Dog Breeding Advice Articles | DOGS

By: A. Fletcher

Breeding is not only a responsibility but it is a great Joy. One of the greatest joys is to have a litter of healthy beautiful puppies and seeing them taken by a list of qualified puppy buyers. The other great joy is to see the puppies having a sound health and temperament.

One of the advices given by Wendy Dreyer when her dogs were considered was, having good genetics for her dogs before she breeds them. She says most of her dogs are breed ring champions and they are trained in obedience and agility. Won’t all the owners of dogs wish the same?

Her advice to all the owners is to have their dogs breed after the age of two. It is also very important that their eyes are checked at seven weeks of age and than they are annually checked either for cataracts and other genetic flaws by a veterinary ophthalmologist and registered with CERF, the full form stands for Canine Eye Registry Foundation. The hip and elbows of the dogs should be x-rayed and verified free of dysplasia. The X-rays for the dogs need to be sent to the OFA by the vet

Before breeding it is also advised to look at the dogs’ structure, conformation and movement. See if your dog has structural faults as well. One of the observations you can make is to see if each leg of your dog is in straight pillar of strength from the shoulder or hip to the ground when observed from the front and the rear. Your dog should have appropriate angulations in the shoulder and stifle for adequate reach and drive when observed from the side. The toes of your dog need to face forward. The rear legs of your dog also need to be a straight line of strength from hip to ground, not cow-hocked. You can notice this only if you have done and appropriate study on your dog or dogs

You can go through some good books or videos that are available on the structure and the movement of your dog. You can also consult a local breeder for some finer points in structure of your dog. You can also go to dog show and ask the exhibitors to evaluate on your dog’s structure. Consult the breed standard like (AKC) or another breeder to have correct proportion and correct movement on your dogs since it is breed specific.

Knowing Temperaments is important and you need to know if the the dogs, the male and the female dog are compatible in their temperament. The other question to consider is also to know whether they both are wonderful representatives of their breed. Also ask yourself if you are willing to keep and be responsible for the offspring if you can’t place them in good homes. Even if you decide to put them in right homes, it is good to have an interview with the potential puppy buyers to determine which homes are responsible dog owners?

The advice given above is basic advice but it is an enough advice to know on some of the important factors in breeding.