Riddle Shepherds
Passionate about German Shepherds since 1998
Considering Breeding?
Many of us who have owned dogs have considered having a litter. There are a whole slew of reasons this can seem like a good idea: You have the best dog ever and feel you would love a puppy from him or her; you want your children to experience the miracle of birth; one puppy is cute so a houseful of ten would be wonderful; you see the prices people are selling puppies for and think, “why not?” However, breeding is not all fuzzy puppies and happy endings. It is countless hours of hard work and occasional heart break. Breeding is a huge responsibility that takes a good deal of resources – time, energy and money.
If you are considering breeding, you need to be able to say “yes” the following questions:
- Do you know what health testing should be done? Have you done the health testing? Sorry, there is no such thing as “hips clear by parentage” or “they’ve never had symptoms so they must not have dysplasia.” A list of required and recommended health tests are here.
- Is your dog a good example of the German Shepherd breed, both in structure and in temperament? What are his/her faults and strengths?
- Do you have some knowledge of your dog’s pedigree? Have their predecessors been health tested? Ideally, we only breed dogs that come from lines with extensive testing.
- Have you done anything to objective to test your dog’s temperament? Obedience training? CGC test? Titles? The GSDCA temperament test?
- Have you found a vet you trust with reproductive health issues?
- Do you have an extra $1000+ in case your bitch requires an emergency c-section? Are you prepared to do this if none of the puppies survive and you have no way to recoup your costs?
- Do you have money for puppy worming, shots or emergency vet bills?
- Do you have the time to clean-up after, care for, and socialize a dozen puppies?
- If an emergency arises, can you take time off of work to care for the litter?
- Are you prepared to screen many, many homes to find the right match for each pup?
- Are you prepared to support your puppy-buyers, offering them advice, particularly for first time GSD owners?
- Are you prepared to help rehome the pup at any time or, in the worst case scenario, take it back? This responsibility lasts for the puppy’s entire life.
- Are you prepared to keep a puppy for whom you cannot find a home, or a puppy with health issues/special needs?
Breeding dogs is truly a labor of love. If this is something you want to consider, please learn what it takes to “do it right”. As breeders, we are constantly learning and we all started as an inexperienced novice. If this is something you want to do, please take the time to find mentorship, attend dog shows, join dog clubs and read all you can. Good luck!