# Breeding my Service dog...thoughts?



## My friend Steve (Aug 1, 2013)

I have finally decided to breed my service dog. I purchased Liska in 2013 following a TBI injury in 2010. She came from the Czech Republic and is an awesome GSD. She now performs seizure predict/response duties and is amazing, prior to having her I had received several injuries resulting from falls. This is not an easily trained skillset for a dog and I want to perpetuate her bloodline in hopes of stacking the odds in my favor when she becomes older and retires when I find myself needing another service dog. My issue is she is now 6 yo and far from retirement, but at the age where breeding can take place. I want access to her bloodline. I was hoping to home the puppies as it will help recoup some of the cost for my dog, I have a substantial amount invested in her and it is worth every penny. However I am hoping to place a couple of puppies in homes with the condition that I may have access to a future offspring of the puppy when it is time to train a new service dog. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation or have input? 
Thanks for your time,
Shawn


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## ausdland (Oct 21, 2015)

Yes and I've decided not to do it. Leave it to professional breeders. There is a lot to be said for W/L GSD's that are health tested, IPO titled and breed surveyed. Do you know 10 people that would definitely buy a puppy from you? Can you accept a returned puppy(s) for health or behavioral reasons?
She looks gorgeous and sounds like an excellent service dog.


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

Have you contacted the breeder you got her from? I would do that before I did anything else. I can understand wanting a puppy from your current service dog to one day follow in her footsteps. That said, please think carefully about breeding her. It can be extremely dangerous. How would you feel if there were complications with the pregnancy or birth and she died? That isn't unheard of. Have you considered the fact that she will not be able to work for you toward the end of her pregnancy or for a while after the birth? Has she had any health tests done? It sounds like her temperament is great. Do you have a pedigree we can see?

My golden retriever came from a situation exactly like this. Her mother was an amazing service dog for a little girl that had a lot of issues. With the help of their breeder, they bred her and sold the puppies. They kept one female for themselves. While my golden is great, she has developed quite a few health issues. Those health issues have caused temperament issues. Please be sure to get the appropriate health tests done before you breed your girl. If everything checks out, find a good breeder who would be willing to mentor you and help you along the way.

Good luck!


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## dogbyte (Apr 5, 2002)

My 2 cents...Are you willing to lose her having pups? It is not super common but it does happen. And what will you do for a service dog while she is out of "service" when the pups are young? Health testing like hips/elbow/DM done? I know how it is to love a dog and think they are worth breeding..but to think you may recoup some of your money is not the reason..Cost of stud....possible c-section and no live pups...feeding and caring for pups....She is a beautiful girl.....but think really hard and listen to some of the already posted great advice.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Imagine 3 years from now your puppy buyers move, have kids, get divorced and no longer want to own the dog. So they drop their untrained dog off on your doorstep, without warning. Or 5 years from now other puppy buyers cannot afford needed vet care and bring the dog back to you to deal with. Yet other adopters screw up their dog with bad training, and you get back a highly dog reactive mess. And on and on. It really does happen!

Or worse: Imagine that one day, I call you from the other side of the country reporting that a dog you once bred far, far away, many years ago is now in our rescue, pulled out of one of our high-kill shelters, with mange, heartworms, and a slew of serious health issues. We traced it back to you through surrender paperwork or a microchip. If I ask you to take responsibility for bringing the dog home and caring for it, do you have the means to do that? Good breeders really do! If one of theirs somehow ends up in a shelter or rescue and they learn of it, they move heaven and earth to help. I've worked with one who did that for a SENIOR dog she'd sold as a puppy many years ago. She was devastated by the life the poor dog had lived when she found out its story, and she resolved to make things right by adopting it, and making it her personal dog....even though she was over 1000 miles away. She took responsibility for an old dog with health problems, for the rest of its natural life. That's a lot of responsibility.

Finding good homes is NOT as easy as novices think -- and you're on the hook to be their safety net for life. The chance of getting home selection 100% right your first go round is pretty low.

If the litter gets parvo from your shoes and you have a $5,000+ vet bill, can you handle it?

If one of the pups develops HD and the buyers blame you and want to enforce a guarantee, can you deal with that?

Lots to think about!


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Get another dog from the same breeder and lines. You are a beginner and have no idea how to duplicate her. Chances are you won’t get her again. A friend is a puppy raiser for a very well known national assistance dog group. They have their own breeding program and still only a small portion of their purpose bred dogs make it as service dogs. You will regret it if you breed her, eventually due to costs health, and variabilities in temperatment.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Keeping in touch with breeders and lines of your dog is a good suggestion i do this myself. Max has an incredible presence I can not imagine life without him in it. Luna is such a easy girl that just make life sweeter. I love the combo of these two dogs personalities


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

If seizure response is something that is trained, then it would not matter if your future service dog is related or not. Training is not genetic and she will not pass her training on to her pups. I wouldn't be surprised if there are many litters available already from her same lines if she were well bred from which you could choose from if you shop around.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Not trying to be rude, but how are you going to be without your service dog for a few months?


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## Muskeg (Jun 15, 2012)

I've heard seizure response is inherent (genetic) in a dog, and the key is creating a recognizable alert signal in the dog.

If this is true, and it is genetic, perhaps there is some merit to breeding this dog, but I'd work closely with an experienced breeder on selecting a stud.

All other concerns, are very valid. Certainly think this through carefully.

I'd also be a bit concerned about fertility issues in a 6 year old never-bred female GSD. Most breeders chose to have a first litter by age 3- 4. 7 is generally the oldest a bitch is bred. 

Finding good homes for even a well-bred litter can be a huge challenge.


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## Femfa (May 29, 2016)

When I contacted a breeder prior to choosing Ryka's breeder, I was waiting on x-ray confirmation before putting a deposit down. My partner actually had a huge, irrational and anxiety driven concern that the bitch would lose her puppies or the breeding wouldn't take, so he desperately urged me to go with Ryka's breeder. Sadly, we learned a few months later that all puppies and the bitch had passed during birthing. It was her first time being bred but she was over two, and she was exceptionally healthy. While it is rare, it does happen. 

I would not recommend breeding your service dog because like @Sabis mom said, you will likely experience struggles with her being able to do her work as both as service dog and a mother. On top of that, like everyone else has mentioned, your current breeder clearly produces dogs capable of doing this. They successfully breed dogs who have the genetic capacity to be exceptional service dogs, because they understand genetics and have a strong understanding of how to pair lines to create such a dog. I would instead have my breeder notified of how well this combination works, and allow them to continue producing health tested, genetically sound, and capable working dogs.


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## My friend Steve (Aug 1, 2013)

I would like to thank those of you who have offered useful information and to those of you who have made ridiculous assumptions regarding my experience with GSDs _( Removed by Admin)_. I was asking for constructive input rather than be attacked by people trolling for negativity. Again I appreciate the positive comments I have received.
Thanks,
Shawn


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

All the posts have been standard good-advice, none of it trolling or attacking. If you feel that some comments don't apply to you, feel free to ignore them. Perhaps you are an experienced GSD breeder with much knowledge and experience under your belt, but 99.9% of people who ask about breeding advice are complete novices and appreciate having their eyes being opened to the realities of breeding. If you feel that a post is inappropriate, you can report notify on it by clicking the little exclamation point in the triangle.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

My friend Steve said:


> I would like to thank those of you who have offered useful information and to those of you who have made ridiculous assumptions regarding my experience with GSDs _( Removed by Admin)_. I was asking for constructive input rather than be attacked by people trolling for negativity. Again I appreciate the positive comments I have received.
> Thanks,
> Shawn




Everything aside, I would be concerning about breeding a 6 year old bitch for the first time. My dog Scarlet’s mother had her first (and only) litter at 6 yrs (long story for another time) She had very little maternal instinct when the puppies came. It was a LOT of work for her breeder.


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## Kazel (Nov 29, 2016)

My friend Steve said:


> I have finally decided to breed my service dog. I purchased Liska in 2013 following a TBI injury in 2010. She came from the Czech Republic and is an awesome GSD. She now performs seizure predict/response duties and is amazing, prior to having her I had received several injuries resulting from falls. This is not an easily trained skillset for a dog and I want to perpetuate her bloodline in hopes of stacking the odds in my favor when she becomes older and retires when I find myself needing another service dog. My issue is she is now 6 yo and far from retirement, but at the age where breeding can take place. I want access to her bloodline. I was hoping to home the puppies as it will help recoup some of the cost for my dog, I have a substantial amount invested in her and it is worth every penny. However I am hoping to place a couple of puppies in homes with the condition that I may have access to a future offspring of the puppy when it is time to train a new service dog. Does anyone have experience with a similar situation or have input?
> Thanks for your time,
> Shawn


I'd say you missed your opportunity to breed her. I've always heard bad things about breeding a dog for the first time when it's older and starting to leave prime breeding time. I'd say your best bet if you want continued access to her bloodlines is to keep going back to her breeder, and then if you get another female to breed her at a younger age. But as others have stated that will mess with trainingand her ability to work as your service dog during that time. I don't know much about service dog organizations but don't people have breeders separate from their service dogs or no? 

I'm not sure about your experience selecting puppies and such, but what if the puppy you keep doesn't work out? Then you either have another dog or you'll have to find a new home for that one. And then you'll have to start over by going to a breeder anyway. Another question is how are you selecting the stud? Have you found a male that has also produced proven service dogs? Did you purchase breeding rights to your female or did you buy her without?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

My friend Steve said:


> ....ridiculous assumptions regarding my experience with GSDs....


Asking a question is not the same thing as making an assumption. There's really no need to be offended by perfectly reasonable questions, and yet people do it here all the time. I just don't get it. 

If you don't think the input you're getting applies to your situation, fine. Ignore it. Or, feel free to clarify if you feel like people have gotten the wrong impression based on the little information you've provided so far. Everyone is trying to be helpful but they can only go by what you've chosen to share.


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## GandalfTheShepherd (May 1, 2017)

I met a guy recently who had a 6 year old SD husky, he bred her in hopes of keeping one of the puppies and sadly his dog passed away due to complications. I forget what he said but the vet told him age was a huge factor. He was devastated, never even met my dog before but was clinging to him crying into his fur. I felt so bad for him and his dog. Why not just get another puppy from the same breeder?


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

I have another take on this. I also have questions. I don't know how anybody keeps a female SD intact? She should not be in public when she is in heat. If she were having discharge she would have to be in a diaper and even if that were hygienic it sets a really bad example as the general public might assume the diaper was for a dog that wasn't house trained? Just a whole can of worms there. 

And SDs aren't supposed to lick themselves in public.

So. I don't understand how an intact female can be a SD unless you are lucky enough to have a backup dog or you just don't use her in public when she is in heat which seems...I don't know.... I wouldn't choose to put all this work and training into a dog that I couldn't use for 2 months out of the year. that adds up. If you really need your dog, you really need your dog.

Lastly, my girl had just an intense drive to work. It trumped all else. Other people, other dogs, nothing mattered but me. She would walk away from anything or go to any length to do her job. I would really question whether she would have been content whelping a litter. I feel like if she were a good mother, she would be worried about me--and be conflicted--or be trying to do both, worse. 

Once she was in my RV in the pitch dark in a camp ground--front windows are pretty tall off the ground. I was outside the RV. She alerted to something that was happening with me but could not do her regular alert because she was locked in the rv. She leaped out the window of the RV in the pitch dark even though she is losing her sight--and has NO business jumping from that height at her age--and under normal circumstances never would--to get to me to alert. And this was after she had been officially retired and I was easing her out of active duty and she knew she wasn't really ON anymore. But she was not going to miss an alert even if it meant breaking her leg in the dark. Thank God she was ok.


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

Thecowboysgirl said:


> I have another take on this. I also have questions. I don't know how anybody keeps a female SD intact? She should not be in public when she is in heat. If she were having discharge she would have to be in a diaper and even if that were hygienic it sets a really bad example as the general public might assume the diaper was for a dog that wasn't house trained? Just a whole can of worms there.
> 
> And SDs aren't supposed to lick themselves in public.
> 
> ...


This was one of the reasons why I chose a male for my service dog prospect.


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