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Originally Posted by Tammyh  You make a great point. I (being your "average Joe" petowner) never thought about the purpose for breeding which is to maintain the breed standard. I bought my Bella as my companion, my baby. I'm not educated enough in this breed to know if she's "good enough" to be used to breed but I don't intend to breed her now so it doesn't matter. But the question should be asked, if you are considering breeding your pet/companion, does he/she meet the standard or is he/she "pet quality"? Obviously there are other things to consider but this particular one is one that I had never thought about. You see this beautiful furbaby who's perfect in your mind BUT is she/he really up to par for the purpose of breeding? I've learned so much on this site!  |
JMO -
Great question! Some people consider them hobby breeders and not back yard breeders if they take care of their dogs. But what if they are breeding sub-standard quality? I too think that when someone breeds their own dog/s - the dogs need to be of good quality and as close as possible to the standard. That does not mean you have to show, but at least get them evaluated to see if they are worth breeding!
One person said, "Well, if I have homes for them what should it matter?" It does matter if those people breed the pups (when old enough) and they are not of good quality. All it does is pull the quality of our breed down.
Cost - wow! It can be very expensive! I have a litter of two pups, included is stud fee, travel to another state for the breeeding and returning to pick up my bitch. Of course testing before breeding. C-section, vet visit for mom after the c-section (later that week due to an infection), pups dew claw removal and tail docking, add in 4 week check up, 7 week check up and now 10 week check up - each check up is about 60 - 70.00 each time and I have one more to go. Not to mention litter paper fee, no sleep the first 7 days, etc... And I almost lost my bitch to the infection. Oh yea, add two more vet visits - Knight eat poop and was throwing up so took him to the vet and Trey got sick (vet forgot to worm him). So it does add up. You do not make any money on pups!!
All this is just my experience and my opinion.
T.