general temperament. If you consider that your animal is untrustworthy around people; more than usually aggressive to people, uncontrollably excitable, or is a fear-biter, do not breed it.  If also it is shy or overly submissive, again do not breed this dog as you may pass on these traits. Look for a happy, confident and obedient animal, one that has a shiny coat, a wet nose, a spark in its step and is outwardly a friendly dog. Such breeds like the Rottweiler, whilst having a reputation for being aggressive are not. ALL DOMESTIC DOGS, Species Canis Familiaris, can be vicious and aggressive. You should bring your dog up, repressing any aggression, and promote friendliness and obedience. Any dog's natural ability to guard and protect will come out when the need is there. Of course, some types due posses greater guarding abilities but most any dog is very much like another.   Species   -  A unit of classification of animals and plants. Individuals of the same species / genus can breed among themselves, producing fertile offspring that resemble the parents. Some species are divided into subspecies and varieties. Breeds of domestic animals and cultivated varieties of plants have been developed by man and are derived from wild species. All breeds of domestic dog, for instance, belong to the same species -    Canis familiaris  -   and can breed together.

  

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PEDIGREE    As far as pedigree is concerned you should be aware of your own dog's lineage, and you will have to decide what you want your puppies to be. Do you want the father to be of champion stock or just some run of the mill mutt.  I will not preach here about this, it is up to you.  But if you have paid a premium for your dog and spent a small fortune getting her ready for this stage, now is not the time to starts cu