I want to breed my Labs & GSDs. Great temperament, in good health. Advice & help on breeding? Have a few Q's!!

Question

I have been thinking about breeding my dogs for a few months now and I decided to go along with it. Problem is, I've got no idea how to go about it! I have two Labs and two GSDs. A 2 y/o black female Lab named Nina, 9 m/o choc. Lab named King. My GSDs are Tara: 3 year old female. Roo: 4 year old male. I also have two Chis but I decided not to breed as there are too many risks when breeding Chis. My dogs are not show dogs but they each have great personalities. Alll my dogs have a great temperament, have been thoroughly health checked by a vet, are up-to-date on flea and worming, vaccinations etc. and have great personality traits. I don't want to breed for money but simply because I love the breeds that I own (Lab, GSD & Chi). My dogs have very good bloodlines and are of showing/breeding quality - I just haven't have the time to show them. I know what a backyard breeder and if I breed my dogs, I don't want to become one as they have such a bad reputation for being bad animal owners.

I know a lot about the breeds I have and I did a lot of research on the BREED before buying them. I didn't do any research on breeding as there are not many websites with easy step-by-step guides on breeding [in particular] GSDs and Labs.

I have a friend who bred her Labs a few years ago [once] but she can't help me much as her dogs were a different age. I have a friend who would be interested in two pups from my GSDs if I decide to breed so I know those two pups would go to a FANTASTIC home.

I have the time, space and energy to look after puppies and a pregnant dog. I have a lot of friends and family who would be willing to help look after the puppies and to help socialize them. Most of my family and friends own dogs so I would be able to socialize them with other dogs.

Any information, help or guides on breeding GSDs and Labs would be GREAT! Comments and opinions are somewhat helpful.

What do you think I should I do before breeding my dogs?

I am serious - that's why I took the step to ask people here and educate myself BEFORE taking a risk and breeding my dogs. They are AKC registered and I did buy them from good breeders. I haven't screened my dogs for hereditary diseases because the sire and dam of all my dogs were screened and were healthy.

I don't see why I need to get my dogs into the shows. They are of show/breeding quality (paid $1300 for each GSD, paid $1050 for each Lab) but I don't want to show -- I want to breed. I contacted the breeders I purchased the dogs from and they all allowed me breeding rights. I paid $150 for breeding rights on both Labs and $250 for breeding rights on both GSDs. They also offered to mentor me about breeding and I've already talked to them but it wasn't much help as they used stud dogs and did it at someone elses house.

Answer 1

"Freedom to choose... it surely is your right to breed your dog or cat. Your own good judgment and our free society allow you to breed your pet at any time and as often as you wish. I and many others support that freedom. Nevertheless, there are thousands of Americans who devote their lives to caring for and finding homes for abandoned and orphaned dogs and cats. Some of these hard working people have asked ThePetCenter to remind potential breeders that there can be a silent, unpleasant side to the breeding activity. To honor those hard working people who care for abandoned pets, I would like you to consider just a few important effects of irresponsible breeding of pets. You have the freedom of choice... please be a responsible pet owner.
From the animal shelter perspective:
If you plan to breed your dog or cat, please consider a few very important issues before you make a final determination to add more pets to a population that is presently too large for all the individual animals to have a good home. It is interesting to note that if you do choose to breed your dog or cat and you do have good homes waiting, those homes probably will not be an available home for an abandoned or orphaned animal that waits to be adopted, sometimes endlessly, in a local shelter or pound.

It has been estimated that in six short years one female dog and her offspring could be the source of 50,000 puppies. In seven years a female cat could be responsible for over 350,000 kittens. The number of cats and dogs entering shelters annually is about 9 million... and an estimated 4 to 6 million dogs and cats are euthanized in America's 5 thousand animal shelters each year. " (qtd Dr. Dunn)

With that said here are some links for you....

Answer 2

Unless you have had your dogs the ones your are going to breed screened for health issues you should not breed them. If their parents were screened the breed did the right thing. If you do not screen the ones you are going to breed you are doing the wrong thing. Even if the parents are OK does not mean your dogs are.
An OFA rating coming from excellent parents does not mean all the pups will be excellent also. They could only be fair and with that rating you might not want to breed them.
Paying a lot of money for your dogs and getting AKC registered dogs means very little. AKC is purely a registry service and in no way shape of form has anything to do with the quality of the dog.
If you have not shown these dogs ,(no time is a poor excuse) how do you know they are breeding quality. The breeder who bred them would not know that until the dog was full grown and had earned a CH title and passed a CERF and OFA and thyroid testing and some other things appropriate for each breed.
If one of the breeders is offering to mentor you that is the very best way to get into breeding. If they are a good breeder they will have all the answers you need and many more.
Most people use a stud and not their own pets to breed. Most people do not own two dogs of breeding quality and most want a stud that will help with their females lesser areas of fit to a breed standard.

Answer 3

The problem I have with this is that you're breeding the dogs simply because they have great temperments. You know what? That means that you're a great owner and trainer. Great owners tend to have dogs with great temperments over and over again. If you got a dog from the pound, I don't doubt it would have a great temperment. It doesn't mean you should breed the dog.

Simply having a dog with good bloodlines and great temperment are not enough.

You should be thinking about 'what does my dog specifically contribute to the GSD gene pool that is not there already?' What is so outstanding about my dog that this dog needs to have his genes continue? If the dog has not been shown either in conformation or in performance, you don't have much to go on. A great temperment is not enough to warrent additional puppies. Check petfinder and other sites for rescued GSD's. There are great dogs out there who's only crime they may die for is lack of enough homes.

I had a dog years ago and I thought the same way you did about this dog. He was fabulous. Talented, friendly, very smart. Fact was, after many years I've had many of these dogs. Not all the same but they had great temperments and I loved them all. And I didn't need to end up breeding my dog at all, I found another dog and made him into the great dog I wanted - even my rescue dog.

So I would pat yourself on the back and then either get your dog into the show ring and determine if he has what it takes or find a nice rescue or other dog that you can make into your next great dog and skip the whole puppy issue.

Answer 4

Look at this and then re-consider breeding your dogs: http://www.brightlion.com/InHope/InHope_en.aspx - it is sure to make ANY animal lover cry.

I'm not going to waste my time telling you how stupid it would be of you to breed your dogs just because they have a "great temperament" and are "in good health".

Edit: Actually, you know what, It's 1:30am and I have nothing else to do with my time. You NEED to get your dogs checked for all hereditary diseases. Labs are especially prone to hip and elbow dysplasia and PRA (eye disease). Labs MUST be checked for these herediary diseases. GSDs are VERY, VERY prone to elbow dysplasia and hip dysplasia is popping up now. GSDs are prone to MANY other hereditary diseases. A good temperament, up to date vaccinations and a thorough check by a vet is NO reason to breed. Good bloodlines and AKC registration is a START. Will you have $1200 on had for an emergency c-section shall something go wrong while a ***** is giving birth? Are you going to be prepared to deal with the loss if something goes wrong and your ***** and her pups die? If you loved the breed, or dogs at all, you would NEUTER AND SPAY the dogs. If you don't have the time to enter shows, you can hire a handler to take the dogs. Labs and GSDs make EXCELLENT PETS. Why not just leave the dogs alone and let them be PETS? Show/breeding quality means nothing. Most breeders can't tell whether the puppy will be of breeding/show quality when (s)he is 2 years old.

Edit 2: The person who posted under me is right. Labs are known for having big litters. They can have up to 12+ puppies. I know someone who's Lab had 13 puppies. GSDs can also have many puppies. Over 10 pups are common. What are you going to do if you can't find suitable homes for the 7+ Lab puppies and the 5+ GSD pups? And I also completely agree with torbay.

Answer 5

At the bare minimum, you HAVE to have hips and elbows done. Check on the breed club website for more information (gsdca.org).

There are many very good books about breeding and genetics at dogwise.com. One of the better ones is even written by a Lab breeder. But a book doesn't have to be breed specific for it to be useful.

Do you realize, once you use one of your males, ESPECIALLY one one of your bit ches, he may become much more difficult to handle? He will likely have an increase in unwanted male behaviors like marking, humping, and aggression. Some studs ONLY think about breeding, ALL the time. Are you prepared to deal with these behaviors for however many years? You CAN have her bred elsewhere and save yourself the issues. And then you can also choose the male that complements her best, instead of yours who, while cheap and convenient, may or may not be the best choice for this particular bit ch. What are you hoping to improve in her? Does he have it? Does his littermates and parents have it?

Are you prepared to lose a bit ch during whelping? Are you prepared to spend $1200 + on a C-secion?

Some things to think about.

I have no problem with someone breeding healthy, nice pets. It is people like you that should be doing it more and maybe the commercial breeders wouldn't have so many sales.

Good luck!


To the other posters - It is concerned, conscientious people like this that SHOULD be breeding pets!!! Show breeders breed a VERY small percentage of litters whelped and cannot possibly supply the country with PB pets. If MORE good people bred healthy pets, there would be LESS market for commercial breeders and puppy mills!!! If you all want to stop everyone except for show breeders from breeding, where do you all think you would get a PB dog??? BETTER a conscienscious pet breeder who loves her dogs than some guy in the woods who doesn't care about his animals!


I must agree with Torbay. I have never heard of a breeder charging for "breeding rights". Either they are breeding quality, or they aren't. Makes me a bit skeptical of the people you purchased yours from.

Answer 6

If you haven't the time to show, how will you have the time to rear a litter? If you don't have your dogs health tested before breeding, do you realise you could be sued by the new owners if the pups later develop problems. To be a responsible breeder, you need to be knowledgeable about all aspects of your breed. Could you honestly say your dogs are outstanding specimens of their breed and explain why?
Do you have the facilities to take back any of your pups at any time of their lives should their new owners decide to give them up?
You say you've got a friend who wants 2 pups - first mistake is selling 2 pups from the same litter together - recipe for disaster.

Answer 7

These are two breeds with LOTS of genetic issues so you need to have more than just a vet checkup to tell you if they are carriers of any of the cardiac, thyroid, or orthopedic issues that can effect these breeds.

Have your dogs' hips and elbows OFA certified, get their eyes and hearts certified too and have their thyroid levels checked and certified. There can be surprisingly horrible results from careless breeding.... it's not just a funny looking pup or a sickly dog.... it's as serious as a dog who will turn suddenly vicious and attack its owner or who may become crippled at six months old.

Do you want to be responsible for that? I don't think so. Do the right thing and have these tests done first to avoid any health issues down the line. Just because a dogs pedigree shows no sign of genetic issues doesn't guarantee they haven't surfaced in your dog.... each individual dog need to be tested. The offspring of two dogs who passed OFA can fail to pass themselves. This applies with all the tests as wel, because genetics are not perfect, they mutate... therefore each test NEEDS to be done with every generation.

If they are all physically cream of the crop, then you are over the first hurdle. Next you need to be sure your dogs are good examples of their breeds and this requires the assistance of an experienced breeder. Even if you have no time to show a dog, you should have the time to get them evalutated for conformation by a breeder. Then you can see if pairing your dogs is the right choice or if you may need to choose and outside stud for your ***** to produce the best litter possible.

I know you said you have a couple of people who already want some pups, but you need to be sure you can find homes for up to ten puppies as both Labs and GSDs can have very large litters. I would bet on at least eight pups and find eight homes before the breeding even takes place.

And having no time is no excuse for having no titles on your dogs, at the very minimum they should have some sort of obedience recognition..... a CGC or Therpy dog title to show your dedication to being a responsible owner and to show prospective buyers that your dogs are intelligent and trainable so they don't just have to rely on your word.

I am glad you are thinking about all this now before taking the leap to breed, but I urge you to read as much as you can about the entire process, including raising the pups, before going forward. Also get your self a mentor, maybe the breeder you have evaluate your dogs, an experinced breeder is a priceless resource. You say you didn't find your breeders much help, but if they are as good as you say they are, they should be the ones you turn to. If they aren't as good as you say, then rethink your whole breeding agenda. If you don't like their ways, then you probably shouldn't breed their dogs. Find a breeder who you do find to be helpful and edcuated about their breed and be open minded... not everything a mentor will tell you will be good, they should be unbiased and critique your dogs for the good of the breed. A good breeder will not let things slide just to get a litter of pups on the ground. I've had only one littler in the past four years because I haven't been satisfied with my breeding prospects right now.

Good luck and don't forget.... breeding should always be for the betterment of the breed!

Answer 8

Just because a vet says they are healthy enough to breed, does NOT mean they are. Do you know anything about OFA??????

http://www.offa.org/

Go there are do some research. Both breeds HAVE to have health clearances. Otherwise YOU WILL be a BYB.

Do have time to show. I don't either. That is why I pay a handler. That way I know my dogs are show/breeding quality.
When you buy a puppy, you get show/breeding POTENTIAL. Until proven that it IS show/breeding QUALITY that is all you got. MANY show potential puppies end up being pet quality.

If you are breeding because you love a breed, you do ALL health clearances, you show some and prove the quality, THEN you think about breeding. You just want to skip to that part. If that is how you do it, that is the very defination of a BYB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will have to be willing to pony up some serious bucks to do it right. Health clearances for each breeding dog cost from $300-800. Showing is quite expensive also. At the very least, you go to a few GOOD breeders or handlers and have the dogs evaluated to see if OTHER people think they are show/breeding quality.

This is not easy and takes YEARS. Do it the easy way, and you are sure to be called a BYB.

Clearly, you got your dogs from questionable sources......no GOOD and REAL breeders charge for the "breeding rights". That is sad.

Answer 9

First you should not breed dogs until they are around 1 1/2 yrs old. When I first started breeding I bought a book from Borders about breeding and contacted my vet and discussed it with her. You should definitely have them vet checked for hereditary problems in the breeds. I have Saints and had their hips checked. Breeding and raising dogs is a very big commitment and expense(vet bills, dog food etc...) Please do as much research as you can before you breed and remember you are responsible for the pups so if they do not sell or if they are brought back you can easily get in over your head no matter how much room you have.

Answer 10

Parents being cleared only means it is UNLIKELY they will pass a genetic defect on to a litter. IT CAN STILL OCCUR! If you don't want to be considered a byb, you NEED to properly health test your dogs, period. You are judging the breeding quality of your dogs here. You need to find a professional breeder, who knows the standard inside and out, and shows your breed, to get an unbiased opinion as to if your dogs ACTUALLY ARE worthy of breeding. IT IS UNETHICAL FOR YOU TO MAKE THIS CALL!

If you aren't doing these things, you are going to be nothing more than a BYB.