# a question for everyone: WHY DO YOU WANT TO BREED?



## focker (Oct 4, 2008)

*Well, for me I owned toy dogs before I got my first gsd which is now 12 months old. I have another two pups now at 2 months old ( i give the other one to my mom.)
I don't want to breed them I just want to have them and be with them everyday of my life.. I never experienced breeding dogs either.
Well most of the people here in the Philippines does these breeding purposes just like any dog owners all over the world:
to breed them and make money out of them.
(not all breeders though)
For me, breeding dogs is not a good business. Because you gain only a portion compared to what you have spent on vaccines, effort, & time. so breeder my dogs is the last thing i wanna do..
dogs require love much as any humans do. really

So now i want t know the answer of you guys.
why do you want to breed your dogs?
*
<span style="color: #FF0000">**NOTE: this is just a thread of mine. nothing personal








i hope this topic would be informative and lively as weell







*</span>


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## jaggirl47 (Jul 18, 2009)

I personally don't want to. I don't know enough and I refuse to allow myself to become a BYB. The way I see it though, it's for the love of the breed and what you can add to it, not the money. It would take great dedication and devotion.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

I don't want to either. Too nervous about all the things that could go wrong and I'd loose my bitch. Love my bitch - she can't have babies anyway. That decision was made for her when she was very young.

Maybe someday when the kids are older and I can get back into working the dog, I'd title and keep a stud around but having puppies, no thank you. I like my sleep too much!


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## girlll_face (Jun 9, 2009)

I don't want to breed, and I never will. There are not enough homes out there for all the dogs already here, so why make more? Enough get killed every year in shelters to fill up every home as it is. People that breed dogs just for money are...well, I don't want to get ugly, so I'll just leave it there.


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## windwalker718 (Oct 9, 2008)

I have at various times over the past 40 years had Siberians, Akitas, Shepherds, Papillion, and Shelties which have whelped here. Only had one litter of Pap's (one pup) which I kept... 2 litters of Shelties... then spayed my bitches.. enjoyed the dogs, but didn't know the breed and it's pitfalls, nor have the $$ to invest.

Siberians I had several litters (they were my 1st breed which I showed, raced, trained and loved) but found that purchasers wouldn't listen to the fact that these weren't wolves who minded like a GSD... Sib's have a mind of their own, an odd sense of humor, a love or running... and if they're not set up for it, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

I had several Akitas and would say they're my #2 favorite breed. But the 3rd Akita I got was Ch. Matsu Kaze Strawberry Puddin... who was in every way my vision of an ideal Akita. There was no challenge in breeding for improvement. I thought I'd be doing Groups and such showing her, but she HATED shows (though she finished in 2 weekends with back to back 4 point majors! @ 11 months). Gave up showing, and only bred her once... lol (her Dam was ROM as was her sire btw)

Then there are GSD's. And I bred, looking for an ideal in my mind of what the perfect dog was. The last litter I whelped passed away this past year @ 14 years... sadly I had to tell the owners who called to get another pup I wasn't breeding now. *sigh*. I'm not interested in breeding now, been there done that and don't have the energy it takes to do it right. Instead I did my research to find what I was looking for elsewhere... 

NOBODY who does it well, or for the betterment of the breed is going to make money, much less get rich breeding dogs.


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## Crabtree (Jan 6, 2006)

I'm sad to say that yes I have bred my girl Lacey, that is how I came to have Larka and Palla.

At the time I was told by family and friends that I should and caved in. Did I make money? I hardly broke even.
Plus it was the heartbreak of some puppies that didn't live and died soon after birth. No one ever mentions that part. 

Then finding homes and parting with the little souls. I cried after every puppy left to go to it's new home. 

I had the contact information and although I have emailed and phoned and left messages only one person has ever emailed me back. I get pictures regularly on how their boy is doing.
But as for the rest? Even though I told everyone that if there was a problem call me and I'll take the pup back, nothing.

So I learned the hard way, and never again. I found this web forum and felt guilty for the first two years for what I had done. I never realized all the homeless GSDs sitting in shelter.....and the thought that I had contributed to the problem still makes me feel so sad.

Now my girls are spayed and I drove down to Tenn to adopt Loki. I guess in some small way I"m trying to undo some of the problems I caused.

I still get people who look at my pack and ask if I breed (because I have the four)and if I do to let them know because they would love a pup. Mostly because they are good looking but also because they are so well behaved.
I just smile and say no and tell them how lucky I am to have adopted Loki. and how fun classes are to train them.

I still feel bad that I've bred and even had a trainer and a vet ask me for a pup. But I again point to Loki and say 'Look what's waiting in a shelter somewhere."


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

To preserve the breed I love as a working dog.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I'm not sure I could ever breed bitches. At this point it seems crazy to think I could, only being "in" the breed for a few years. I bow down to all the respectable hobby breeders and their commitment to the breed and their dogs.

Instead I like having a male and would like to continue training males in the future. I am more focused on the process than the end product. I like training and competing with my dogs (my female doesn't really factor in here since she's spayed, but I have done a lot of training and trialing with her). When the dog is an adult, maybe he will be bred to and maybe he won't, but it's not really a decision I plan on making on my own. First he has to meet my own standards as far as health, temperament, and titles. I would leave it up to other breeders I trust and respect as to whether he has any value in their program. So at this point I don't plan on breeding him, but I don't abhor the idea either. It's really not up to me anyway. If I allowed my male to be bred to it would not be about providing friends with dogs "like mine" or breeding pets for other people, it would be to try to create something even better and more ideal.


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## VomBlack (May 23, 2009)

I agree with Lies and I like the way she worded it. 

Breeding has never been a goal of mine, I'm more interested in the work it takes to train and title a dog. If my male goes above and beyond my expectations as far as working and health goes..then maybe. I'm just learning and enjoying the experience at this point. For me it takes more than a pretty face and some potential to justify breeding.


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## focker (Oct 4, 2008)

so much to say about people breeding their dogs and yet they all contribute to the worsening state of the breed itself. you all guys have seen the video "pedigree dogs exposed" years before right? look at what they did to gsd's movement, and the face of bull terrier... it really made me sad right there.
I am not a breeder nor soon will I be, but raising puppies and dealing with pregnant bitch is too much to ask if you're into breeding dogs. 
It takes a lot of hardwork and dedication. Plus no words can describe how tough it is when your puppies go into their buyers. :'(
people doesn't get any richer in breeding dogs either.
I am so much happy to know people who are afraid of breeding their dogs just by knowing their dogs haven't met their standards just like you guys..


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

There are the trash out there that put the least amount into their dogs for the most return. These people DO make money on puppies. They are generally despised and should be. They do not care about the breed or more likely breeds. They do not care about the dogs or bitches. They usually have many dogs in deplorable conditions. These are the millers, and like it or not, as they supply both pet stores and the internet, and sell at holiday inns and roadsides, they are making money and they are here to stay. 

Then you have the guy with a few purebred dogs, trying to get a little return on his investment, and maybe pay for food and vet bills. Generally he DOES care about his dogs. Generally they ARE good pets and companions. Usually he has one or two litters per year. But he is not interested so much in lines, pedigrees, health problems, health screenings, etc. He is not concerned so much with the breed as a whole. These are BYBs, back yard breeders. They range on a continuum from poor to pretty good. Some only want to make one litter, and have homes for them lined up. These people are also here to stay. I think that there is a market for their dogs. I do not see them as doing a lot of damage to the breed as a whole. I do not know if their dogs are more or less likely to have serious health concerns, but the breeders would be less likely to be able to provide support or to offer a warranty and may not be in a position to provide for a dog that came back with serious problems. 

Because of problems and lack of screening, and because the breeder is unwilling or unable to take a dog they bred back, I expect that dogs from these breeders land in rescues far more often. 

I think the backbone of the breed are hobbyist breeders. These are breeders who have anywhere from 1 dog to many dogs, but most likely only so many that they have trained each dog themself, work with each dog, and know the history and breeding of each dog. They spend a lot more money up front in their program, paying for a stud fee even when they have a stud in their kennels to make the best match, health screening, quality food and supplements, training and trialing their dogs, and possibly showing them in conformation. These are the people that care about the breed as a whole, and not just their individual dogs. And they range on a continuum as well as those that are a step above BYBs, and those that are super flyers. Some of these people produce working dogs, some produce performance dogs, some produce conformation dogs. Sometimes they will produce dogs that can excel in more than one venue. 

I do not believe that we should only breed dogs that we believe will IMPROVE the breed. I think that the breed has been so much IMPROVED that now we have separate lines with separate fanciers and dogs do not do well crossing those lines. I see that as a bad thing, but it has happened and the sun will come up tomorrow. 

I think that what we should be wanting to do is to PRESERVE the breed. We do this by breeding the best specimens that we can produce. And if we cannot produce a dog worthy of being bred, we do not breed that dog. Just as there are champion dogs with poor temperaments, there are titled dogs with bad structure. Neither dog should be bred. It IS more the journey than the end product when it comes to determining whether a dog should be bred. And once it IS bred, it is looking at what it has produced to determine whether or not you want to breed the dog again. 

I understand the reluctance to breed dogs. If you do not have the time and the space and the money to do it right, as well as the desire, then it really does not matter if your Champion, titled, OFA everything, Search and Rescue bitch has been voted the top bitch of the year, you should not breed her. I can understand not wanting to risk a favorite companion's life by letting her get pregnant and whelp a litter. I can understand that rescues and pounds have dogs that have no owner. There are many valid reasons not to breed a healthy, trained dog with no conformation faults. 

But if the fancy as a whole adopts this attitude, then we are waving the flag and giving over the breed to the BYBs and the Millers. If every new person to the breed determines that they will leave it to the experts, the experts will retire or die, and all that will be left will be the garbage people producing the puppies of the future. I would rather people with a thirst for knowledge and a love for the breed make some mistakes along the way of becoming experts, than to have people just entirely give up breeding altogether. 

I would rather get a puppy from someone who felt bad burying a pup that they couldn't get going, than someone who just cleared the dead ones away. 

Breeders are really an endangered species, good breeders anyway. The ROI prospect is not good. The work is plentiful. The decisions they have to make are heart rendering. And public opinion is completely against them. Who in their right mind would take such an occupation on? We do it because we love the breed, we love our dogs, and we love our puppies even when they become seniors. We have a vision of what it is about the breed that is attractive to us and we want to preserve that and produce that.


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## Doc (Jan 13, 2009)

To breed or not to breed, that will always be the question. As for me and my house, we shall breed for the preservation, the advancement, and love of this noble animal.


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

I breed to produce dogs that can work and serve mankind. This breed was created to work and I just try to maintain the breed as created. Structural beauty is not necessary to work it really is only necessary for people's ego!! Similar to trophy wife/husband. If the dog is capable of working effectively, and has health and longevity, to my understanding of why this breed was created, this is a correct dog. My motto for breeding and my dogs,"To serve and protect", whether it be family, individual, or vocation. If my dogs don't meet that standard then they do not reflect the intent of the breed. Its not complicated for me nor is it based on my emotions or feelings, it is quantifiable and I strive to reach this standard whenever I breed.


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## AgileGSD (Jan 17, 2006)

Usually I just lurk but I have to say...there sure seems to be a lot of anti-breeding feelings on this thread cosnidering this is a breed forum. If you love GSDs and would like to continue owning them, breeders need to breed them. And they need to breed them more often than once every few years. 

I choose not to breed my GSDs. My first girl has an outstanding temperament, nice pedgree and I often have questioned my choice to not breed her. At the time I didn't breed her because I was concerned that there might not be a market for GSDs like her outside of SchH/working people (who wouldn't be buying a puppy from my untitled bitch). My boy had an iffy temperament and epilepsy, so breeding him was out of the question. My second girl has a temperament like a Siberian - she is sweet but no need to pass on a dog that looks like a GSD but lacks GSD character. 

I do breed Belgians though and have had several litters of them. I breed them in hopes to help preserve the breed. I breed to improve on what my dogs are are in future generations and to produce dogs who look and at least as importantly, act like Belgians. 

I suggest checking out this article about purebred dogs and "responsible breeders": http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/articles/a_gathering_storm_pt_1.html


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## Brightelf (Sep 5, 2001)

I don't want to breed. Even if I had spectacular titled females with all health screeneings and ideal temperaments and balanced drives, and access to ideal studs with everything needed to bring out or compliment the genetics of those females, I still would never breed.

I couldn't do it. Each little soft, warm, helpless soul... needing love and care... How would I be able to be SURE that each little soul was protected, loved, cared for, excersised, trained, and most of all, cherished?

I read the book BlackBeauty as a child. How often he changed hands, his fate never known each time, each owner being indifferent, or kind, or abusive, or loving-- he never knew what to expect. Beauty was helpless. So would my puppies be, the moment I handed then over.

I'm a wimp, huh.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

I plan to breed my Chinese Crested when she's ready. I believe she has the perfect temperament for the breed and most of the CCs I've met are either unbearably timid or downright nasty.

My prefect world would have me working WITH a good breeder. They would breed the dogs and find the future owners and I would raise the puppies! That's the part I like best!!

I LOVED raising foster litters.


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