Breeding Mixed Breed Puppies - should I do it?

What I'm asking is for your opinion. I have not decided anything, I will listen to all your views and then I will decide. Do not just brand me a puppy dealer, only breeding for money or my own profit. First please, could you read my post with an unbiased mind? My mother and sister are of no help to me in making my decision as they want puppies from her. In other words, at the moment this is a hypothetical situation. :smt001

I have been considering breeding Lucy. Normally I would have never even thought about breeding a mongrel, but for some reason I am thinking about breeding her.

First I will explain to you how our circumstances are here in Switzerland. All the shelters here are no-kill, we do not have the problem of over population as you have in the UK and the US. But many of the dogs here are not purebred, people are more open to the idea of breeding mixed breeds than people in the UK.

If I breed her I would do all the health checks (hips, elbows, eyes) and if she didn't get good scores I would not breed her. Our vet is a 15 minute drive from us. He has told us that if we have any sort of problem we can either bring the animal in, or call and he will come, at any time of day or night. Lucy is trained and she is mentally stable.

My contract would state that if at any point in the dogs life the owner is not able to take care of him/her, that I would take the dog back. There would be a spay/neuter clause, and the contract would also state that the puppy be taken to puppy classes untill 8 months. All puppies would have worming, vaccinations, and microchips. I would screen the potential owners until I find good ones. Not to mention I would keep one puppy. Any puppies not chosen by other homes would be kept by me until I find a good home for them.

I have the stud chosen. This would be the only litter I would have from her and then I would have her and her daughter/son neutered.

I am not totally ignorant about breeding dogs. I have helped in whelping, and I have seen my fair share of deformities. In short, I know what can go wrong.

What is your opinion of what I should do? I will respect it and it WILL factor in my decision. :smt001 I am only considering breeding her, it is not final. :smt001

Thank you

Personally I wouldn't I do it, there are plenty of pure bred puppies available that you can reasonably be sure of their temprements, as far as you can know. Breeding dogs with out a history going back at least a few generations would be a bit like playing Russian roulette, you never know what could appear in the offspring, personality or physically.

I can't think of a real good reason for intentionally breeding two different breeds other then to bring something back to a breed that perhaps had been bred out over time.

Having said that many of today's breeds are an amalgamation of two or more other breeds, and all breeds where once just "mongrels" till the lines were fixed and accepted by ruling bodies.

There thats muddied the water for you a bit more, not much help was I

You say that "for some reason I am thinking about breeding her". I believe that you need to be very, very, clear about exactly why you should breed her. As you mentioned, you know what can go wrong - why risk the life of your bitch? Also, once the puppies leave you there is very little you can do to protect their wellbeing, even with contracts in place.

I agree with Robert and I do not think that, even with all the good intentions in the world, breeding mongrels is a very responsible thing to do.

I too think that the deliberate breeding of cross breed or mongrel puppies is a very bad idea. Do you have specific reasons for not wanting to breed a purebred litter?

Mongrel or purebred, they all cost the same to rear if you are going to do it properly.

I'm at a loss really, to understand why anyone would do this kind of thing deliberately, when there is a choice.

Why do you feel you need to breed her ?

Just wanted you to think about the reasons YOU feel you would want to...
By asking on DW does that mean you arent entirely sure yet ?

Another point for your consideration. There could be problems lurking in the background of either your bitch or the dog you are thinking of using, eg, genetic health or temperament issues which have lain dormant but could raise their ugly heads in any pups that you put on the ground. With a pure-bred it is possible to check generations back for genetic faults - something which is impossible with mongrels.

Sure, you might end up with a litter of healthy, sweet natured, pretty pups. Equally you could find that you have bred unhealthy, evil-natured, ugly pups, which nobody wants to buy or to keep.

Please consider very carefully.

I've decided not to breed her, the risks are too high.

Personally I would never have even asked as I would never breed her, but as mentioned above my mother and my sister are mad for puppies from Lucy. The amount of arguments we have had are mind blowing. Literally screaming matches.

The reason I'm asking is because I'm really worried that they will sneak her off to be bred the next time she's in season. (sorry if it seems I'm turning the tables here but this is what the story is). They don't worry about what the problems will be, to Lucy or the puppies. I would go today and get her spayed, BUT, I'm not in charge of the money.

I would rather not breed her at all, as this fall I want to start Agility training the beginning of this fall. Something I can't do with a bitch heavy in pup and then a lactating bitch. Not too mention I can't cope with Tamino and a litter of puppies.

I'll tell that to Mother and then after a year I'll play the card that she's too old for a litter. Sorry for making you peeved, and thank you for helping me come to a decision.

you didn't make anyone peeved Kate, they just gave their opinions which i think were yours as well anyway , everyone on here likes you too much to get peeved

To be honest i,d say go for it if
you really want to do it
would be able to find all the pups loving homes

IMO you are looking into it with your eyes open, more so than a lot of breeders with purebreds do, cant see why not...all the best in your decision
cheers kinzy

You are in a difficult position Kate. Perhaps if you show the following to your mother & sister it will help persuade them that breeding Lucy is not such a good idea http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/breeding/breeder2.html

Best of luck...SB



This site also has some interesting & informative links http://www.wonderpuppy.net/breeding.htm